Around Christmas 1914 on the Western Front, the shooting stopped. German soldiers put candles and Christmas trees on their trenches and sang carols. The British sang back, and the two sides shouted greetings across No Man’s Land.
Then men climbed out and met in the middle. They swapped food, tobacco, drink and souvenirs like buttons, buried their dead and held services together. Some say they even played football, though historians still argue about that. Roughly 100,000 men took part.
Their commanders banned it. In December 1915, raids and barrages were ordered to stop it happening again, and only a few brief truces took place. “I wouldn’t have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything,” wrote Bruce Bairnsfather, who was there.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- The truce took place on the Western Front, mainly on December 24–25, 1914; roughly 100,000 British and German troops took part. 1
- Germans put candles on their trenches and on Christmas trees and sang carols; the British answered with carols, and greetings were shouted across. 1
- Soldiers crossed No Man’s Land and exchanged food, tobacco, alcohol and souvenirs such as buttons; there were burial parties and joint services. 1
- Whether they played football is disputed, so the Short says only “Some say they even played football.” 1
- Commanders forbade fraternization. In December 1915, raids and barrages were ordered to prevent a repeat, and only a few brief truces happened. 1
- “I wouldn’t have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything.” (Bruce Bairnsfather) 1
Sources
- Christmas truce Wikipedia
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
All the photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, music, captions and graphics in the Short are our own.
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