“All through the long night those big guns flashed and growled just like the lightning and thunder when it storms in the mountains at home. And, oh my, we had to pass the wounded. And some of them were on stretchers going back to the dressing stations. And some of them were lying around, moaning and twitching. And the dead were all along the road. And it was wet and cold. And it all made me think of the Bible and the story of the Antichrist and Armageddon.”Sergeant Alvin C. York –
Company G, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division, U.S. Army, on fighting in the Argonne Forest, France, in WW I.
War is hell. Ask anyone who has survived it. They will tell you this, if they can speak about it at all. The Great War, now we call it World War I, was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Between July of 1914 and November of 1918 more than 16 million lives were lost.
This was our first “modern” war, where we used machine guns, mechanized tanks, improved artillery, even airplanes and poison gas. Much of the fighting involved trench warfare, with troops dug in and living in muddy, disease-ridden ditches carved from the ground. Between opposing trenches was a ”No Man’s Land” – littered with barbed wire, dead soldiers, and the refuse of war. In the midst of this hell on Earth, one cold December night, something astonishing happened. This is the stuff of legend.
On Christmas Eve, 1914, in the area of Flanders, Belgium, along the Western Front, an unlikely miracle took place. Hunkered down in their trenches, British and French troops faced German soldiers on the other side. All was quiet, until one soldier started to sing.
Softly at first, then louder, these words could be heard, “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht…” Recognizing the carol’s tune, the British and French troops responded, singing “Silent Night, Holy Night…”
With binoculars in hand, a British soldier peering over the parapet spotted twinkling candles in the branches of a small fir tree. The German troops were celebrating Christmas. As the singing continued, shouting began on either side. One British soldier interviewed years later, said he heard the voice of an enemy soldier, speaking in English with a strong German accent. He was saying, “Come over here.” Over the top of their trench, another soldier raised a crudely written sign which read: “YOU NO SHOOT, WE NO SHOOT.” In response, French and British soldiers waved a ragged banner on which they had scrawled “MERRY CHRISTMAS.”
Cautiously and nervously the unarmed soldiers rose from their trenches. They crossed “No Man’s Land” meeting face-to-face in the frosty cold. Awkwardly, they shook hands and clapped shoulders. Some embraced. Some made an effort to hide their tears. For the rest of the night, and throughout Christmas Day, they sang carols and exchanged gifts. Chocolate, biscuits, coffee, canned meat, jam, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, pie, and wine were traded back and forth. From somewhere a ball appeared and soon a lively game of football ensued (soccer to us Americans). One German Lieutenant who was there wrote, “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”
But not everyone was happy about the Christmas Truce. Soon strict orders came down from the high command on both sides. Soldiers were ordered back to their trenches, and all too soon the fighting resumed.
News of this Christmas miracle did make it back to England, France, and Germany. Soldiers began sending letters and photos home to their families. Some of these letters and photos were featured in newspapers of the day. This sparked debate about whether or not the truce had impacted morale in the ranks and was actually a good thing.
I would maintain that the Christmas Truce of 1914 was profound evidence of God’s supernatural love poured out upon the hearts of men. We all need that. Merry Christmas!
© 2024 Jody Dyer
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