{"id":27804,"date":"2015-12-25T08:22:16","date_gmt":"2015-12-25T12:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=27804"},"modified":"2015-12-25T11:50:44","modified_gmt":"2015-12-25T15:50:44","slug":"the-real-story-behind-the-1914-christmas-truce-in-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=27804","title":{"rendered":"The Real Story Behind the 1914 Christmas Truce in World War I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"christmas-truce-me_3133489b\"<\/a>
\nCCRG<\/a> Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong>
\nThe real upshot of this\u00a0extraordinary Christmas event during World War I is this. \u00a0That the people of the world really have no beef with each other*. \u00a0It is always the misguided leaders who start the wars.\u00a0 Rarely do the\u00a0citizens form a popular movement to demand war.<\/p>\n

*The reality is that the vast majority of members of the military have not a clue as to why they are even fighting. \u00a0The Russian military currently liberating Syria from ISIS is a glowing\u00a0exception to this.<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been said that much of recorded history is actually an unending account of how rich and powerful men conscript young and ambitious lads to fight their wars of aggression. And\u00a0those wars are only about stealing land and natural resources, enslaving foreigners and controlling strategic locations.<\/p>\n

Here the human race is 100 years later and the war-making still goes on unabated. \u00a0If only those \u201crich and powerful men\u201d could be deprived of their young cannon fodder. \u00a0No soldiers, no war. \u00a0Unfortunately, not only are they still drafting boys to do their dirty work, the\u00a0U.S. war machine is now putting\u00a0women into positions of\u00a0direct combat duty.<\/p>\n

The following story is both true and amazing. \u00a0It touches the heart and moves the soul in a way that very few\u00a0ever do. \u00a0Perhaps it will one day so move humanity that war will become history … and only past HIStory.<\/p>\n

Cosmic Convergence Research Group<\/a><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

The Real Story Behind\u00a0the 1914 Christmas\u00a0Truce in World War I<\/h1>\n

By George Dvorsky
\nGIZMODO<\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was 101 years ago this very night that something miraculous happened along the Western Front. After months of bitter fighting, soldiers on both sides gathered in no-man\u2019s-land in a spontaneous show of peace and goodwill. Here\u2019s what happened on that historic day \u2014 and why it marked the end of an era.<\/p>\n

In December 1914, the war was entering into a new phase: an extended siege fought along static trenches stretching along a 750 km (466 mile) front. During the previous four months, soldiers were killed at a horrendous pace, and with no end of the war in sight. But during Christmas, things suddenly became quiet \u2014 at least for a little while.<\/p>\n

\u2018We No Shoot!\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The night before Christmas, a British captain serving at Rue du Bois heard a foreign accent from across the divide saying, \u201cDo not shoot after 12 o\u2019clock and we will not do so either,\u201d and then: \u201cIf you English come out and talk to us, we won\u2019t fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Commonwealth troops fighting in Belgium and France started to hear odd sounds drifting from across no-man\u2019s land; German soldiers were singing Christmas carols like \u201cStille Nacht, Heilige Nacht\u201d (\u201cSilent Night, Holy Night\u201d). Allied troops applauded and cheered, shouting out for more. Soldiers on both sides began to sing in unison, trading verses in alternating languages.<\/p>\n

Writing in his diary at the time, Regimental Sergeant Major George Beck made this note:<\/p>\n

Germans shout over to us and ask us to play them at football, and also not to fire and they would do likewise. At 2am (25th) a German Band went along their trenches playing \u201cHome Sweet Home\u201d and \u201cGod Save the King\u201d which sounded grand and made everyone think of home.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The next day, some soldiers dared to poke their heads up to look across no-man\u2019s land. Bits of evergreen could be seen in observance of the occasion. Some Germans, in an effort to prompt a temporary peace, hoisted lanterns above the trenches while calling out to the British. If no shots were fired, it was taken as a sign of truce. At one point, a German was heard calling out, \u201cWe good! We no shoot!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Troglodytes Come Out<\/h2>\n

Then, very cautiously and with great courage, unarmed German and Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches to stand atop their defenses. Near Neuve Chapelle, an Irish soldier brazenly walked across no-man\u2019s-land where he was greeted not with machine gun fire, but with a cigar. His act of bravery inspired others in his troop to do the same. Similar scenes were repeated elsewhere as soldiers walked towards each others trench, or to simply meet half-way.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And when they met, the servicemen exchanged Christmas greetings as best they could. They began to give each other gifts in the form of mementos, cigarettes, and foodstuffs like bully beef, wine, cognac, black bread, biscuits, ham, and even barrels of beer. They showed each other photographs of family and loved ones back home. Some soldiers even started to play soccer with makeshift soccer balls.<\/p>\n