Christmas Truce of 1914

Jeff Green | Dec 20, 2012

What really happened in the trenches on Christmas Day in 1914?

Photo: The Christmas Truce 1914, December 26: German soldiers of the 134th Saxon Regiment photographed with men of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in No Man's Land on the Western Front.

History is not an exact science, and neither is journalism, and the true story of what happened in the Belgian trenches between German and British Forces in the late fall and on Christmas Eve in 1914, during the First World War, will never be completely known, and since it has been 98 years since that day, there is no one left alive who was really there.

But there were stories in the press at the time about some of the events, and accounts have been collected by historians and archivists, so we know that at a number of locations along the trench lines the fighting stopped, and there was singing, visiting, the exchange of gifts (cigarettes and chocolate in the main) and at least one makeshift soccer game took place.

At many locations enemy soldiers spent time celebrating Christmas together. The Christmas Truce of 1914 did happen

The website, firstworldwar.com addresses the difference between the myths that have sprung about what happened and the actual events:

“The reality of the Christmas Truce, however, is a less romantic and a more down to earth story than some of the fictionalized accounts that have become popular. It was an organic affair that in some spots hardly registered a mention and in others left a profound impact upon those who took part. Many accounts were rushed, confused or contradictory. Others, written long after the event, are weighed down by hindsight. These difficulties aside, the true story is still striking precisely because of its rag-tagged nature: it is more 'human' and therefore all the more potent.”

The trench warfare had begun earlier that year, and over the 27 mile front where the Germans and British were separated by as little as 30 yards. The reality of the stalemate that would eventually see the trenches become fortified and fixed in place as killing grounds for four long years had not yet sunk in for the soldiers involved, many of whom would not survive the coming winter.

The Christmas truce did not affect the fronts between the Germans and the French, as Germany had invaded France at the start of the war, or the eastern front between Germany and Russia, where the bitterness between the two sides was well established.

Accounts tell of how in certain parts of the 27 mile line there had already been informal agreements made to stop firing most days at breakfast time throughout the fall of 1914. As well, many of the British soldiers had been told that the war would likely end by Christmas, but by the time the 24th of December rolled around there was no sign of an end to the war and the weather had been unseasonably warm but very wet for weeks, leaving the trenches a muddy mess with bodies laying in the mud throughout the No Man's Land between the two trenches.

In the words of one soldier, Leslie Walkerton, as cited in about.com: “We hated their guts when they killed any of our friends; then we really did dislike them intensely. But otherwise we joked about them and I think they joked about us. And we thought, well, poor so-and-so's, they're in the same kind of muck as we are.”

As Christmas approached, the British troops received boxes from the King engraved with a likeness of his daughter Mary. These 'Princess Mary Boxes' were filled with loose tobacco, butterscotch, chocolate and cigarettes. German troops received presents from Kaiser Wilhelm.

On December 24th the rain turned to snow and then the weather cleared, and in the evening, at some parts of the trench line on the German, miniature lit trees, another gift from the Kaiser, appeared above the surface.

The stories vary about how the truces started. In some cases messages were sent from the German side proposing a truce, and in others, both sides began singing carols, and responding to singing on the other side.

At some point, in numerous locations, in ones and twos, soldiers climbed out of the trenches, exposing themselves to certain death if anyone on the opposite side decided to shoot, but no one did.

Both sides met in No Man's Land; they exchanged gifts, they talked as best they could; they took the opportunity to gather up their dead and bring them back to their side of the trench for burial.

As far as many of the soldiers were concerned, the truce was almost a surreal event.

"It was absolutely astounding, and if I had seen it on a cinematograph film I should have sworn that it was faked." wrote Lieutenant Sir Edward Hulse, 2nd Scots Guards.

"What a sight; little groups of Germans and British extending along the length of our front ... Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only a few hours before we were trying to kill" wrote Corporal John Ferguson of the Seaforth Highlanders.

Depending on what account is believed, there were one, or several, soccer games that took place. There may have been an organized matches, 11 to a side, which the Germans won 3-2, or more likely there was just a scrum with hundreds of soldiers struggling through frozen fields and bulky boots to play a game they remembered from their rapidly fleeing youth.

Returning to the business of war took place the next day in most locations, but in others the truce lingered to the new year and beyond, before the commanding officers behind the front lines regained control of the troops in the trenches. As we know, the war lumbered on for four long years, leaving 25 million people dead and setting the stage for another world war only 20 years later.

At Christmas time in 1915, 1916, and 1917 there were no repeats of the 1914 truce.

The war carried on unabated.