War Diaries Talk

armistice to collect the wounded

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    How did they agree to respect a ceasefire to collect the wounded?

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    They would apparently come to an agreement that would be of an advantage to both sides not just for collecting the wounded but also the dead. Possibly agreeing to 'no fire' on both sides, when this operation was carried out.

    See the following article and photos regarding both: "Whenever possible, bodies were recovered and buried, both out of respect and also to avoid the spread of disease. There is also evidence that both sides buried each other's dead, and here are photos of British dead having been recovered for burial and also the bottom photo in post # 12 is one of the Germans burying British dead.

    Link: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?/topic/201359-battlefield-recovery-of-dead-soldiers/

    Posted

  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be in response to marie.eklidvirginmedia.com's comment.

    Have you any idea how such a ceasefire was organized? How did they communicate with each other ( men should not be armed Image AWD0003gvd )? Did they just shout to each other?

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  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    I'm not entirely sure how the troops in the line made these agreements. This page you posted says that the enemy offered an armistice. I suppose they put up signs or yelled across No Man's Land. Maybe even sent someone over under a flag of truce?

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  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    I think most of these things would probably have started with shouted exchanges.

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  • erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be by erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be

    I suppose that both German and British soldiers were jointly active in No Man's Land during that ceasefire and probably they had some kind of supervisors because one British officer was taken prisoner because against all agreements he carried his revolver. No report of any opposition (only a "it appears" in the diary) of the British. That would certainly have meant the end of the ceasefire.

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    Yes - there are even some photos of them together in the IWM collections, although mostly from the early part of the war. Fraternisation was strongly discouraged as the war progressed. Most ceasefires were very local ones - I've never heard of somebody being taken prisoner in the way you mention, but I can see why it would have happened.

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  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    One of posts in the Invision Thread that Marie posted the link to talks about a case where a British stretcher bearer was allowed to bring in several wounded men without interference but as soon as he touched a machine gun, the Germans shot him.

    There are also several photos posted in that thread.

    Posted

  • Stork by Stork

    I tagged a diary in which a British officer was shot dead because he had a weapon on him at a cease-fire to collect dead + wounded. I also remember one of these cease-fires starting off with the enemy waving a white flag, then shouting across No Man's Land.

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