"We are all, we are all, we are all
We are all friends!
And today we are brothers, tonight we are friends
A moment of peace in a war that never ends
Today we are brothers, we drink and unite
Now Christmas has arrived, and the snow turns the ground white"
-"Christmas Truce" performed by Sabaton, 2021
In this momentous time, two weeks away from Christmas as per time of writing, I am following up on the story about moments in world wars where humanity is deemed intact in the midst of hell created by the fighting and violence. In the previous instalment, I talked about two pilots from the opposite sides who ended up befriended each other after the war was over. This time around, I'm going to explore a bigger event, one that is still celebrated as part of the memorials to the lives lost during the first world war, and it actually happened during Christmas.
By this point, we all know in what war this event took place in. The first world war erupted as a result of many diplomatic tensions after an assassination job that cost the Austro-Hungarian Empire their heir to the throne. After months of repeated diplomatic events to defuse the situation, war is eventually inevitable, and countries soon mobilize their forces across all fronts. The war itself was fought mainly at the Western Front and the Eastern Front.
But towards the end of 1914, stalemates had occurred all because of the trench warfare, a fairly new system at the time. Soldiers would dig up pits that can stretch up to several kilometers, and that was their place to sleep and eat. Soldiers come and go, those who fought the initial battles over the summer were mostly dead, heavily, or moderately wounded, or imprisoned, and at this point, countries rely on conscripted men in order to keep up with ever changing condition. These young boys practically knew nothing about the situation that they signed up for, as they must deal with hostile condition, enemy fire, and diseases and pandemics (the Spanish flu pandemic took place around the time of the first world war).
Granted, the morale among the soldiers were at all-time low, as they realize the severity of the situation that they must deal with on a day-to-day basis. During this time, death doesn't even come in the form of an enemy barrage, but it can also come from cold temperatures, lice infestations, and other diseases. It was also noted that minor truces began to form all over no man's land. The so called "gentlemen's code" is basically a live and let live scenario, or nowadays called the "rules of engagement", which implicitly states that you must not engage unless you are being engaged upon. Such agreement was used by troops on either side to repair their equipment and bury their fallen comrade. This can also expand to codes that would alert the other side of an upcoming bombardment. Shots and grenades were deliberately fired off to the sides, and sometime, several troops would emerge out of the trenches unarmed with their hands above their head.
The date was 24th of December 1914, it was a relatively busy day at the Western Front, where the German army, as part of the Central powers squared off against the allied forces, which consists of mostly French and British soldier. At the same time, Christmas presents started to arrive, mostly letters from home and some sweets, beverages, and cigars. But it was the event on Christmas Eve that would kickstart the truce itself. During the day, some troops were reportedly passing each other with no intention to harm, but instead involved in short conversations. Some high-ranking officers on either side even discussed a possible Christmas day ceasefire. The readers of the Christian faith must be familiar with some Christmas songs like O Holy Night or Silent Night. The latter was actually sung by the Germans in their native tongue, Stille Nacht (Side note, Stille Nacht is actually originated from Germany). This prompted the curious Allied Soldiers to inspect the other side of no man's land. Soon after, a friendly sing-off erupted between two sides, with each trench dressed to the occasion with small Christmas trees.
Then as dawn broke on the 25th of December, instead of barrage of bullets, it was silence, a deafening silence. Some brave souls eventually started to emerge from the trenches, some of them unarmed, some still carrying weapons. Furthermore, they were banned from activities that would insinuate a clear intention of harm, like erecting barbed wires, repair their trenches, or even worse, calling out a strike. At first, small talks were occurred, but it soon evolved to full blown Christmas parties and sing-offs, involving soldiers exchanging gifts, sweets, cigarettes, and even booze. And don't forget the Christmas masses and funeral processions for their fallen friends.
You might be wondering, why this event is etched as the most memorable humane moments during the first world war, and the answer is the Christmas Truce Football Match. Some accounts detailed a football match of some sort breaking out along the lines, with most of them stated that the Brits initiated those games with a normal kickabout. Soon, stretchers normally used to carry wounded men were transformed into goalposts, and a football match began between England against Germany, played in No man's land Arena. One account stated that in that game, they lost to the Germans by 3 goals to 2.
Of course, in the midst of the joy, there are some detractors that refused to take part in the truce and chose to remain inside their trenches. Some officers, like a certain future dictator reported this event to the higher-ups, claiming that fraternization between enemies is considered as an act of treason. And as the news traveled through the chain of command, Commanders on both sides quickly establish a new law that would discourage soldiers from forming future truces. And from then on, from gas warfare, America's eventual involvement in the war, all the way to the treaty of Versailles, there was only one Christmas Truce, and it was happened on the Western Front on 24 to 25 December 1914. And let me tell you, even as the news outlets at the time moved as fast as they could to censor the news, the story of the Christmas Truce remains as one of those moments in history, where humanity prevails, even just for one day in the midst of extreme inhumanity.
When I first wrote about Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler, this is the other story that I was referring when I said that I would keep the other story until the appropriate time arrived. I am not a Christian, but irrespective of religion, there must be unity and no division, peace instead of war, and harmony instead of chaos. We remember those who fought for their countries, especially those who participated in this truce.
"A Christmas on the frontline, we walk among our friends
We don't think about tomorrow, the battle will commence
When we celebrated Christmas, we thought about our friends
Those who never made it home when the battle had commenced"
-"Christmas Truce" performed by Sabaton, 2021
