What Happened On Christmas Day 1914 In Ww1
She used the british newspaper archive to unearth the experiences of soldiers on the western front in 1914.
What happened on christmas day 1914 in ww1. But its first hand testimonies can help us get. The 1914 christmas truce occurred december 24 to 25 in some places december 24 through january 1 1914 during the first year of world war i 1914 to 1918. Suitable for key stage 3. Hostilities had lulled as leadership on both sides reconsidered their strategies following the stalemate of the race to the sea and the indecisive result.
Alan cleaver and lesley park eds. They never again came on the scale of the christmas truce in 1914. After five months of bloody fighting on the western front peace descended over the trenches during the christmas season of 1914. Operation plum puddings accessed december 22 2011.
But what actually happened on christmas eve and christmas day of 1914 and did they really play soccer on the battlefield. The christmas truce german. The christmas truce of 1914 is often celebrated as a symbolic moment of peace in an otherwise incredibly violent war between britain and germany. British soldier henry williamson recalls his experiences in the trenches in 1914 including talking to the germans and exchanging gifts during an informal christmas truce.
One of the enduring and indeed endearing images is the first world war is the famous christmas truce of 1914. What began as the lighting of candles in the trenches grew to french german and british soldiers sought each other out in no man s land for the exchanging of gifts souvenirs stories and the occasional reference to football. The truce was not observed everywhere along the western front. After watching sainsbury s christmas advert kate cole was inspired to research the real story behind ww1 s christmas truce.
After 1914 the high commands on both sides tried to prevent any truces on a similar scale happening again. Some officers were unhappy at the truce and worried that it would undermine fighting spirit. In december 1914 during first year of world war one a remarkable event known as the christmas day truce occurred in small pockets along the western front. The western front december 1914.
Elsewhere the fighting continued and casualties did occur on christmas day.