This picture illuminates a side of World War One that we listen to Paul Baumer talk about in the sixth chapter of “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Paul makes a point in describing the transformation they undergo during battle, from men to wild animals. He says, “We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation. [...] No longer do we lie helpless, waiting on the scaffold, we can destroy and kill, to save ourselves, to save ourselves and be revenged.” When the fighting started, they all were relieved to have a purpose, to get out of the trench, and to battle. They graphically began doing their duty as soldiers and brutally killing the French in close contact fighting.
Similarly, the picture depicts men running out of the smoke from the background, carrying all their weapons, almost as though set free. There is a soldier from the other side lying on his back, obviously dead, and probably killed by these soldiers. They are in the middle of battle, as demonstrated by the smoke in the background and the shell hole filled with ruined metal in the foreground. The soldiers seem to be fleeing the shells and killing the enemy in the process.
This underlines the fact that soldiers turn into different things when the fighting starts. They become more like the wild beasts that Paul was describing.
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