24 December 1914: Allied and Central Powers Break for a Christmas Truce

The Christmas Truce of 1914, an event that took place during World War I, is one of the most poignant and memorable moments of the war. In the midst of the fighting, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front, exhausted and cold from months of conflict, paused for a moment of peace and goodwill. Despite the efforts of the military authorities to prevent such a truce, the men on the front lines, driven by a shared humanity, broke ranks and came together in a unique display of fraternity.

Right: France, somewhere on the Western Front. December, 1914. Sharing a smoke. A German soldier and British soldier meet face-to-face in a Christmastime break from the war. In the Public Domain, click to enlarge.

The truce was not spontaneously decided on, but rather the result of a series of small gestures and actions. Reports from the front lines describe the British troops hearing the Germans singing carols on Christmas Eve, and lighting candles and small trees. The British soldiers, emboldened by this show of good cheer, began to shout Christmas greetings across the no man's land that separated the two armies. To their surprise, the Germans responded in kind, and soon the two sides were exchanging shouted pleasantries, singing carols and even exchanging gifts. "French units also took part in these on occasion.... After shouts across the trenches that ended in a mutual understanding not to open fire, soldiers on both sides met in no-man's-land, sang songs together, exchanged presents, and even held soccer matches." (Leonhard 2018, 225)

The result was a brief but remarkable ceasefire. Men who had been firing deadly ammunition at each other for months put aside their weapons, and came out of the trenches to meet in no man's land. There, they exchanged stories, played football, and shared food and drink. As one German soldier wrote in a letter home, "The English...came towards us unarmed, singing and with a white flag. Normally we would have shot them, but today we let them come close. We exchanged presents and talked."

German historian Jorn Leonhard writes that:

"On January 3, 1915, the student Karl Aldag wrote home to his family telling them of the previous few days at the front: 'New Year's Eve was quite special here. An English officer came over with a white flag and asked for a ceasefire between 11 and 3 to bury dead.... It couldn't go like that, so we sent someone over to say they might like to getin the trenches, as we would start shooting. The officer replied he was sorry, but their people were no longer obeying orders. They didn't feel like it any more; France is done for.... They're mercenaries really, they just go on strike. Of course we didn't start shooting, because our communication trench is also full of water all the time, and it's good that we could walk under cover without risking our lives.... Our lieutenants went over and put their names down in an album belonging to the English officers. One day an English officer came and told us that their people in charge had given an order to start shooting at our trenches, so we might like to take cover.'" (Leonhard 2018, 225)

The truce was short-lived, and fighting soon resumed in many areas. However, the sight of the two armies coming together for a brief moment of humanity has captured the imagination of people around the world ever since. They could not have know that their Great War would continue on unitl late 1918, finally ending on 11 November. How many who had shared a few days of humanity in 1914 survived to see the Armistice?

But the truce was not universally celebrated. Some military commanders were outraged that their men had fraternized with the enemy, and took steps to prevent such incidents from happening again. Rules were put in place to forbid the exchange of gifts or the use of no man's land for sporting activities. Despite these efforts, however, there were still instances throughout the war when opposing troops would call truces to allow for the recovery of fallen comrades or the repair of damage to the trenches. 

Right: Riflemen Andrew and Grigg (center) British troops from London during the Christmas Truce with Saxons of the 104th and 106th Regiments of the Imperial German Army. In the Public Domain, click to enlarge. 

Bibliography

"Christmas During World War I." National WWI Museum and Memorial. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/christmas-during-world-war-i.

Dash, Mike. "The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce." Smithsonian Magazine. Last modified December 23, 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-of-the-wwi-christmas-truce-11972213/.

Leonhard, Jörn. Pandora’s Box: A History of the First World War. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2018.

Stewart, Jill. "A Sobering Aspect of the Christmas Truce : 25 December 1915." The Western Front Association. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/a-sobering-aspect-of-the-christmas-truce-25-december-1915/.