Chapter 25 Summary

After returning to Gorizia, Henry tries to gather information on the progress of the war from the major while he was absent. The major says that it was good that Henry was wounded as the summer was bad for them. He also informs Henry that he is exhausted with the war. He wishes not to return to the front if he is ever given a leave. Henry lies down on the bed in his room. He tries not to think of Catherine but ends up thinking only of her. Rinaldi is happy to see Henry. He wants to have a look at Henry’s knee after the surgery, worried about his health as Henry has returned to the front before he has fully recovered. Henry assures him that he is better. Rinaldi talks about Catherine and wants to know if they are married. He asks Henry how Catherine is in bed to which Henry gets offended and tells him not to ask him about that. In a gesture of apology, Rinaldi drinks a toast to Catherine. They go to the mess hall for dinner. Rinaldi tries to entertain Henry by mocking the priest.

Chapter 26 Summary

Henry goes to the priest’s room that night to talk. The priest feels that the war will end soon, but Henry does not feel the same. The priest tells Henry of the change he has noticed in the men; they have become gentler. Henry compares them to Jesus Christ, who, according to Henry, became gentle after he was beaten down badly. The priest finds Henry pessimistic though personally he is determined to remain hopeful. Henry is engulfed in hopelessness and does not believe in anything but sleep. He tells the priest that he will talk to him soon, having enjoyed their conversation.

Chapter 27 Summary

Henry visits the Bainsizza the following day, where a lot of fighting has taken place. He comes across an Italian patriot named Gino. Gino’s use of words such as “sacred, glorious, and sacrifice” embarrasses Henry. He feels that the concrete realities of village names and street numbers carry more meaning than such abstract ideas, which he considers as “obscene.” Amid heavy rain that night, the Austrian and German bombings begin. The Italian soldiers learn that the attacking forces include the Germans. They have had little contact with the Germans so far and this makes them afraid and confused. Their defence begins to falter. Henry and his drivers drive back to Gorizia as soon as the retreat begins. After reaching, Henry finds the others, including his friend Rinaldi, have already left. He starts his preparation to move to Pordenone, which is located across the Tagliamento River, along with Bonello, Piani, and Aymo.

Chapter 28 Summary

Henry and his men join an enormous, slow-moving row of vehicles retreating. When they stop, Henry gets off his truck to check on his fellow men. He finds two engineering officers in Bonello’s car and two women with Aymo. The girls appear suspicious of Aymo but he manages to convince them that he means them no harm. Henry returns to Piani’s car and dozes off. He dreams about Catherine whenever he sleeps. That night, peasants from the nearby villages join the retreating army; hence, the retreat becomes even slower. The next morning, Henry and his drivers decide to take a smaller side road in the hope of moving faster. They reach a farmhouse that is empty where they manage to find some food.

Chapter 29 Summary

A vehicle gets stuck in the mud the next day. The engineers are instructed by Henry to help him try to free the vehicle, but they attempt to escape for fear of being delayed and captured. One of them succeeds to abscond but the others are shot by Henry who pulls out his pistol. Bonello shoots the engineer who dies. They fail to free the truck of Aymo from the mud; hence, they go in the other trucks. The other trucks, too, soon get stuck, and they carry on foot toward the Udine post, sending the girls to a nearby village. The village may give the girls a better chance of safety.

Chapter 30 Summary

Henry notices a German car nearby when Henry and his men are crossing a bridge. In order to avoid capture, they take small side roads but are soon shot at. Aymo gets shot and killed but not by the Germans. In fact, a confused Italian rear guard has shot Aymo. Henry, Piani, and Bonello escape to another abandoned farmhouse. Both Piani and Bonello go searching for food but only Piani returns. He informs Henry that Bonello has gone to surrender to the enemy in the hope of being taken as a prisoner rather than waiting to get killed. Henry and Piani leave the farmhouse in the evening in the hope of joining the Italian retreat. They are captured by some Italian military police who are killing Italian officers, livid at being defeated and suspecting treachery. Afraid of being killed, Henry jumps into the river and swims to safety.

Chapter 31 Summary

Henry floats in the waters of the river until he feels safe to swim ashore. He rips away his military officer badges from his clothing. He counts his money, which is wet, but the amount is decent enough. He walks across the plain and gets on a train that is going to Milan. He hides himself beneath a sheet of tarpaulin that is covering an enormous supply of guns.

Chapter 32 Summary

Henry spends a night shivering beneath the tarpaulin, cold and hungry, dreaming about Catherine. He is desperate to see her and thoughts of loss—losing her, his friends, his men in the army—plague him. He wants to settle with Catherine somewhere away from the grim and gloom of the war.

Chapters 25–32 Analysis

After returning to the frontlines from Milan, Henry realizes that the war has taken a sharp turn for the worse. Just as Henry has been changed by his love for Catherine, the men on the front have changed because of the war. The Major confesses that he would have never returned to the war if he were granted leave like Henry. Rinaldi, who once held high regard for honor and valor that accompany war, has changed too. Although he tries to keep Henry in good humor, he has turned harsher. All this is in sharp contrast to Henry’s wonderful stay in Milan.

The Italian retreat from Caporetto in constant rain is a clear symbol of death and destruction, a recurring theme throughout the novel. As the novel reaches its climax of Henry’s desertion from the army, it gets chaotic, senseless, and a lot of war-specific deaths take place. Absurdity and confusion abound, such as Henry’s capture by an Italian battle police, who are executing Italian officers for retreating. Many tragedies befall the characters, such as the death of Aymo at the hands of his own people. Henry escapes from the military not out of cowardice but because he is unwilling to die for a cause that he no longer believes in.

Toward the end of this specific section, Henry is thinking only of Catherine, whose beauty and love represent the exact opposite of what he has just endured. His sense of humanity is restored as he falls deeply in love, and he wishes not to return to the war. war.