A Corner of a Foreign Field – British Military History with Mark Wheatcroft.

Welcome to my new series on the American Civil War and UK History, for those of you who don’t know me I am one of Daz’s contributors who focuses on British History. I decided that I wanted to write a regular feature for the website and what better subject than one of my favourites; British Military History. I would like to publish an article at least once a week however I work weird hours and days so I will try to get something during each rest day spell. Now onto this week’s article, and with It being Christmas there is only one place to start.

The Christmas Truce.

‘A friendly chat with the enemy’, Christmas 1914 National Army Museum.

It was a little over four months since the British Expeditionary Force had been deployed to the continent. The Imperial German invasion, designed to sweep through the neutral Belgium, cross the border with France, before sweeping south to encircle and capture Paris thus forcing the French surrender had been halted and now men of all the belligerent armies were facing winter in their trenches. Around the outskirts of the medieval cloth town of Ypres the British Army stood guard, to the north of them the Belgian Army, to the south the French, and across on the other side of the wire the Germans. It was from the German lines on one December night that the British sentries first heard it, voices drifting over ‘no-mans land’ only this was not voices that they would expect to be travelling over the front lines for it was not the blood curdling screams of men launching an attack, neither was it the sound of a Sgt or an Officer reprimanding his men whilst patrolling his lines, for the voices that came drifting across the wire, where in unison and in tune, for the Germans were singing. As the British sat and listened, they began to recognise the tunes and it was one tune in particular that they recognised for it was a Christmas Carrol, and perhaps as the tune drifted across the fields that had held such terror for much of the later part of 1914 it seemed very apt for the tune was Silent Night, in German Stille Nacht. As the tune drifted across the ‘no-mans land’ soldiers in the British Trenches began to sing as well, realisation began to dawn on the British soldiers that it was in fact Christmas. The singing continued throughout the night but what happened just after dawn took everyone by surprise. As to how it began is unclear, the censors moved fast after the event to hush up what had occurred and prevent the politicians and public back home becoming aware of this unusual event at the front. It was in the area to the south of what would become known as Ypres Salient as the front line moves along the Messines Ridge, in the fields to the south of the village to which the ridge takes its name and before it bent to the east of the Bois de Ploegsteert that it

happened. Most accounts attribute it beginning with a single German climbing atop his parapet with his hands raised and walking towards the British Lines. Unsure what was happening the British soldiers, on the fire-steps for their usual dawn stand-to just watched on, no-doubt some positioned their rifles more securely in their shoulders, others moving their firing finger onto their triggers. Yet no-one fired as this solitary German soldier continued to walk across ‘No-Mans Land’. At this point a single British soldier decided that he would go and see what this man was up to. He too climbed over his own parapet and walked across ‘no-mans land’. They met in the middle of ‘no-mans land’ all eyes upon them, they shock hands and wished each other Merry Christmas. Soon men were pouring over the parapets and walking across the shattered land to great the enemy, for many the first time they had seen them. Greetings were exchanged, and sometimes gifts, things sent from home like tobacco and chocolate changed hands.Eventually order was brought to these informal proceedings with officers from both sides making gentleman agreements about localised truces, which gave both sides the opportunity to undertake practical necessities like removing their dead for burial. These unofficial truces also allowed the men to forget the stresses of life in the Trenches. Some sat and chatted with their mates, others spoke with their enemies and sporadic games of football began. These more than anything else have entered the mythology of the Christmas Truce, whilst there are a few photographs of soldiers fraternising during the Christmas Truce there are none of the football matches, the one that is often cited as being the match in question is actually between two British Units as is not even on the Western Front. Consideration has to be given to whether a soldier would have had a football with him in the Front-Line Trenches, it is very doubtful. Yes, one regiment had them with them on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme 18 months later but that is a completely different matter. What is more likely is that if these matches were even played at all, they were what we call in England as ‘Jumpers for Goalposts’ games or in this case ‘Tunics for Goalposts’ with a rolled-up Greatcoat or something similar used as the ball. It is often suggested that the Germans won the match. Eventually though news of these Truces were relayed to higher commands and orders came down that they were to end at once. Although most continued on throughout Boxing Day by the 27th the war was back on. Although there would be three more Christmas’ in the Trenches before peace came in November 1918, the Christmas Truce of 1914 would not be repeated. The advance in savagery in the war during 1915 saw to that, the use of ungentlemanly weapons like the Gas first used in the Ypres Salient just a few miles from where the Truce had first broken out would be a game changer in how the two sides saw each other. So that when Christmas 1915 came round the season of goodwill bypassed the field of Belgium and Norther France. But for those few hours in 1914 humanity and goodwill to all men burned brightly.