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Christmas Truce of 1914 Facts

Christmas Truce of 1914 Facts
The Christmas True of 1914 was an unofficial ceasefire that took place along many sites of the Western Front of World War I during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914. Since many people on both sides believed that the war would be over fairly quick, leaders on both sides were reappraising their strategies when no decisive victory was had in the first few months. By the time Christmas came, many of the rank-and-file soldiers on both sides thought an armistice was imminent, so impromptu ceasefires began taking place and various locations along the front. Soldiers met each other in the "no man's land" between the trenches and exchanged items and sometimes even organized soccer games. The ceasefires were not sanctioned by the high command of either side and so when the next Christmas came precautions were made so that the event was never repeated.
Interesting Christmas Truce of 1914 Facts:
The truce was not universal throughout the entire Western Front. In some sectors fighting continued.
The truce was also not evenly practiced throughout the front. The reports of soccer games and exchange of gifts has received the most attention in the 100 plus years since, but in other locations it only involved a respite to allow both sides to bury their dead, while in some places prisoner exchanges were made.
The influence of Pope Benedict XV may have played a role. He publicly requested a truce a couple weeks before Christmas. Although most of the British soldiers were not Catholic, a good share of their Scottish troop were, a good percentage of the German men were Catholic as well as the vast majority of the French soldiers.
World War I had not yet entered into its most brutal phase in Christmas 1914. The battles of attrition and use of chemical weapons had not yet taken place. Those factors no doubt played a role in why the truce was not repeated in later years.
It is estimated that up to 100,000 men took part in the truce.
The truce began when German soldiers placed Christmas trees and candles in their trenches and began singing Christmas carols in the region around Ypres, Belgium. British and French soldiers then responded in like.
Although the soldiers often couldn't speak each other's languages, they sometimes knew enough words to put together a type of pidgin for communication.
The soldiers often traded small food items and tobacco, but also parts of their uniforms and sometimes even personal effects.
In some sectors of the front, ceasefires were taking place within hearing distance of fighting that was continuing.
Ceasefires also took place to a lesser extent on the Eastern Front. Austrian officers often initiated those ceasefires, which were reciprocated by the Russians.
News of the Christmas Truce was heavily censored in the countries involved and only began to leak out weeks later after American media outlets reported on it.
The Christmas Truce was later memorialized in television shows, songs, and music videos.


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