[LAAMN] THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE, and a short piece about it.
THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE By Aaron Shepard mailto:a...@aaronshep.com a...@aaronshep.com Copyright (c) 2001, 2003 by Aaron Shepard. May be freely copied and shared for any noncommercial purpose, but please do not omit any text, including this notice. ABOUT THE STORY: The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one of the most remarkable incidents of World War I and perhaps of all military history. Starting in some places on Christmas Eve and in others on Christmas Day, the truce covered as much as two- thirds of the British-German front, with thousands of soldiers taking part. Perhaps most remarkably, it grew out of no single initiative but sprang up in each place spontaneously and independently. Nearly everything described here is drawn from first-hand accounts in letters and diaries of the time. Britishisms include using Nowell instead of Noel, and football instead of soccer. Visit my home page at http://www.aaronshep.com to learn more about the story, get a copy in Web format, find a reader's theater script version, read more stories, or contact the author. -- Aaron _ Christmas Day, 1914 My dear sister Janet, It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts -- yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn't been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France! As I wrote before, there has been little serious fighting of late. The first battles of the war left so many dead that both sides have held back until replacements could come from home. So we have mostly stayed in our trenches and waited. But what a terrible waiting it has been! Knowing that any moment an artillery shell might land and explode beside us in the trench, killing or maiming several men. And in daylight not daring to lift our heads above ground, for fear of a sniper's bullet. And the rain -- it has fallen almost daily. Of course, it collects right in our trenches, where we must bail it out with pots and pans. And with the rain has come mud -- a good foot or more deep. It splatters and cakes everything, and constantly sucks at our boots. One new recruit got his feet stuck in it, and then his hands too when he tried to get out -- just like in that American story of the tar baby! Through all this, we couldn't help feeling curious about the German soldiers across the way. After all, they faced the same dangers we did, and slogged about in the same muck. What's more, their first trench was only 50 yards from ours. Between us lay No Man's Land, bordered on both sides by barbed wire -- yet they were close enough we sometimes heard their voices. Of course, we hated them when they killed our friends. But other times, we joked about them and almost felt we had something in common. And now it seems they felt the same. Just yesterday morning -- Christmas Eve Day -- we had our first good freeze. Cold as we were, we welcomed it, because at least the mud froze solid. Everything was tinged white with frost, while a bright sun shone over all. Perfect Christmas weather. During the day, there was little shelling or rifle fire from either side. And as darkness fell on our Christmas Eve, the shooting stopped entirely. Our first complete silence in months! We hoped it might promise a peaceful holiday, but we didn't count on it. We'd been told the Germans might attack and try to catch us off guard. I went to the dugout to rest, and lying on my cot, I must have drifted asleep. All at once my friend John was shaking me awake, saying, Come and see! See what the Germans are doing! I grabbed my rifle, stumbled out into the trench, and stuck my head cautiously above the sandbags. I never hope to see a stranger and more lovely sight. Clusters of tiny lights were shining all along the German line, left and right as far as the eye could see. What is it? I asked in bewilderment, and John answered, Christmas trees! And so it was. The Germans had placed Christmas trees in front of their trenches, lit by candle or lantern like beacons of good will. And then we heard their voices raised in song. Stille nacht, heilige nacht This carol may not yet be familiar to us in Britain, but John knew it and translated: Silent night, holy night. I've never heard one lovelier -- or more meaningful, in that quiet, clear night, its dark softened by a first-quarter moon. When the song finished, the men in our trenches applauded. Yes, British soldiers applauding Germans! Then one of our own men started singing, and we all joined in. The first Nowell, the angel did say In truth, we sounded not nearly as good as the Germans, with their fine harmonies. But they responded with enthusiastic applause of their own and then began
Re: [LAAMN] THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE, and a short piece about it.
Reading more on this recently (My Grandfather was in one of those Christmas Truces) I note that universally, it was the Germans who asked for the Christmas Truce, it was the Germans who offered the first gifts. So much for demonizing a people, for following their leaders, whoa re following the wishes of those who want other peoples resources to resell, at a lower purchase price. Peace on Earth to all, of course that will mean not following those that want you to bring misery to your fellow humans, for a few dollars more. My Grandfather was also one of the Ministers that attended the Bonus Army in Washington DC, he left when Congress passed giving them their pay, before OUR PRESIDENT turned the ARMY Loose on OUR Veterans, when the Senate supported the Corporations over our Vets (as they have in every war including the Revolutionary War with Britain). Follow the money, or Follow Peace. Scott THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE By Aaron Shepard mailto:a...@aaronshep.com a...@aaronshep.com Copyright (c) 2001, 2003 by Aaron Shepard. May be freely copied and shared for any noncommercial purpose, but please do not omit any text, including this notice. ABOUT THE STORY: The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one of the most remarkable incidents of World War I and perhaps of all military history. Starting in some places on Christmas Eve and in others on Christmas Day, the truce covered as much as two- thirds of the British-German front, with thousands of soldiers taking part. Perhaps most remarkably, it grew out of no single initiative but sprang up in each place spontaneously and independently. Nearly everything described here is drawn from first-hand accounts in letters and diaries of the time. Britishisms include using Nowell instead of Noel, and football instead of soccer. Visit my home page at http://www.aaronshep.com to learn more about the story, get a copy in Web format, find a reader's theater script version, read more stories, or contact the author. -- Aaron _ Christmas Day, 1914 My dear sister Janet, It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts -- yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn't been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France! As I wrote before, there has been little serious fighting of late. The first battles of the war left so many dead that both sides have held back until replacements could come from home. So we have mostly stayed in our trenches and waited. But what a terrible waiting it has been! Knowing that any moment an artillery shell might land and explode beside us in the trench, killing or maiming several men. And in daylight not daring to lift our heads above ground, for fear of a sniper's bullet. And the rain -- it has fallen almost daily. Of course, it collects right in our trenches, where we must bail it out with pots and pans. And with the rain has come mud -- a good foot or more deep. It splatters and cakes everything, and constantly sucks at our boots. One new recruit got his feet stuck in it, and then his hands too when he tried to get out -- just like in that American story of the tar baby! Through all this, we couldn't help feeling curious about the German soldiers across the way. After all, they faced the same dangers we did, and slogged about in the same muck. What's more, their first trench was only 50 yards from ours. Between us lay No Man's Land, bordered on both sides by barbed wire -- yet they were close enough we sometimes heard their voices. Of course, we hated them when they killed our friends. But other times, we joked about them and almost felt we had something in common. And now it seems they felt the same. Just yesterday morning -- Christmas Eve Day -- we had our first good freeze. Cold as we were, we welcomed it, because at least the mud froze solid. Everything was tinged white with frost, while a bright sun shone over all. Perfect Christmas weather. During the day, there was little shelling or rifle fire from either side. And as darkness fell on our Christmas Eve, the shooting stopped entirely. Our first complete silence in months! We hoped it might promise a peaceful holiday, but we didn't count on it. We'd been told the Germans might attack and try to catch us off guard. I went to the dugout to rest, and lying on my cot, I must have drifted asleep. All at once my friend John was shaking me awake, saying, Come and see! See what the Germans are doing! I grabbed my rifle, stumbled out into the trench, and stuck my head cautiously above the sandbags. I never hope to see a stranger and more lovely sight. Clusters of tiny lights were shining all
