The Christmas Truce
The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a number of unofficial ceasefires between the British and French, and German troops.
One noted story, whether its true or not, captures the feeling of the troops during this truce, and can only help the reader imagine the feelings of the troops on both sides.
One noted story, whether its true or not, captures the feeling of the troops during this truce, and can only help the reader imagine the feelings of the troops on both sides.
On a battlefield in Belgium, British and German soldiers faced each other on a front that was nearly 12 miles long, stuck in their trenches. Both sides had lost nearly one million soldiers on that battlefield, and the constant fighting left thousands of bodies in No Man's Land, rotting, decaying, forgotten. Neither side was able to bury the dead.
On Christmas Eve, fighting continued, but at midnight, in the silence of the cold, moon-lit night, in a town not far from the battlefield in Belgium, a church bell rang. It marked the coming of Christmas. Lights began to appear on the German lines, and the British feared the worst, an attack on Christmas day. Bugles rang out, alarms were sounded, and British prepared to rush the trenches against the German troops. One British man was noted as saying, "Please, God, not today as well." A still silence fell over the battlefield soon after, and the British suddenly heard voices on the other side of the lines. The voices began to grow, and combine. Rather than a silent murmur, they grew even more, until finally the British were able to understand the words. German soldiers had been singing "Silent Night, Holy Night."
When the German men finished their verse, a few brave British men picked up, and continued the next verse loud enough for them to hear.
Once the singing had stopped, one German officer rose to No Man's Land, holding only a white flag, calmly saying "Please do not shoot me, we do not want to fight this day. I am bringing you present of beer and meat."
One British officer stood up, and made his way out to the German officer, among the field laid the scattered bodies of the fall troops. They saluted each other, shook hands, then each turned towards their men, saying it was safe to come out.
At first the troops were skeptical, only a few ventured out. As time went by, more and more troops went out until they were all out of their trenches, socializing, hugging and greeting the very same people they had been trying to shoot dead just a day before.
The men exchanged gifts, drank, ate, and played football and other games. They were able to retrieve the fallen bodies from No Man's Land and bury them, as much as the frozen ground would let them.
On Christmas Eve, fighting continued, but at midnight, in the silence of the cold, moon-lit night, in a town not far from the battlefield in Belgium, a church bell rang. It marked the coming of Christmas. Lights began to appear on the German lines, and the British feared the worst, an attack on Christmas day. Bugles rang out, alarms were sounded, and British prepared to rush the trenches against the German troops. One British man was noted as saying, "Please, God, not today as well." A still silence fell over the battlefield soon after, and the British suddenly heard voices on the other side of the lines. The voices began to grow, and combine. Rather than a silent murmur, they grew even more, until finally the British were able to understand the words. German soldiers had been singing "Silent Night, Holy Night."
When the German men finished their verse, a few brave British men picked up, and continued the next verse loud enough for them to hear.
Once the singing had stopped, one German officer rose to No Man's Land, holding only a white flag, calmly saying "Please do not shoot me, we do not want to fight this day. I am bringing you present of beer and meat."
One British officer stood up, and made his way out to the German officer, among the field laid the scattered bodies of the fall troops. They saluted each other, shook hands, then each turned towards their men, saying it was safe to come out.
At first the troops were skeptical, only a few ventured out. As time went by, more and more troops went out until they were all out of their trenches, socializing, hugging and greeting the very same people they had been trying to shoot dead just a day before.
The men exchanged gifts, drank, ate, and played football and other games. They were able to retrieve the fallen bodies from No Man's Land and bury them, as much as the frozen ground would let them.
This lasted all day, and at the end, each army returned to their positions among the trenches. The German officer turned, saluted, and said, "Merry Christmas, and thank you." The British officer returned the comment. They then shot 3 bullets into the air; the war had begun again.