OK folks, it's Christmas time. By now, most people are off work, relaxing, and watching A Christmas Story. But while we anticipate Ralphie and his dad-who seems a little old to have kids under 10-here's two new stories for your collection. But instead of Santa or the Griswold's, we're talking about a Christmas truce in war.
That's right. The Christmas spirit had the power to stop the fighting in both World Wars, even if it was a short time.
While neither belligerent confirmed these Christmas miracles, we accept them as truth based on first-hand accounts of the people there.
So grab your entrenching tool, tobacco, and some cheap whiskey.
We're heading "over there."
Christmas Truce in the Trenches
So here we are. It's 1914, and we're on location at the front line in Belgium. We've seen the videos and pictures, and maybe you saw 1917, but look at this guy.
He seems rather content. Considering he's in the middle of a global conflict and likely avoiding sniper fire in a mud pit.
And who knows what's in that water.
But as hellish as "The Great War" would be, the historical event did have a silver lining.
Early in 1914, both the British and Germans expected the war to end by Christmas.
However, as the trees lost their leaves and the temperature dropped, it became clear that most men would not be home for the holidays.
As the days inched towards Christmas, some rallied for a Christmas truce. But neither British or German brass gave it much thought-likely for fear of a weak image.
Pope Benedict XV even encouraged a cease-fire by asking military leaders if "the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang."
The idea was that the break would spark a broader desire to stop the war altogether.
Yet while war progressed overall, it paused on the western front around Flanders, Belgium, just before Christmas.
As British and German officials sat in their offices with dry feet, full stomachs, and all of their limbs, they denied the Christmas truce.
But officers directing the hellscape on the front line had other plans.
Christmas Orders
Even though senior officers in the rear disapproved of a Christmas truce, officers in the field had the final say with enlisted troops.
After all, they were all in it together, on both sides.
Some parts of the front line only shared a separation of 50 yards between British and German lines at some points.
They could've passed notes with paper airplanes if they wanted.
But before they could play games, someone had to take the initiative. After all, the order was not official.
From what we know, it seems the Germans may have extended the olive branch first.
Or Christmas tree in this case.
Earlier that month, German Emperor Wilhelm 2 sent Christmas trees to his troops to boost morale.
And on December 23rd, instead of decorating the trees in the trenches, the German soldiers placed their "Tannenbaum's" on the top side of the trench where British soldiers could see them.
The British may have thought the trees were concealment or a trap, but they soon knew the real purpose once the Germans began to sing.
While the British soldiers didn't understand the words, they did recognize the tune of "Silent Night."
And the Germans must've felt hope for a truce when they heard the English version reciprocating from the opposite trench.
It may surprise you that the Germans most likely initiated this Christmas truce, but that's what it appears to be.
Still, it takes two to truce.
The British officers at Flanders answered the Christmas carols and Tannenbaum's with a "live and let live" policy. This order effectively instructed troops not to fire unless attacked first.
As the sun rose Christmas morning, German soldiers poked out from their defenses with their hands in the air.
The British likely remained skeptical, and rightfully so. But they knew Jerry was serious once they saw unarmed Germans advancing into "No Mans Land" without weapons.
Or drunk.
Talk about walking with a puckered butt. How would you like to be the first ‘Dieter’ or ‘Klaus’ that rolls those dice?
But the gamble paid off. Because, on that Christmas morning, German and British troops met in a place where only bullets and artillery were welcome just hours before.
Again, the British troops didn't have a handle on their enemy's language. But many Germans spoke perfect English as they worked or studied in England before the war.
In addition to socializing, troops traded, gave gifts, drank, and smoked.
They even played a little football/soccer.
Wonder where that ball came from.
Not Everyone Approved of a Break
We know the top brass on either side didn't sign off on a Christmas truce. But some lower enlisted or commissioned officers at Flanders weren't on board either.
Some troops wanted nothing to do with consorting with the enemy.
But before we pass judgment through history, consider this.
If the Germans killed your buddy two days before and you still had his dried blood on your collar, you probably wouldn't be ready for a secret Santa with old Jer-Bear either.
And because of that, they did report casualties during the Christmas truce.
One such corporal on the German side, local regimental messenger, and wet towel Adolf Hitler complained, "Such a thing should not happen in wartime, have you no German sense of honor?"
Eventually, war resumed, although some reported the truce went through the New Year.
They say the key to a good story is an exaggeration, so maybe some events weren't 100% fact.
But even if both sides agreed to stop for just a little while, it's a story worth telling.
I hope you enjoyed that. But let's jump forward to World War 2 and see what the Christmas spirit has in store.
Christmas Truce in World War 2
Welcome to the Battle of the Bulge. It's still Belgium. And it’s still freezing. But maybe this story will warm you up.
After The Great War concluded and people laid their dead to rest, treated severe injuries, and tried to understand "shell shock," people were not eager to start another fight.
But of course, they did.
When the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 (can you read that date, not in FDR's voice?), the United States and allied forces would meet the Germans yet again in battle.
Yet as World War 2 raged into 1944, another Christmas miracle would stop violence once again, although this time on a much smaller scale.
Again, there's no official record of a Christmas break in World War 2 either, but through letters, journals, and first-hand reports, we're relatively comfortable taking the story as truth.
Ardennes Forest
In December 1944, "The Battle of the Bulge" progressed in the Ardennes forest, in Belgium. The purpose of the offensive was to punch a hole in the American's line to stop their march to Berlin.
But while US Army Captain Richard Winters and the boys of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment held out for better conditions to get supplies and reinforcements, history set forth another Christmas truce nearby.
Fritz Vincken, a 12-year-old German boy, lived in a small house in the Huertgen forest, not far from the fight.
And up until a week or so before Christmas, the area was calm.
But as the German offenses hammered the American positions, their relative safety waned.
On the night before Christmas, the Vinckens heard a knock on the door.
Likely assuming the visitors were German soldiers looking for supplies, Fritz's mother answered.
But instead of finding the unmistakable curved helmets and white camo uniforms of the German Wehrmacht, she found three Americans.
One severely injured.
The Vinckens and Americans established their names and basic information through broken French, as that's all they had in common.
From Fritz Vinckens "Truce in the Forest," published in Readers Digest, 1973:
"We learned that the stocky, dark-haired fellow was Jim; his friend, tall and slender, was Robin. Harry, the wounded one, was now sleeping on my bed, his face as white as the snow outside."
"They'd lost their battalion and had wandered in the forest for three days, looking for the Americans, and hiding from the Germans. They hadn't shaved, but still, without their heavy coats, they looked merely like big boys. And that was the way Mother began to treat them."
The German hosts prepared a meal and cared for the young Americans through the evening.
As they rested and communicated in minimal French, someone again knocked on the door.
But instead of more Americans, several German soldiers stood in the doorway.
Awkward.
Christmas in Battle
"Expecting to find more lost Americans, I opened the door without hesitation. There stood four soldiers, wearing uniforms quite familiar to me after five years of war. They were Wehrmacht – Germans! I was paralyzed with fear. Although still a child, I knew the harsh law: sheltering enemy soldiers constituted high treason. We could all be shot!"
The German corporal in charge asked if his 4-man patrol could stay for the night.
"Of course," she replied, "you can also have a fine, warm meal and eat 'til the pot is empty. But, we have three other guests, whom you may not consider friends. This is Christmas Eve, and there will be no shooting here."
The German soldier asked if Americans were inside.
Fritz's mother replied, "Listen. You could be my sons, and so could they in there. A boy with a gunshot wound, fighting for his life, and his two friends, lost like you and just as hungry and exhausted as you are.
(That sounds like a yes.)
"This one night, this Christmas night, let us forget about killing."
What followed must have been the tensest gathering in all of Christmas Eve history.
"Relaxation was now beginning to replace suspicion. Even to me, all the soldiers looked very young as we sat there together. Heinz and Willi, both from Cologne, were 16. Their German corporal, at 23, was the oldest of them all."
"From his food bag, he drew out a bottle of red wine, and Heinz managed to find a loaf of rye bread. Mother cut that in small pieces to be served with the dinner; half the wine, however, she put away, 'for the wounded boy.'
"Then Mother said grace."
"I noticed that there were tears in her eyes as she said the old, familiar words, 'Komm, Herr Jesus. Be our guest.' And as I looked around the table, I saw tears, too, in the eyes of the battle-weary soldiers, boys again, some from America, some from Germany, all far from home.
"Just before midnight, Mother went to the doorstep and asked us to join her to look up at the Star of Bethlehem. We all stood beside her except Harry, who was sleeping. For all of us during the moment of silence, looking at the brightest star in the heavens, the war was a distant, almost-forgotten thing."
That sounds great, but I bet nobody slept a wink that night.
Still, everyone honored the Christmas truce, and in the morning, the Germans and Americans went back to their positions unharmed, rested, and fed.
How about that.
Can We Count on a Christmas Truce This Year?
Let me switch gears, and wars for a second. These stories make me think of a scene from Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full-Metal Jacket.
In this particular scene, Private Joker, a combat correspondent, gets a comment from troops in the field regarding a recent firefight.
As Private Joker concludes his conversation with his source, a passing colonel questions him why he has a peace button on his front, with "born to kill" written on his helmet.
"I guess I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir." Joker surrendered to the colonel.
Meaning, one day, we can trade gifts and play football together, and the next day we can resume slaughtering each other after a Christmas truce.
While Full Metal Jacket is, of course, a work of fiction, we see that duality of man play out in these Christmas truces and in modern times.
Humankind can maximize peace and minimize violence.
But can we expect the AK-47s to stop firing in Yemen this Christmas?
I doubt it.
Will the Vice Lords and Black Stones have a game of soccer at the edge of their southside Chicago turf on Saturday?
I wouldn't put money on it.
But these stories show our ability to make choices, regardless of the situation.
We tell the stories of yesterday to avoid repeating our mistakes.
But we can't forget our ability to make peace when possible.
The only question is, will we?
Merry Christmas, and thank you for your support so far!
Greg