This is one of my favorite historical moments, though I’m sure my view of it is romanticized. Just groups of people in the middle of likely the most horrific scenes they’d ever witness, just saying enough is enough and throwing down their nationalism and instead embracing a spirit of brotherhood. It must have been the most surrealistic thing.
Rifleman E. E. Meadley - Queen’s Westminsters:
“You will be very much surprised to hear I had one of the best Christmas Days I have had for years. On Christmas Eve I went to the trenches and the Germans were singing carols to our men and we were singing to them. They then shouted to us 'A Merry Christmas, British comrades. You English are fine singers.” After that some of our men went out and met some of the Germans halfway. One of our chaps gave a German a Christmas pudding and the Germans in return gave him a bottle of wine and some cigars. Then they arranged that there should be no shooting on either side till after midnight on Christmas Day they kept to their promise. I must say the Germans were very sporty and wanted to arrange a football match with us for the Christmas afternoon which, however, when the time came fell through. On Christmas Day our men were walking about in front of the trenches and talking in a friendly way with the Germans and asking them how long they thought the war would last and also exchanging souvenirs. I myself was not in the front line but was engaged in carrying rations up to the trenches in the evening. At ordinary times this is a danger as you are fully exposed but as there was no shooting then it w all right. That night we had a bed each for the first time since July and for dinner we had a roast fowl and I managed to make a tolerably good Christmas pudding. These were followed by champagne and cigars. The people we were billeted with then brought out a gramophone which we had on the go all afternoon. I really had a very happy Christmas."
Unnamed account:
”I had a most extraordinary Christmas, and I have come to the conclusion that I would not have spent it out of the trenches for worlds. We went in on Christmas Eve, under the usual conditions of this sniping warfare, and carried on as usual during the night. As soon as it got light, however, the sniping died down on both sides, and by sunrise had ceased altogether. The complete silence was most weird, and I could not help thinking that this sort of mutual agreement would turn into an open truce. So it did. Encouraged by the absence of lead in the air, heads soon began popping up on both sides. Then came cat-calls, whistles and epithets, till finally one of the Huns stood up on his parapet and waved his hands. In five minutes the ground between the opposing trenches was full of Germans and —* Highlanders exchanging cigars for cigarettes, and many other small luxuries. I went out myself, with one other officer of my Company, and we fixed things up, as far as we were concerned, with the German officers opposite. We talked in French, since they could not talk our ‘lingo’ nor we their’s. I enclose a photo** of two fellows (a postcard portrait of two German soldiers, presented by themselves) by way of a souvenir of a most weird proceeding. They told me it was taken at Lille, and I have written below what I understood their names to be. The funny part of the whole show was that we were in the trenches all Saturday and Sunday, and, when we left the truce was still continuing. Up to the time we left not a shot had been fired by either side. Though there were no more meetings, both sides used to walk about their parapets, and men could do up their barbed wire just as if they were putting up a fence round their gardens at home.”
Fred Langton, dispatch rider:
“The following incidents will give you an idea of how some of our Tommies spent Christmas Day. The Scots Guards and the Germans opposite, by mutual consent, mixed freely with each other. They exchanged addresses, and promised to write to each other - a typical habit of Tommy’s. Two of the German officers took dinner with our two officers, and before they left arranged to play a football match on New Year Day. Six of the Worcesters had lunch in the German lines, and the same number of Germans had lunch in ours. Before parting, it was arranged that before firing recommenced on either side three volleys should be fired in the air. A week from now these men on both sides will be doing almost unspeakable things in order to kill each other.”
Frank Wrentmore - Somerset Light Infantry:
“I suppose you want to know how the boys are getting on here. It is very cold and freezing hard. We have had a lot of rain, so it has been very rough in the trenches. We have been up to our knees in water. We had a good skirmish on December 19, when we were successful in taking the trenches of the Germans opposed to us. We , however, had to retire from them because they were full of water so I suppose they were glad to leave them. We lost a lot of men in the skirmish - roughly speaking about six officers and 127 men killed…The Germans acted very well on Christmas Day. They helped us to bring in our dead, and we did the same for them. Some of theirs had been there two months. But under the circumstances we did well. The Germans and ourselves climbed out of the trenches and we shook hands with each other. We stopped firing from five o’clock until midnight, and we visited each other’s trenches…”
Rifleman C Ernest Furneaux - British Rifle Brigade:
“I must tell you how I spent Christmas Day. Of course you would think under difficulties, but as luck would have it we were very happy. About five o’clock on Christmas Eve the Germans started lighting up Christmas trees in their trenches. We took no notice of them until they began to sing. Then we began to cheer them and to talk to one another as we are only about 80 yards apart. So by the light of their searchlight our officers went across halfway and their officers came to meet them.They shook hands and conversed for a while. It was agreed that we should have a day off and they would fire the first shot to start again. So from five o’clock on Christmas Eve until ten o’clock this morning (December 26th) neither side has fired, only walked about. Some of the Germans came cross to us and we shook hands and had some chocolate and cigars from them. They seem pretty young, some of them. I had a nice dinner - made it myself - stew, potatoes, carrots turnips and meat, which we had out of a garden near by and of course pudding.”
For some reason these make me so sad. What happened after the Christmas truce? They went back to senseless slaughter.
They met, they laughed, they sang and shared, they saw each other’s humanity. And then they went straight back to murdering eachother. Given the insanity and absurdity of that, what hope is there for our species?
It is bittersweet overall, but to me, the inspiring part is that the soldiers themselves were good with throwing down their arms, understanding the position their opponents were in and seeing them as men in the same situation as them.
It was only the politicians and generals that ordered a return to fighting. It says to me most people are good, even when they’re put in a dangerous situation and told that being inhumane is the only way out. The people with power and ambition are the ones that want the fighting, but most of us would rather be friends.
I like this story too. It reminds me of Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Man He Killed” (apologies for screenshot, the formatting was too awkward to get right)(Text available here
Thanks for sharing. That was very fitting!
And when the sky darkens, and the prospect is war
Who’s given a gun and then pushed to the fore?
And expected to die, for the land of our birth
Though we’ve never a one lousy handful of earth
