The Christmas Truce of 1914

On Christmas Eve in 1914 the entrenched soldiers all along the Western Front laid down their arms in a gesture of peace. The truce lasted through Christmas Day and in some places went on for almost a week. At first the troops simply ceased fire, but soon there was singing as well as the exchange of rations. Slowly men began to come out of their trenches starting conversations with others from the opposite side in the midst of no man’s land.

As the truce went on the generals of the different sides became worried and angry. They could not understand why their men were all of a sudden fraternizing with the enemy. The soldiers were ordered back to fighting. Most of the soldiers, however, merely fired into the air and continued the truce.

On Christmas there was singing, sharing of food, music, and even games of football. Levels of celebration varied on the Western Front. While some sections openly celebrated, others merely kept an uncertain cease fire.

Even so it was the largest unsanctioned truce in history. Sadly the truce was not permanent. In the next two weeks all remaining truces were wiped out, and the two sides were pushed back to war. There would not be another Christmas truce in World War One, or any war to follow.