Christmas truce during World War I

by

TruceDuring World War I, on and around Christmas Day 1914, the sounds of rifles firing and shells exploding faded in a number of places along the Western Front in favor of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies.

Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.

At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.

Read more here

Thanks DJ

0

6 thoughts on “Christmas truce during World War I”

  4. My Grandfather (German) told me about this very thing when I was a child. He said he traded his pea soup with an American for a “TV dinner.” Years later, in a “Oral Traditions” class in university, I recounted this story to my group and the professor mocked me and said I was merely retelling an urban legend.
    I don’t know what to believe, but I tend towards my grandfather’s first-person version of the events.

  5. Steph, there’s a lot of evidence that this happened up and down the line, including spontaneous soccer games and so on. That professor was an idiot, particularly for mocking a student.

Leave a Comment