Christmas in the Trenches - And a Friendly Game of Football!

On Christmas Morning 1914 the Germans and the English got together for a friendly game of football. The French were still at their croissants et chocolat! The truce occurred five months after the most brutal event in human history had begun. Brief hiatuses (word of the day!) occurred in the fighting as armies ran out of cannon fodder and munitions and the generals reconsidered their strategies.  Then there was Christmas in the Trenches!

In the week leading up to 25 December, French, German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange season’s greetings. In some sectors men from each side ventured across the barbed wire and past the rotting corpses into no man’s land. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they mingled and exchanged liquor and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps. Sworn enemies sung carols together. The men played football, creating the most memorable image of the truce.

I expect the Germans won the battle (but subsequently, lost the war!). Germany subsequently lost half its territory to the Russians. If only it was decided by a game of football! Can’t see the Russians winning that. Though they have proven time and time again they have a very resilient defense! Not that Napoleon played football. Germany always beats England.  The sole exception being the 1966 World Cup, where England had the home field advantage. And just like in All Quiet on the Western Front the English may wound their enemy mortally in the bomb crater but we just can’t finish him off!

It’s rather like the Chicago Bears – one victory may need to last you a lifetime. But as Basil Fawlty put it ‘Don’t mention the War!’  The following year, 1915, a few units arranged ceasefires but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914. By 1916 the war had become increasingly bitter, and the Christmas spirit was thoroughly depleted. So, Europe sunk deeper and deeper into the horror that is war.

But let the world not forget how the great game of football brought those sworn enemies together in the spirit of comradeship on 25 December 1914!!