Usually the stories I write about here are fiction...but this one is for real, a bit of history from the First World War. Weintraub's book does an admirable job of telling the story of the Christmas Truce, using letters and newspaper reports of the time, with plates featuring cartoons and photographs of the phenomenon.
When it comes to the complex causes of WWI aka The Great War, I'm about as clueless as Baldrick ("No, there was definitely something about an ostrich..."). Well, probably a lot of the chaps in the trenches were no more informed of the big picture themselves. It seems to have been the front-line Germans and their Christmas trees who initiated the truce. Here is an excerpt from a Great War website:
""It is thought possible that the enemy may be contemplating an attack during Xmas or New Year. Special vigilance will be maintained during these periods." --From General Headquarters at St. Omer - to all units24th December, 1914.
This message came from the Headquarters of Sir John French and was sent to all British Units in France and Flanders on Christmas Eve, 1914. It may be that Sir John ought to be taken at his word, and that there really was a considered possibility of some kind of German attack coming over the Christmas period. But there may have been a hidden message - that Sir John had considered the possibility of some show of friendliness at Christmas and had taken steps to give advance notice of HQ's disapproval of any such thing.
Far from wishing to attack, some Germans seemed inclined to make Christmas a quiet period, in which they could enjoy memories of home. The Germans had originated the tradition of bringing Christmas trees into their houses and decorating them, a practice which was introduced into England by Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert. In 1914 the practice was still not as widespread in the UK as it was in Germany. The Germans had brought Christmas trees into their trenches and dugouts in various places, and had decorated some parts of their parapet. Leutnant Johannes Niemann, 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment refers to having a Christmas tree in his dugout, and mentions also that the soldiers had hung little Christmas trees above their trenches, complete with candles. The Scottish troops opposite him, seeing the lights and being mindful of the general order issued the day before, suspected an imminent attack and began firing. No attack came, of course, and things settled down soon afterwards." __________________________________________________
Next thing you knew, in many locations along the trenches that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border, soldiers were singing carols, calling greetings across No-Man's Land, even stepping out to shake hands and exchange small gifts like food and tobacco.
A major concern of both sides was the burial of the dead who lay in the No-Man's Land between the lines. But perhaps the most charming
of the complex of stories about the truce is that of the Christmas Day football game, told in the picture book War Game by Michael Foreman (who also illustrated a fine edition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol)
When it comes to the complex causes of WWI aka The Great War, I'm about as clueless as Baldrick ("No, there was definitely something about an ostrich..."). Well, probably a lot of the chaps in the trenches were no more informed of the big picture themselves. It seems to have been the front-line Germans and their Christmas trees who initiated the truce. Here is an excerpt from a Great War website:
""It is thought possible that the enemy may be contemplating an attack during Xmas or New Year. Special vigilance will be maintained during these periods." --From General Headquarters at St. Omer - to all units24th December, 1914.
This message came from the Headquarters of Sir John French and was sent to all British Units in France and Flanders on Christmas Eve, 1914. It may be that Sir John ought to be taken at his word, and that there really was a considered possibility of some kind of German attack coming over the Christmas period. But there may have been a hidden message - that Sir John had considered the possibility of some show of friendliness at Christmas and had taken steps to give advance notice of HQ's disapproval of any such thing.
Far from wishing to attack, some Germans seemed inclined to make Christmas a quiet period, in which they could enjoy memories of home. The Germans had originated the tradition of bringing Christmas trees into their houses and decorating them, a practice which was introduced into England by Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert. In 1914 the practice was still not as widespread in the UK as it was in Germany. The Germans had brought Christmas trees into their trenches and dugouts in various places, and had decorated some parts of their parapet. Leutnant Johannes Niemann, 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment refers to having a Christmas tree in his dugout, and mentions also that the soldiers had hung little Christmas trees above their trenches, complete with candles. The Scottish troops opposite him, seeing the lights and being mindful of the general order issued the day before, suspected an imminent attack and began firing. No attack came, of course, and things settled down soon afterwards." __________________________________________________
Next thing you knew, in many locations along the trenches that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border, soldiers were singing carols, calling greetings across No-Man's Land, even stepping out to shake hands and exchange small gifts like food and tobacco.
A major concern of both sides was the burial of the dead who lay in the No-Man's Land between the lines. But perhaps the most charming
of the complex of stories about the truce is that of the Christmas Day football game, told in the picture book War Game by Michael Foreman (who also illustrated a fine edition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol)
From war to play, even just for a single day.....the surprising power of Christmas.
