THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE: DEC 25 1914
Christmas Armistice
During World War I, around Christmas Day 1914, the sounds of rifles firing and shells exploding faded in a number of places along the Western Front in favour of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies.
On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested a temporary hiatus of the war for the celebration of Christmas. The warring countries refused to create any official cease-fire, but on Christmas the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce.
Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops began to sing Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their songs.
It is recorded that 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 believed it was a trick and were very cautious. However when they could see that the emerging Germans were in fact unarmed they also climbed out of their trenches and began to shake hands with the enemy soldiers. The men apparently exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs.
History also tells that some soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. It was started by the British and played in the No Mans Land area on the Western Front. It was reported that the Germans won 3-2!
There are only a few images of the Christmas Truce, the coming together of the troops and the fabled game of football remaining but lots of written accounts, formal Army ones and letters sent home from soldiers that played in the game or by others that heard of it.
Allied and German troops together at Christmas:
It is recorded in the newspapers of the time:
The story of the Christmas Armistice is captured in a book for children written and illustrated by Michael Forman. It tells of a group of friends that join up together at the outbreak of the war, fight alongside each other, participate in the Christmas Truce game of football and follows what happens to them in the war including the death of some of them. It is a well told but moving book.
Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more sombre task: the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines. Mixed graves dug jointly were created during this short-lived period of time.
The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was however never repeated—any future attempts to hold holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers’ on both sides with threats of disciplinary action.
The location where the football game took place is commemorated in the Battle Field around Ypres as shown below:
In Paul McCartney/Wings wrote the song “Pipes of Peace” the video of which shows the Christmas Truce and the football game.