Dan Morton Posted 25 December , 2004 Share Posted 25 December , 2004 On another forum one of our members asked the following question: "We all know of the famous 1914 truce between British and German troops and the famous soccer match. Did France and Germany or any other waring nations do the same thing?" What's the answer? All the best, Dan Morton HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOMMESOLDIER Posted 25 December , 2004 Share Posted 25 December , 2004 Hi To You All, Famous Football Match ! Tosh utter Tosh ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 25 December , 2004 Share Posted 25 December , 2004 I do believe some of the Indians and the French were also involved, but it must have been a patchy affair; I can find no record of direct involvement by Holmfirth troops. One letter records singing on both sides, and another speaks of it being a time with not much firing going on. But certainly not anything more than that. Try “Christmas Truce” by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton. If your local library does not have a copy they can order one. ISBN 0 330 39065 1 Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landsturm Posted 27 December , 2004 Share Posted 27 December , 2004 I have heard about truces between French and Germans in Christmas 1914, but I think the hatred between Poilu and Boche soldiers was just somehow deeper and more "traditional", so larger scale truces (like between Fritzies and Tommies) didn`t take place. And once again I use one of my favourite Great War- online sources The Great War in Different Light to provide you some visual treat... this from British the Graphic magazine 'the Graphic' January 1915 issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank_East Posted 27 December , 2004 Share Posted 27 December , 2004 According to the Yorkshire Post,no one knows how the games began.It was a kickabout- everybody was having a go. Contrary to legend,there was not just one game of football but many.Some were British only,English against Scots or Welsh:London against the rest; Yorkshire against Lancashire.But many were documented between enemies.In Stanley Weintraube's book "Silent Night" published in 2001,the remarkeable truce and prominence of football is revealed. One of the artefracts in the Sport, War and Peace Exhibition at the IWM,North is a German beer stein,or is it a krug presented by the Germans to A Company,the Lancashire Fusiliers who beat Bavarian opposition 3-2. Gustav Riebensahn of the 2nd Westphalian Regiment wrote in his diary;"The English are so extraordinarily grateful for the ceasefire so they can play football again". The truce was effectively over by dusk on Chrismas Day,General Staff on both sides feared fraternisation would become pacifism. As for football together with boxing they became the two greatest factors in restoring and maintaining morale within the British Army.Footballs were in short supply in 1914 but by 1917,every platoon had its own football. Amongst the "Bavarians" was the usual "Mr Baddie". A field messenger in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment,who had been decorated by Kaiser Wilhelm himself on what he described as "the happiest day of my life",wrote after the war of a discussion among his peers about "crossing into no man's land and sharing Christmas with the British".He refused to participate.Such things should not happen in wartime.Have you Germans no sense of honour left at all?" Regards Frank East Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landsturm Posted 28 December , 2004 Share Posted 28 December , 2004 Amongst the "Bavarians" was the usual "Mr Baddie". A field messenger in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment,who had been decorated by Kaiser Wilhelm himself on what he described as "the happiest day of my life",wrote after the war of a discussion among his peers about "crossing into no man's land and sharing Christmas with the British".He refused to participate.Such things should not happen in wartime.Have you Germans no sense of honour left at all?" Hitler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn311 Posted 28 December , 2004 Share Posted 28 December , 2004 There was a short armistice between the German and the Belgian army. In one of these events, the Germans handed over a monstrans found in a ruined church to a Belgian chaplain. (I do not know the english word for a monstrans, let's say it is a religious object). I believe it is kept today in the Yser Tower museum in Diksmuide. bert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 28 December , 2004 Share Posted 28 December , 2004 Bert is right. It was a monstrance (the gold or silver vessel in which the Holy Host is exposed on the altar or in the tabernacle). If I remember correctly it was pushed or pulled across the Yser, near the bridge, which was frozen, at Diksmuide (Dixmude). I have no idea where the the item is now, though. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 28 December , 2004 Share Posted 28 December , 2004 There was also a truce between French and German troops at La Boisselle on the Somme; largely to bury the dead. It was on the instigation of a French Padre if I remember correctly. Given the depth of feeling among the average French soldier, I doubt if there was much fraternisation. Perhaps Ralph Whitehead has come across this in his research? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YPERITE Posted 29 December , 2004 Share Posted 29 December , 2004 Christmas during the War http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War...ex.htm#Flanders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SpoonerYork Posted 5 January , 2005 Share Posted 5 January , 2005 There's a very good book available ( I got mine from Amazon ) called Christmas Truce by Malcolm Brown & Shirley Seaton, it's a great read and features a wealth of personal letters and accounts of the varius xmas day truces and tempory armistices along the western front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn311 Posted 24 March , 2005 Share Posted 24 March , 2005 It was a monstrance (the gold or silver vessel in which the Holy Host is exposed on the altar or in the tabernacle). If I remember correctly it was pushed or pulled across the Yser, near the bridge, which was frozen, at Diksmuide (Dixmude). I have no idea where the the item is now, though. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is indeed in the Yser Tower in Diksmuide (somewhere behind this fog). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 24 March , 2005 Share Posted 24 March , 2005 The only 1914 truces on the Somme that I know of took place as follows: 21st December between Mametz and Montauban. This involved men of Reserve Infantry Regiment 40 and I have an eyewitness statement by the commander of 6th Company about it. This was to recover wounded from fierce fighting. 25th December up near Gommecourt. This was a relatively small-scale truce which lasted about one hour and involved chatting and exchanging tobacco. I have an eyewitness statement by a Grenadier of 2nd Company Garde Grenadier Regiment 1 which describes what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest agracier Posted 24 March , 2005 Share Posted 24 March , 2005 Hi, On the Christmas Truce between French and German soldiers - for what it is worth, here is an illustration from 'the Graphic' which saws it shows one such truce. On another aside on truces - it might be interesting to mention that on the Eastern Front it was not uncommon for Russian troops to observe an Easter Truce, at least during the first year of the war in 1915. I have read of Russian officers even sending Easter presents to opposing Austro-Hungarian officers. agracier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypresman Posted 25 March , 2005 Share Posted 25 March , 2005 Hi So there goes the theory behind the video and song for Paul Mcartney's 'Pipes of Peace' then? Damn, I knew it was too good to be true!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypresman Posted 26 March , 2005 Share Posted 26 March , 2005 Famous Football Match ! Tosh utter Tosh ! Why is that then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest agracier Posted 26 March , 2005 Share Posted 26 March , 2005 Hi, On the Easter truce thing on the Eastern front that I mentioned, I located the magazine page where I read about it. It's from an Austrian illustrated news-magazine, 'Das Intressante Blatt' and shows Russian soldiers being allowed through Austrian lines somewhere in the Carpathians in 1915. They are bearing Easter gifts for their opponent Austrian officers. It's not quite the same as a spontaneous truce between other ranks, but it does indicate that holding a truce was not that unusual an event. Later in the war, such things were not done much anymore, or at least certainly not reported in the media. The Christmas truce of 1914 is now so well-known because the British media played it up very heavily - maybe as a way of showing how civilized and gentlemanly British soldiers really were, how they were ingrained to do the 'proper thing'. And the 'proper thing' at that time was to call off fighting during Christmas. And if it happened in a few places on the Ypres front, one can be almost certain that it happened at many others as well along that long 450 km front. It just wasn't reported. agracier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 26 March , 2005 Share Posted 26 March , 2005 Famous Football Match ! Tosh utter Tosh ! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 1/6th Cheshires involvement in the truce - including playing footie - is well documented. This link summarises their day John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest agracier Posted 2 April , 2005 Share Posted 2 April , 2005 Hi, Just an additional text about a Christmas truce, 1914 between French and German soldiers. Taken from a French catholic magazine 'La Grande Guerre du XXe Siècle' No. 11 http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War...s/Noel_1914.htm agrcier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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