War Diaries Talk

Christmas 1914: truce, football match and visits to the enemy

  • weejock by weejock

    moving read celebrating christmas or trying to also enjoying a football match between sides

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  • BewareofCrisps by BewareofCrisps

    Incredible to see a primary source for such a phenomenon. Is this the original diary entry for the now famous football match? Incredible if so.

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  • simonedi by simonedi moderator

    Could be the famous football match but there were a few, almost entirely a 1914 phenominon though

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  • trevor999 by trevor999

    I've heard of this before, football matches in no-mans-land and crossing lines to exchange gifts with enemy. It was quickly ended when High Command found out. I would agree that it was a 1914 phenomenon.

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  • ChrisKemp by ChrisKemp scientist

    Small localised truces endured off and on in various places throughout the war. Most of them were very much a sort of 'live and let live' deal without too much actual meeting or fraternisation. The playing of football matches etc were very much a 1914 phenomenon I think. The assorted High Commands were pretty angry about it all and used to schedule artillery bombardments for the days around Christmas in future to discourage it. Also after the Somme and Verdun in 1916 the general desire to do something like this had largely subsided.

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  • simonedi by simonedi moderator

    I do recall reading about short term and very localised cease fires for recovery of the dead and so on but not sure how widespread or common these were, might be worth keeping an eye out for as well

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  • woollamc by woollamc

    1st North Staffords:

    Christmas Day 1914: "Not a shot fired. Germans bury their dead and our men go and help. Baccy and cigars exchanged and Germans and our men walk about in the open together!!"

    Easter Day (4 April) 1915: "Germans try to make overtures for peace but we fire on them. They put up flags of all colours and white flags as well".

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  • Cameronian_Volunteer by Cameronian_Volunteer

    1/5th Battalion Scottish Rifles has:

    25th Dec Xmas day: "Very little sniping, almost an understanding not to fire, but one man killed by a sniper."

    The brigade was relieved the following day. It would be interesting to establish how often this happened, as there is no doubt, as Chris Kemp says, that the High Command did not approve.

    There are some excellent books about the Xmas truce and I know the museum in Ypres have a number of photographs as part of their exhibition.

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  • Jan_Greenslade by Jan_Greenslade

    There is a large collection of contemporary letters, reports and photos from English and German Officers and men who actually took part in the Xmas 1914 truce [not hearsay], plus orders and memoranda from the 'top brass' , in the book Christmas Truce by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton, well worth a read. I'm a bit late commenting on this topic but only just become aware of the book. Jan

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

    Illustration showing the Christmas Peace with link below in the Illustrated London News 1915: I also read this book quite a while ago. The illustrations are very good. I particularly liked the one on page 70, an illustration from 'The Illustrated London News Saturday 9th January 1915' entitled 'The Light of Peace in the trenches on Christmas Eve (A German soldier opens the spontaneous truce by approaching the British lines with a small Christmas tree)'. The paper has a price of sixpence. Here is a link to the illustration in question: http://blog.londonlibrary.co.uk/?p=10761

    Here is another link regarding the Christmas Truce which is worth reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

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  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    Thanks Jan and Marie. It's always fascinating to get an insight into the more humanising aspects of the First World War.

    In many cases, the localised truces continued on well into the new year and only ended when the units involved were rotated out of the front line.

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