The Khaki Chum's Christmas Truce
1999
85 Years
Lest We Forget.
The "Christmas truce" is a term used to describe several brief unofficial cessations of hostilities that occurred on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day between German and British or French troops in World War I, particularly that between British and German troops stationed along the Western Front during Christmas 1914. A ceasefire (or truce) is a temporary stoppage of a War or any Armed conflict, where each side of the conflict agrees Christmas Eve, December 24, is the day before Christmas Day, the celebrated birthday of Jesus. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining In 1915 there was a similar Christmas truce between German and French troops, and during Easter 1916 a truce also existed on the Eastern Front. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and primarily Eastern Europe.
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French-German truce
In December 1915, “When the Christmas bells sounded in the villages of the Vosges behind the lines …. . something fantastically unmilitary occurred. German and French troops spontaneously made peace and ceased hostilities; they visited each other through disused trench tunnels, and exchanged wine, cognac and cigarettes for Westphalian black bread, biscuits and ham. This suited them so well that they remained good friends even after Christmas was over. ” From an account by Richard Schirrmann, who was in a German regiment holding a position on the Bernhardstein, one of the mountains of the Vosges, and separated from the French troops by a narrow no-man’s-land, described by him as “strewn with shattered trees, the ground ploughed up by shellfire, a wilderness of earth, tree-roots and tattered uniforms. Richard Schirrmann ( May 15 1874 - December 14 1961) was a German Teacher and founder of the first Youth hostel ” Military discipline was soon restored, but Schirrmann pondered over the incident, and whether “thoughtful young people of all countries could be provided with suitable meeting places where they could get to know each other. ” He went on to found the German Youth Hostel Association in 1919.
Informal armistice
During the first two years after the lines of the Western Front stabilized, other situations of informal armistice (i. e. armistice not imposed by high command), were recognized by both sides. According to anecdotes, inexperienced British commanders were astonished to find British and German forces both exposing themselves above the trench line within clear range of enemy guns. Artillery was often fired at precise points, at precise times, to avoid enemy casualties by both sides. Situations of deliberate dampening of hostilities also occurred by some accounts, e. g. , a volley of gunfire being exchanged after a misplaced mortar hit the British line, after which a German soldier shouted an apology to British forces, effectively stopping a hostile exchange of gunfire.
Legacy
The stories of this event have been told and retold in several media. British folk singer Mike Harding related the story in his song "Christmas 1914", as did American folk singer John McCutcheon in his "Christmas in the Trenches" and American country music singer Garth Brooks in his "Belleau Wood". Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is an English Singer, Comedian, Author, Poet and broadcaster. Wisconsin native John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American Folk music singer and Multi-instrumentalist " Christmas in the Trenches " is a melancholy Ballad from John McCutcheon's 1984 Album Winter Solstice. Troyal Garth Brooks, known professionally as Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music Singer-songwriter. In 1967, The Royal Guardsmen had a #1 hit with "Snoopy's Christmas", which relates a similar story through the struggle of Snoopy and The Red Baron. The Royal Guardsmen were a Rock band from Ocala Florida, a Sextet composed of Bill Balough ( bass) John Burdett ( drums) Chris Nunley " Snoopy's Christmas " is a song performed by The Royal Guardsmen in 1967. Snoopy is a Fictional character in the long-running Comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In 1999, the so-called "Khaki Chums" (officially: The Association for Military Remembrance) visited a region of Flanders and recreated the Christmas truce. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. They lived as the World War I British soldiers had lived, with no modern conveniences. It also provided the inspiration for "All Together Now", a 1990 song by The Farm which has become a football anthem, often re-released at times of national tournaments. " All Together Now " is a song by Liverpudlian pop band The Farm from their album Spartacus, and is said to link many of the band's The Farm is a band from Liverpool, England. They were popular through the early 1990s
Paul McCartney's video from the title song of the album Pipes of Peace shows a meeting between two officers, one British and one German (both played by McCartney), exchanging pictures of their respective families. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, Pipes of Peace is an album by Paul McCartney released in 1983 When the truce breaks, and they rush back to their own foxholes, they realize they still have each other's pictures.
The Truce is dramatized in the 2005 French film Joyeux Noël (The film was nominated for "Best Foreign Language Film" category at the 78th Academy Awards). Joyeux Noël ( English: Merry Christmas) ( 2005) is a film about the World War I Christmas truce of December The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars handed out annually by the U The 78th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were held on March 5 2006 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood California The Christmas Truce was also briefly portrayed in Richard Attenborough's 1969 film Oh What a Lovely War. Richard Samuel Attenborough Baron Attenborough Oh! What a Lovely War is Stage musical and 1969 Musical film.
A number of books have been written on the Christmas Truce, including Stanley Weintraub's Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, which chronicles the event itself from first hand accounts. Stanley Weintraub (born April 17 1929 is a Professor, Historian, and Biographer. Harry Turtledove included the Christmas truce in his alternate history of the First World War where the war also takes place in North America. Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14 1949) is an American historian and novelist who has written Historical fiction, Fantasy, and Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction
Similar events are depicted in William Wharton's autobiographical novel of World War II, A Midnight Clear (ISBN 1-55704-257-8, filmed in 1992) and the truce was referred to in an episode of the science fiction TV drama, Space: Above and Beyond. William Wharton (b 1925 7 November) the Pen name of the author Albert Du Aime, is an American -born Author best known World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Space Above and Beyond (abbreviated as SAAB) was a short-lived 1990s American Science fiction Television show on the
In the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the protagonists discuss events of the past that led them to their current situation, including the Christmas Truce. " Goodbyeee " is the title of the final episode of the BBC One sitcom Blackadder Goes Forth and was originally the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC Situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis Captain Blackadder was apparently still sore over being ruled offside during a football game with the Germans. Captain Edmund Blackadder was the main Fictional character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC Sitcom Blackadder, He also cynically muses that "Both sides advanced further during one Christmas piss-up than they did in the next two-and-a half years of war. "
On 21 November 2005, the last remaining Allied veteran of the truce, Alfred Anderson, died in Newtyle, Scotland at the age of 109. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alfred Anderson ( June 25, 1896 – November 21, 2005) was a Scottish Joiner and veteran of the First World War Newtyle is a Village in the west of Angus, Scotland.It lies 11 miles to the north of Dundee in the south west of Strathmore, between Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. [1]
Christmas Truce Letter
On November 7, 2006, singer Chris de Burgh paid £14,400 at Bonhams auction house for an original 10 page letter from an unknown British soldier that records events and incidents with the Germans on that night describing "the most memorable Christmas I've ever spent". Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Chris de Burgh (born Christopher John Davison on 15 October 1948 is a half Irish musician and songwriter who holds British nationality.
The letter begins:
This will be the most memorable Christmas I've ever spent or likely to spend: since about tea time yesterday I don't think theres been a shot fired on either side up to now. Last night turned a very clear frost moonlight night, so soon after dusk we had some decent fires going and had a few carols and songs. The Germans commenced by placing lights all along the edge of their trenches and coming over to us—wishing us a Happy Christmas etc. They also gave us a few songs etc. so we had quite a social party. Several of them can speak English very well so we had a few conversations. Some of our chaps went to over to their lines. I think theyve all come back bar one from 'E' Co. They no doubt kept him as a souvenir. In spite of our fires etc. it was terribly cold and a job to sleep between look out duties, which are two hours in every six.
First thing this morning it was very foggy. So we stood to arms a little longer than usual. A few of us that were lucky could go to Holy Communion early this morning. It was celebrated in a ruined farm about 500 yds behind us. I unfortunately couldn't go. There must be something in the spirit of Christmas as to day we are all on top of our trenches running about. Whereas other days we have to keep our heads well down. We had breakfast about 8. 0 which went down alright especially some cocoa we made. We also had some of the post this morning. I had a parcel from B. G's Lace Dept containing a sweater, smokes, under clothes etc. We also had a card from the Queen, which I am sending back to you to look after please. After breakfast we had a game of football at the back of our trenches! We've had a few Germans over to see us this morning. They also sent a party over to bury a sniper we shot in the week. He was about a 100 yds from our trench. A few of our fellows went out and helped to bury him.
About 10. 30 we had a short church parade the morning service etc. held in the trench. How we did sing. 'O come all ye faithful. And While shepherds watched their flocks by night' were the hymns we had. At present we are cooking our Christmas Dinner! so will finish this letter later.
Dinner is over! and well we enjoyed it. Our dinner party started off with fried bacon and dip-bread: followed by hot Xmas Pudding. I had a mascot in my piece. Next item on the menu was muscatels and almonds, oranges, bananas, chocolate etc followed by cocoa and smokes. You can guess we thought of the dinners at home. Just before dinner I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several Germans: a party of them came 1/2way over to us so several of us went out to them. I exchanged one of my balaclavas for a hat. I've also got a button off one of their tunics. We also exchanged smokes etc. and had a decent chat. They say they won't fire tomorrow if we don't so I suppose we shall get a bit of a holiday—perhaps. After exchanging autographs and them wishing us a Happy New Year we departed and came back and had our dinner.
We can hardly believe that we've been firing at them for the last week or two—it all seems so strange. At present its freezing hard and everything is covered with ice…
The letter ends:
There are plenty of huge shell holes in front of our trenches, also pieces of shrapnel to be found. I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day and I don't suppose you thought of us doing so. So after a fashion we've enjoyed? our Christmas. Hoping you spend a happy time also George Boy as well. How we thought of England during the day. Kind regards to all the neighbours. With much love from Boy.
References
- Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton; Christmas Truce: The Western Front, 1914 (1984)
- Stanley Weintraub; Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce (2001) (Extracts were reprinted in Military History Quarterly*.
- David Brown; Washington Post, December 25, 2004; Remembering a Victory for Human Kindness; W. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D W. I’s Puzzling, Poignant Christmas Truce
- Thomas Vinciguerra; New York Times, December 25, 2005; The Truce of Christmas, 1914
- Richard Schirrmann: The first youth hosteller: A biographical sketch by Graham Heath (1962, International Youth Hostel Association, Copenhagen, in English). Richard Schirrmann ( May 15 1874 - December 14 1961) was a German Teacher and founder of the first Youth hostel
Notes
Michael Jürgs "Der kleine Frieden im Großen Krieg" (Bertelsmann, München)
External links
- Listen online – The Story of the Unofficial Christmas Truce of WW I - The American Storyteller Radio Journal
- Page from firstworldwar.com
- Report on the Khaki Chums reenactment
- Hellfire Corner — the Christmas Truce
- Q: World War I — The Christmas truce of 1914
- The Heritage Of The Great War article: Demystifying the Christmas Truce
- Christmas Truce 90th Anniversary article
- IMDb entry on fictional film Joyeux Noel based on the event
- Motion picture based on the events of the Christmas Truce
- Christmas in the Trenches, a poem and folk song by John McCutcheon
- [1]A article of Alfred Anderson
- Letters written by participants in the truce, from a project to transcribe all such letters published in regional UK papers
- The lyrics and sheet music to "Christmas in the Trenches," directly from songwriter John McCutcheon's website
- First-hand account of Bruce Bairnsfather, Chap.8 of Bullets & Billets
- Rothstein, Peter All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 -- Performance of the piece by Cantus
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