Carols in the Trenches: The Tale of The 1914 Truce and How it was Eventually Ruined

by Maddox Starr (8th grade)

It was December 24, 1914. It was a cold winter's night in a wasteland on the western front. The War to End all Wars was raging on longer than expected. The two sides were in a stalemate. The war could have been over and the soldiers would have been able to go into a warm home, with their loved ones, enjoying their holiday. But it doesn’t matter. War is long, uncomfortable, and painful. Isn’t it?

In the muddy cold trenches, a British soldier hears a strong German accent articulating: “Have a Happy Christmas!” It wasn’t the end of the festivities after that. Soon after the greeting, the Germans sang in unison, “Silent Night” for all to hear. It was just the beginning of the unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914.

World War I began after the assassination of The Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The event somehow spiraled into a war with new weapons and new strategies. Wars were no longer fought like those in story books, with knights in shining armor fighting the wrongdoers. The first world war was a complicated mess filled with no black and white answers along the lines of good and bad. The powerful European leaders sent troops to fight as if it was a board game. It was truly just one group of countries fighting another. In other words, it was modern warfare.

 

The layout of the front line in World War I at that point was very rudimentary yet effective. It most notably consisted of trenches parallel to each other. The dug up trenches were an extremely key component of the war as it protected the soldiers from being attacked. The other key component of the layout was a long stretch of land that was between the two trenches. It was referred to as “No man's land” due to the fact that anyone in the area was in the range of fire.

Although the layout seemed very effective with defense, it still had many defects. Due to the wide open “No man’s  land”, there were no easy offensive moves which resulted in a stalemate between the two groups.

The war began in late July and was elongated due to less offensive actions in the trenches. Most soldiers believed it was a quick war that was easily settled before Christmas of 1914 although they unknowingly were only fighting in the beginning; for they would face four more years of misery filled with horror stories, more weapons, and poisonous gas.

When Christmas soon arrived, the soldier's patriotism and willingness to fight for their country heavily declined. With low moral and terrible conditions, most soldiers wanted peace. Perhaps their wish was granted.

During Christmas day and Christmas Eve, there were specific orders from officers at certain fonts to cease fire for a day of peace. The orders could have come deeply from the heart, for an urge of peace while other officers and soldiers listened to the advice of Pope Benedict XV. But even more specifically, there were even certain battlefields where more magical and heartwarming events occurred.

Christmas was a very important holiday for the Germans specifically. Christmas was so important that to boost morale, William II, the leader of Germany, gifted Christmas trees to a front.

So what happens when a very jolly group of Germans in trenches celebrate their favorite holiday? Caroling of course! Multiple soldiers who fought for the British during World War I recalled that during the night of Christmas Eve, the Germans began singing.

When singing began throughout the battlefields in Europe by the Germans, many groups drowned the sound out by shooting machine guns at their opponents but for some British soldiers, they trusted the Germans. A small number of British troops were reasonably nervous at first but slowly warmed up. 

One specific story told by an English soldier began when the Germans began yelling to the British with their best English pronunciation, “Come out, English soldier; come out here to us.” What the Germans were asking was nerve racking. Should the British risk their lives by walking through “No man’s land?” The British compromised with the Germans by both agreeing to meet in the middle of the open plain. 

Somehow, throughout all of Europe, many Germans convinced many British to meet in “No man’s land” When the both groups met in the middle, there was no fight, no gunshot, no threatening. All that occurred was peace. One British soldier remarked later: “Here they were—the actual, practical soldiers of the German army. There was not an atom of hate on either side.”

Peace on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day included a variety of unofficial events. British soldiers claimed that they helped the Germans to properly bury their dead. One of the most interesting events that occurred during the unofficial truce was a simple yet pleasant meet and greet between the soldiers. The people they fought against the day before were now somewhat friendly to each other. Each battlefield differed on what was exchanged but the main exchanges included trading their cigarettes and alcohol as “gifts.”

Some stories also argue that there was a soccer game between the Germans and British. The story however has never been fully proven or denied.

Tangible items or a game were a small part of the greeting as most soldiers tried to socialize with one another. Many soldiers on opposite sides displayed pictures or talked about their spouses and children to each other. The bonding that occurred not only shows peace, but turns an “enemy” into an actual human being with feelings.

Unfortunately, the unofficial truces had to end. Some two days, while others last from Christmas Eve up until the new year. As one German said to a British soldier when the festivity’s ending was near: “Today we have peace. Tomorrow, you fight for your country, I fight for mine. Good luck.” This of course showed that even though the soldiers were going back to fighting, they understood that they had to and didn’t have a choice.

The Christmas Truce of 1914 was not only an interesting footnote in history, but evidence that it is possible, even during times of war, peace is an option between human beings. World War I of course was not a war on ethics as it was for World War II where peace would have been almost impossible due to mass genocides. Regardless of how peaceful the truce was, leaders on both sides of the war deeply made sure that an unofficial truce could ever happen again.