Christmas 1914 on the Belgian front the soldiers declare peace (1 Viewer)

Poppo

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From the German trench departed, unexpected, a sad Christmas song, which suddenly broke the silence of that frigid December 25, 1914, devastated by the fighting in Flanders. Soon after, in the other side , a voice answered with a singing English. Soon, the entire line was all a succession of songs in different languages. Then shyly soldiers emerged from their holes with mud and ice, crossed the no man's land and began to fraternize. Hugs, exchanges of gifts, even football games. Will then pass into history as "Christmas truce", involving perhaps 100 thousand military and aroused great concern in general commands : they provided as soon as possible to move the troops involved on other fronts.


And the year after, to avoid other dangerous pacifist tendencies, was ordered a heavy bombardment to force the infantry to stay in their trenches.

The military chiefs did everything to discourage the recurrence of these episodes, although it continued throughout the war, in an isolated and sporadic, involving a small number of soldiers. At the approach of Christmas 1915 general controls gave their order to rotate the troops and artillery to open fire along the whole front. Disposition also repeated in 1916 and in 1917. No one came more from the trenches and that last gesture of humanity in a conflict that will cause 35 million deaths and missing soldiers and civilians, was isolated as a kind of unique, "Christmas Fairy Tale" in that great slaughter that was the 'Great War ".

The story was ignored by the newspapers for a few days, until December 31 appeared in America, then a neutral country, the first match on the New York Times. The news ricocheted in Europe, where it was picked up by British newspapers, first the French and then highlighted with strong disapproval. While it was completely ignored in Germany.
 

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