The Christmas Truce of 1914

On the outbreak of World War I in 1914, a good number of people thought it would be concluded by Xmas. Patriotic teenage men were keen to enlist in the army as soon as possible as they feared they would lose out on the fighting. Regardless, history has demonstrated that their positive outlook was misdirected as the war would not cease right up until 1918. The German advance was stopped at the First Battle of Marne and the race for the sea started out as the Allies and Germans both dug in. It was the beginning of the trench warfare of the Western Front.

The outcome was lines of trenches going from the North Sea to Switzerland along a 440 mile front. The battle lines moved hardly at all as a war of attrition broke out. Initial trenches weren’t well made and were susceptible to cave in. Even by trench warfare standards, 1914 was pretty horrific. As winter approached, the boys on the front line realised that the war wouldn’t be finished by Xmas after all.

The Western Front ran through both Belgium and France with men from France, Belgium and Great Britain guarding different sectors. In some sectors, the German trenches were not more than 30 yards away. Being in such close proximity allowed the infantry to call to their opponents or even hold up signs. On the German belt buckles was the inscription “Gott Mitt Uns” (God is with us). The British reply was “We’ve got mittens too”. Some of the verbal exchanges were a bit more black humour. A volley of shots would lead to the reply “Missed” or “Left a bit”.

Even so, it was these exchanges that laid the foundations of a handful of amazing scenes across the Western Front on 24th December 1914. The Germans celebrate Christmas on the 24th as opposed to UK and France who celebrate on the 25th). The weather had improved and on the 24th, the voices from the German trenches were different. They began singing carols and placed Xmas Trees across their trenches. Infantry began calling to each other and in due course, some embarked into no mans land where they chatted and exchanged cigarettes, food and souvenirs. Stories of the truce may differ a lot as there were in fact a number of truces up and down the lines. They were principally in the parts manned by the British as the Germans had occupied Belgium and French soil so the Christmas spirit was less in evidence amongst these soldiers.

The Christmas Creasefire of 1914 was unofficial but as many as 100,000 soldiers were believed to have been involved. As well as fraternisation, the chance was also taken to recover and bury the dead. One of the most notable parts of the truce was the football match between the British and Germans. There are a number of conflicting stories concerning the match with an array of finals scores. This would suggest there were various games at several locations.

The duration the truce lasted also varied but generally, it was over on Christmas Day. Often, hostilities started again by mutual arrangement. In one case, on the morning of the 26th December 1914, Captain Stockwell of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers fired into the air and stood above the parapet. His opposite number in the German trench also stood up, they saluted and stepped down. Captain Stockwell heard the German fire a couple of shots into the air and World War I started again. Suffice to say, the Xmas Ceasefire was very much against the wishes of British commanders and in the following years, artillery barrages were ordered for Xmas Eve.

In 2008, a plaque to the Christmas Ceasefire on the Western Front was unveiled at the village on Frelinghen and was the 1st memorial to the incidents of Xmas 1914. The legacy the truce left behind is substantial with a number of books being written and published and it was also the inspiration for various songs.