The Importance Of The Christmas Truce In 1914

Men were living outside for days or weeks on end, with limited shelter from cold, wind, rain and snow in the winter or from the heat and sun in summer. Artillery destroyed the familiar landscape, reducing trees and buildings to desolate rubble and churning up endless mud in some areas. The incredible noise of artillery and machine gun fire, both enemy and friendly, was often incessant. Yet soldiers spent a great deal of time waiting around, and in some quiet sectors there was little real fighting and a kind of informal truce could develop between the two sides. Even in more active parts of the front, battle was rarely continuous and boredom was common among troops, with little of the heroism and excitement many had imagined before the war. The Italian infantry officer Emilio Lussu wrote that life in the trenches was ‘grim and monotonous’ and that ‘if there were no attacks, there was no war, only hard work’.[1] The order to attack – or news of an enemy assault – changed

The Christmas truce of 1914, one of the most heartwarming stories of one of the bloodiest wars in history. Most of the powers engaged in fighting at the time the war started thinking the war would last a few months and no more at most, but as we all know they were so very wrong. The Christmas Truce was perhaps the first act into WWI where front-line fighters began to grow tired of the endless, useless assaults on their enemies, perhaps to only really gain a few yards of ground. The losses were mounting up and the soldiers began to defy direct orders not to fraternize with the enemy. The first mention of a Christmas Truce between the warring armies happened a few weeks before Christmas day 1914. Pope Benedict XV suggested the sides lay down their arms and cease fire on one another for the day and allow the soldiers to celebrate the holiday he asked “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the angels sang”; all of the nation’s high commands refused to agree to any ceasefire or truce and vowed to continue fighting ,regardless, soldiers in the trenches were there fighting a war that they’ve been told by their superiors would have already been over by this point. Living in completely inadequate conditions close to freezing each night as went to dream in I’m sure you can understand why the soldiers began to soften the enemy they were facing in the hope that they might do the same. They were taking orders from generals who sat far behind enemy lines not engaged in the fighting and it’s that distance perhaps that allowed the first stage of fraternization to actually begin, communication took time to travel between officers on the front lines and the generals back at headquarters, so certain things could go on that they wouldn't find out about. Besides that first mention from Pope Benedict that a Christmas Truce could actually become a reality, there had already been a few small-scale truces conducted along the front lines between the British and French on one side, and the Germans on the other from around November 1914 onwards as the two sides really settled into that stalemate of the trench warfare they were said to be a ceasefire after sunset at certain points along the line when soldiers would have their

After four years of brutal combat, the first world war had come to an end in 1918. The

World War I was a time full of despair, it saw courageous soldiers valiantly defend our freedom, leaving families behind to face the prospect that their loved ones may never return. Upon the arrival of ANZAC’s in Gallipoli on the 25th of April 1915, the mateship strengthened with

At the beginning of World War I, Germany was at war on two fronts with the Western allies and Russia to the east. The war took place in France, where both sides came to a standstill and began to dig trenches, in what would later become known as trench war. On Germany’s side, Paul Baumer, and his fellow soldiers’ part of the second company, were fighting for a good two weeks without food or water during the fight. Then, after they had been fighting for two weeks straight, they were finally relieved of duty for a short period of time. The company consisted of 150 men before they went to battle, then after two weeks of fighting the company only had 80 men including Paul and his men. When they were relieved of

Imagine being in the shoes of a soldier in World War 1, being put at risk with a group of men who will face horrific images. Facing the decision of life and death, protecting each other so each person would go home. Comradeship plays an important role in All Quiet on the Western Front, by being able to survive, build a brotherhood bond, and restoring comfort and courage.

The Novel All Quiet On The Western Front illustrates the effects of war can be highly effective on most soldiers. In this particular novel these characters go through some many hardships and are tested to the maximum. In many ways, World War I demanded this depiction more than any war before it completely altered mankind’s conception of military conflict with its catastrophic levels of carnage and violence, its battles that lasted for months, and its gruesome new technological advancements that made killing easier and more impersonal than ever before.

World War One, was a catastrophe war that ravaged Europe, ending millions of lives. In 1914, December 24-25, an unimaginable event occurred despite governments trying to cover up but failed. It's called the Christmas Truce, a temporary cease-fire between two enemies; Germans and British who laid down their weapons and enjoy the Christmas holidays.

Johann and Rike are living in Soulard when the first four congressionally designated federal holidays are created in 1870. They are New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. This is strictly a federal acknowledgement of four holidays that that have been celebrated in St. Louis for many years. Christmas, largely a private, family-oriented holiday, is certainly celebrated by Johann and Rike. This probably includes exchanging a few small inexpensive gifts, a trimmed tree with strings of popcorn and cranberries, hand-crafted ornaments, and candles. Santa Claus, Christmas trees, greeting cards, and turkey or goose dinners are traditions that have been firmly entrenched in the German community. The Fourth of July celebration is celebrated with parades, brass bands playing music, and fireworks in the evening. For Johann, this holiday undoubtedly brings back painful memories of what took place in Hyde Park in 1863.

After the Second Battle of Ypres there was no longer any doubt of the courage and strength of the Canadian troops. On May 2nd, McCrae’s close friend and one time student, Lieutenant Alexis H. Helmer was killed by a German shell. McCrae performed the burial himself in the absence of a chaplain service that night to avoid any enemy detention. The next day during a lull in the fighting, McCrae took a break and stared at the cemetery where his friend was buried the day before. He noticed that each day the rows of white crosses grew longer and the field of Flanders’ was carpeted with blood red poppies. John McCrae then spent twenty minutes scribbling fifteen lines of verse on a scrap piece of paper. When he was done he took the piece of paper and gave it to Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant major who was delivering mail that day. Allinson describes the seen:

Narrator: It was the year 1917, WWI was coming to an end and many men were returning back home, hoping to return from violence to peace. Although happiness and joy greeted these

In the trenches of ww1 it was hard for all soldiers, so during Christmas day of 1914 along the western front the two sides joined in no mans land to celebrate Christmas. Both sides of the war had yet been in a full out battle with each other and that gave them a better mind set to have peace but even though Paul from “all quiet on the western front”had been in multiple battles, with the German army, he still had compassion and still saw the good in life.

Whatever attempts were made to lift spirits it was clear to all that, on the domestic front, the war was causing growing shortages. The price of meat increased sharply and housewives found themselves paying more for the Christmas joint. In the trenches Christmas was quite uneventful. One soldier wrote, ‘The Bosch was rather quiet. Our orderly officer set up his gramophone and did a good day’s work. 11a.m. a Padre turned up and we had a service in the mess. We had mince pies for lunch and they were very good. At 6p.m. we were invited to a concert. The singing was not very great but quite cheery. The Christmas pudding came in on fire in great style. So ended Christmas in this weary waste of France.’

There was little cheer as the war entered its fourth year; living with war had become the norm. There were some who found it difficult to recall a time before war had broken out. Europe struggled beneath winter’s iron grip; action on the Western Front had slowed and the outlook on all fronts was bleak. The people of the Isle shared the nation’s sullen obstinacy; they had come to hate war, something they had entered with a clarity of purpose but, to which, they saw no end. The Epworth Bells commented that it was as though everyone was experiencing the same bad dream. The paper began the year showing photographs of the Epworth men killed in the past six months. It was conceived as a patriotic gesture, with overtures of remembrance, but it did

Christmas in the trenches in world war 1, by the end of November 1914 the crushing advance by the Germans had swallowed the low countries and threatened France had been checked by the allies before it hit Paris. The other armies stared at one another a line of hastily built defensive trenches began at the edge of the English channel and continued through Switzerland. Barbed wire and parapets defended the trenches between them the no man’s land sat in some areas were more then 30 yards wide. Life in the trenches were almost impossible to survive with all the continuous sniping machine gun fire and artillery shells took most lives during the world war. The misery heightened by the ravages of mother nature