The True Story Of The Christmas Truce, Richards - B

                     The war was expected to be over by Christmas. By the holiday, it was clear it would not be. Throughout Flanders, British and German soldiers engaged in a spontaneous truce. They fraternized in No Man's Land, swapped food and cigarettes, exchanged jokes and played football. In some sections, the ceasefire lasted a week.  This book tells the story.

                     By mid-October, the front had stabilized and the massive entrenchment had begun. A month later, the rains assured that the trenches became permanently flooded, and everyone was miserable. There was some fraternization throughout the fall by men sharing the same dismal world. As the holiday approached, civilians in both countries sent a significant number of packages. Every German front unit received a Christmas tree, which they decorated at the front while singing carols. On Christmas eve, men from both sides entered No Man's Land and began to exchange Christmas greetings. They serenaded each other with Christmas songs. "The peace that had begun would become even more pronounced on Christmas Day." Fully two-thirds of the British-German front did not fight on December 25th. The fraternization did include some football playing, but no real games. Soldiers from both sides wished they were home, and far away from war. "As the daylight slowly faded, both sides made their way back to their respective trenches." In many sectors, the peace continued on Boxing Day, but it turned into a ceasefire when it began to rain again and everyone had to work to maintain the trenches. As the war became more violent, there would not be a repetition of 1914. "Each nation's senior commanders ensured that there were unequivocal orders to avoid any rerun of the Christmas Truce."

              "The idea of open, friendly fraternization between enemies has remained in the minds of many as a uniquely First World War concept, forever linked to the Christmas Truce  of 1914.'