The competition for Kemmerich's boots underlines this desensitization of the soldiers. In the continuous face of war and death, even a friend's death seems less significant than the fate of his expensive boots. However the war affects the men in subtler ways, too. Aside from their sleeplessness and hunger, the soldiers, long removed from society, have become animalistic. Not only do they eat out of a ditch, they go to the bathroom in shared outdoor latrines, which Paul deems better than any "palatial white-tiled 'convenience. " Although he describes the outdoor experience as tranquil and natural, one gets the sense that the men are becoming more primitive through the war experience.
The dehumanizing of the soldiers and the effects that power has over them is present throughout the novel. Katczinsky, the wise, 40-year-old unofficial leader of Paul's company relates the entire life of military power to the battles in the animal kingdom, and the companies attack on Himmelstoss is similar to animalistic lifestyles. Kat's comment is important because not only are the front-line soldiers reduced to animalism in the military we have seen them eat and use the latrines like animals, also what looks like unsympathetic behavior between Kat and Kropp's betting on which airplane will overcome the other it is necessary to desensitize them to the loss of human life. The bet quickly turns their attention to the bottle of beer; without this, they would have to recognize that a fellow countryman has just met his horrific death.
In Chapter 6, we get an insight into the scale of losses suffered. We learn that only 32 of the original 150 in Paul's company remain after a period of fighting in the trenches. We read, "We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation. It is not against men that we fling our bombs, what do we know of men in this moment when Death is hunting us down-now, for the first time in three days we can see his face, now for the first in time in three days we can oppose him; we feel a mad anger.
