World War l started on 28 July 1914, with the alliance of Hungary and Austria declaring war on Serbia, and ended on 11 November 1918. It has been described as one of the largest wars in history and more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised.  

The world’s greatest powers  -  commonly referred to as the Allies and the Central Powers  -  were involved and more than nine million combatants lost their lives during this four-year battle.

And out of the horror of war, comes the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when battle-weary soldiers on both sides decided to lay down their weapons to celebrate Christmas, after which they could resume killing each other.

On the evening of 24 December 1914, in the infamous Ypress salient on the Western Front along a distance of 27 miles, British troops were dug in with German troops opposite them, barely 70 yards away.  The battles had been fierce so far and both sides were cold, weary and homesick.  It was Christmas, a time to be with loved ones and here they were, entrenched in the ‘suicide ditches’.  What followed, was seen as a shining episode of sanity from the bloody chapters of World War l.

The British and Germans soldiers started eyeing each other in the dusk, especially when food parcels started arriving from various charity organisations and governments on both sides and before long a British captain waved a white flag with ‘Merry Christmas’ written on it and his German counterpart answered with ‘Thank you’, also written on a white flag.  

A German soldier crossed the stretch of land serving as no-man’s land bearing a chocolate cake and a letter requesting a truce to celebrate Christmas and before long Germans and Britons, exchanging gifts such as chocolate, butterscotch sweets, tobacco, cigars, warm clothing and beer, were fraternizing.  They also exchanged addresses, sang together, drank together, played soccer, shared their eats and even allowed the retrieval of the bodies of their fallen mates for decent burials.

Of course the whole exercise was frowned upon by the High Commands on both sides because fraternizing with the enemy was unheard of, but in spite of objections, the truce continued well into 1915, when it was ended by two shots again being fired into the air.

Romantics assert that the Christmas Truce of 1914 was instigated by sane men who wanted to end the slaughter.  Military-minded individuals claim that it was a ploy on both sides to gain more insight into each other’s strategies.

It is, however, comforting to know that regardless of the real reasoning and motives, these soldiers and officers, who were told to hate and kill, lowered their weapons to extend a hand of goodwill, peace and Christmas cheer.  FJ