All Quiet on the Western Front Scene 24 Summary

  • The attack begins. A terrified Himmelstoss hides in a crater, but Paul goes in after him and yells at him to get up.
  • A commander sees the two and orders them forward. The order galvanizes Himmelstoss's courage and the man rises from the crater and advances as Paul watches.
  • Paul continues forward, but when he comes to a church, he's hit with shrapnel.
  • A massive bombardment strikes the graveyard, and Paul hides in one of the blown coffins. Creepy.
  • Kat finds him and wonders about his wounds, but Paul shakes him off.
  • The bombardment stops, and Kat recognizes it as a sign of an incoming counter-attack. During the retreat, Paul takes cover in a crater and watches the French forces surge over him.
  • As the French forces are pushed back, a French soldier falls into Paul's crater, and Paul stabs him with the knife. Caught under crossfire, Paul can't escape the crater.