A Christmas Truce to Remember

Host Kit Crumb tells the very real story of a Christmas Truce.

Transcript

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Welcome to Kitts Myths and Mysteries, listened to in all 50 states and 39 countries. Stories from a world you thought you knew. Well, with all the wars going on, or at least Iran and the United States and Israel, and of course Russia bombing Ukraine, I thought I'd dig into my Christmas archives and find something a little more upbeat. In the United States during the 1960s, when protests against the Vietnam War crossed the country, there were many slogans passed around among protesters. One that sticks in the mind of those of a certain age. What if leaders declared war but nobody showed up to fight? Of course that would never happen, or would it? It's not uncommon to hear on the news of a truce in the Middle East for Christmas, but one side or the other always breaks the truce. But that hasn't always been the case. In 1914, a conflict that involved France, Germany, and England would soon involve thirty-nine countries and earned the tag World War I. It was called the War to End All War. The conflict killed over 16 million soldiers and civilians. It was fought on every continent in the world except Antarctica and was the largest war in history. The term no man's land referred to an area belonging to no country that countries were fighting over, of course. No Man's Land was often the area between trench systems. It often ranged from several hundred yards between the trenches and ten yards. The barren space was often crisscrossed with barbed wire and riddled with heavy machine gun fire. The earth was nothing but a series of craters. It was a dangerous place and it had to be crossed to advance. It was littered with bodies of soldiers and often bodies of stretcher bears that tried to retrieve the wounded. Early in the war, as the new year of 1915 approached, something strange happened. Orders were slow to come from Germany, French, and English leaders. There was a lull in the fighting. It was on Christmas Eve that the men crawled out of their trenches. The fighting in many areas was separated by less than ten yards. Men called out Christmas greetings, and soon soldiers crowded out onto no man's land. But it didn't end there. The men exchanged food, souvenirs, and in one area a game of soccer broke out between the French and German soldiers. There were joint burial ceremonies, prisoner swaps, several meetings of soldiers actually ended in carol singing. In some cases, headgear and weapons were exchanged. It is marked in history as a Christmas truce of 1914. The following year a few units arranged ceasefires, but these were not nearly as widespread due to strongly worded orders from high commanders prohibiting truce. From that time the war became increasingly bitter and the death toll rose, but it was not uncommon where infantry separated by just a few yards would stop overtly aggressive attacks and engage in small scale fraternization, allowing men on both sides to rest, often bartering for cigarettes and food rations. Roughly one hundred thousand British and German troops were involved in that famous unofficial ceasefire on the Christmas of 1914. One captain described the ceasefire in a letter to his daughter as follows. The Germans placed candles on their trenches and began singing Christmas carols. The British responded by singing carols of their own. The two sides began shouting Christmas greetings at each other. Soon men from both sides emerged from their trenches. Artillery fell silent. It was a scene I will never forget. Letters home attempted to explain the truce to loved ones, and so it was in the early days of the war to end all wars that those sent out to the most hostile Western Front to fight decided on Christmas Eve that they would rather sing carols and exchange gifts, and indeed they did. The Christmas truce of nineteen fourteen. This is Kit Crumb. Thanks for listening.