The story of the Christmas Truce of 1914

On Christmas Eve in 1914, many men were within the trenches fighting the war, however the spirit of Christmas halted the conflict for a transient period. This is the story …

The Great War

The trigger for the Great War was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia. What began as an area Balkan conflict escalated as a network of alliances across Europe led countries to come back to one another’s aid. The British declaration of war on Germany was triggered by the German invasion of Belgium, which Britain thought to be unprovoked. 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 Belgian refugees got here to Britain by boat and sought sanctuary through British hospitality. The stories these refugees brought of the horrors of war led to righteous anger and a surge in volunteers for the war.

Trench Warfare

Hostilities between the UK and Germany began in September 1914. The German advance into France was halted by British, Belgian, and French troops, and the Germans dug in, resulting in trench warfare. Trenches stretched for about 450 miles, all the way in which from the North Sea to the Swiss Alps, forming what became generally known as the Western Front. Often the trenches were only just a few hundred yards apart, and the land between them became generally known as no man’s land. They were close enough that the boys could shout across to at least one one other and listen to one another singing. Many men had volunteered enthusiastically, however the horrors and realities of war soon hit them, and lots of co-operated only reluctantly. Some men were philosophically content to be discharged as injured while watching young compatriots being killed.

Weather Conditions

In the winter of 1914, the bottom was muddy from torrential rain. Conditions were wet, cold, and miserable, and lots of men on either side were stuck in flooded trenches. Any head emerging from the parapet was at risk of being shot. Then the rain stopped, temperatures dropped, and the air turned crisp. The ground froze and the mud hardened. As Christmas Eve approached, there was an attractive moonlit night with frost on the bottom, and the whole lot looked white, like a scene from a Christmas card.

Christmas Gifts

Meanwhile in Britain, people patriotically sent Christmas cards and gifts to the soldiers, often consisting of plum puddings, chocolate, and cigarettes. On the German side, the boys were sent Christmas trees, lanterns, candles, cigars, and pipes. Christmas trees were then way more of a German Lutheran tradition than a British one. On either side, men paused to read letters and cards. In many places, British soldiers were amazed to see Germans putting up Christmas trees on the tops of their trenches, lit by candles or lanterns.

Christian Heritage

Many of those soldiers would have been shaped by Sunday School and church life back home in Britain or Germany, whether Anglican or Free Church, Catholic or Lutheran. Concepts similar to “peace on earth” and “goodwill toward men” were a part of the Christmas cultural vocabulary on either side, making fighting at Christmas feel morally reprehensible.

Christmas Songs

So it was that on Christmas Eve 1914, within the icy silence of the Western Front, men who had tried to kill each other only hours before laid down their weapons and sang together of a newborn King. The guns fell silent, and as a substitute the sound of Christmas carols drifted over the trenches, uniting enemies in worship of the identical Christ. Germans sang songs similar to “O Tannenbaum” (sung in English as “O Christmas Tree”), and the British sang songs like “O Come, All Ye Faithful”. Many of the Germans then began to sing “Stille Nacht”, and British soldiers applauded and joined in, singing “Still the Night” in English. This was the version commonly present in pre-war British songbooks and hymnals, although today a distinct version, “Silent Night”, is best known since Bing Crosby had successful with it in 1942.

Fraternisation

Slowly, men felt brave enough to climb out of the trenches, and along vast stretches of the Western Front soldiers from either side fraternised in no man’s land, shook hands, and tried to speak. Only a small variety of British soldiers knew German, but many Germans knew English. Before the Great War, it was common for Germans to come back to England as economic migrants and to be employed as waiters, barbers, bus conductors, porters, or in other jobs that English employees typically didn’t wish to do. As a result, a sizeable minority of the Germans knew English. Across the lines, they exchanged greetings, gifts, and souvenirs, and sometimes even addresses. There were even just a few attempts to play football.

Religious Character

The break in hostilities enabled men on either side to usher in the dead, bury them with dignity, and conduct services for the deceased, sometimes with German and British chaplains co-operating and reading Psalm 23 in German and English. This gave the truce a profoundly religious character. In some cases, after men had sung, prayed, and shared fellowship with enemies, many struggled morally to resume firing on each other. In many instances, a Christian conscience questioned obedience to war.

End of the Truce

However, there had not been a truce all over the place. There was fighting in some sectors. In some places war resumed on Boxing Day, while in others it continued into the New Year. Military command ensured that the truce didn’t thwart the war effort. Some units needed to be moved and replaced by others before fighting could resume. It has been estimated that about 100,000 men from all sides engaged in unofficial truces (called der Weihnachtsfrieden in German).

Legacy

The truce was widely reported in British and German newspapers on the time. Today there are not any eyewitnesses left alive to inform the story; the last known participant died in 2005 on the age of 105. However, the story is thought from contemporary accounts, interviews with survivors, and letters written by those that were there, and in some families from memories passed down through generations. In just a few cases, soldiers who exchanged addresses continued to correspond after the war.

The story of the Christmas Truce became more widely generally known as it was featured within the media. In 1983, Paul McCartney included the story in his music video for his hit song Pipes of Peace. In 2014, to mark its centenary, the Christmas Truce featured in a Sainsbury’s Christmas commercial. In 2017, the Christmas Truce appeared as a plot twist within the BBC television Doctor Who Christmas special.

Summary

That Christmas in 1914, respect and friendship were shown on the front lines. Politics and nationalism began the First World War, but a typical religion briefly stopped it. Men from either side, with Catholic and Protestant heritage, shared a typical Christian tradition that Christmas was a holy day marking the birth of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).