A Saxon brigade commander on the Christmas Truce

[bierast]

As a special Christmas treat I decided to share the ‘new’ German brigade commander’s account of the Christmas Truce which appears in our first book Fighting the Kaiser’s War. Note that the hardback edition of this book has now sold out from our publisher Pen & Sword! It’s still available in electronic formats though, and physical copies are still available from me and on Amazon while stocks last.

http://www.royalsaxonarmy.co.uk/royalsaxonarmy/index.php/our-publications/13-fighting-the-kaiser-s-war

Generalmajor Richard Kaden had been commander since peacetime of the 48. Infanterie-Brigade (24. Infanterie-Division / XIX. Armeekorps) from Leipzig, consisting of Kgl. Sächs. 7. Infanterie-Regiment König Georg Nr. 106 (IR 106) and Kgl. Sächs. 8. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Johann Georg Nr. 107 (IR 107). Since the First Battle of Ypres, Kaden’s two regiments had been holding widely separated sectors due to having been committed individually as reinforcements during the fighting. IR 106 held the eastern edge of Ploegsteert Wood and IR 107 the ruined village of  Wez-Macquart southeast of Armentières. 

Both regiments established friendly contact with the British late on Christmas Eve. Already on Christmas Day, Kaden’s diary describes what he had been told by the officers of IR 107:

The 107ers told me that on Christmas Eve outright contact between Englishmen and Germans had developed in between the trenches. A ceasefire was in force and the dead could be buried. At first an English captain accompanied by six men without weapons made an approach to Leutnant von Gehe. This officer rebuffed the six escorts and met the English officer halfway by himself. An amicable agreement was reached: until 1 o’clock on the night of the 25th–26th peace would reign, but no-one was to enter the opposing trenches. Nevertheless two rather inebriated Englishmen – including a corporal with 14 years’ service who had fought against the Boers, and a young man who had previously studied in Heidelberg and, so he said, had a particular longing for a German Christmas – still found their way into the German trenches and were immediately detained there. On Christmas Eve they stood at the door as a pair of Krampuses for the distribution of gifts to IR 107! Hauptmann Schreiber, who took the Englishmen for 107ers in fancy dress, said: ‘how splendid, which company are you from then?’
- diary of Generalmajor Richard Kaden, quoted in Fighting the Kaiser’s War (p.208)

This was evidently a version of events which the regimental commander Oberst Otto Löffler was comfortable reporting up the chain of command. The platoon commander involved, Leutnant Horst von Gehe, had responded correctly to a proper approach by his opposite number (as one would expect, Christmas Truce eyewitnesses usually credit the ‘enemy’ with making the first move). The British officer was almost certainly Captain R.J. Armes of 1st North Staffordshires, whose own account can be found in Brown & Seaton’s much-reprinted book ‘Christmas Truce’ (pp.68-69). According to both versions of events, they formally agreed a perfectly militarily correct local truce for the entirely laudable aim of giving the dead of both sides a proper burial. Evidently neither Löffler nor Kaden saw any reason to criticise Leutnant von Gehe’s conduct. He would later transfer to the Luftstreitkräfte and die in action as a fighter pilot with Kampfstaffel 26 at Mercy le Bas (Woëvre-Ebene) on 17th March 1916.

The reference to the captured Tommies can be corroborated from British sources. The war diary of the Queen’s Westminster Rifles (16th Btn. London Regiment) opposite IR 107 records with considerable embarrassment that three men (Riflemen Byng, Goude and Pearce) went missing on Christmas Eve. During the fraternisation on Christmas Day, the Saxons informed the QWRs that they had wandered into the German trenches in a drunken state and been detained, having seen too much of the German defences to be released. The regimental history of IR 107 (which likewise claims that a British officer initiated the truce) refers to the ‘capture’ on Christmas Eve of two successive groups, of four and two Tommies respectively. The other three have been identified as Corporal Thomas Latimer and two men of 3rd Btn. Rifle Brigade.

Generalmajor Kaden makes no mention in his diary of subsequent events in the IR 107 sector, which became one of the biggest and longest-lasting hotspots of open fraternisation. It is hard to imagine how this situation could have been concealed either from Kaden or from Oberst Löffler, who issued a regimental order for hostilities to resume at midday on Boxing Day. This was courteously passed on by a junior officer to 1st North Staffordshires, and resulted only in a brief and harmless token volley (Brown & Seaton pp.148 & 162). Whether Löffler had expected anything else remains a mystery. At this point something which looked more like normality was restored along most of the front, although the unofficial truce and regular clandestine fraternisation persisted well into January on the left at Rue du Bois where the lines were closest together.

In his next diary entry (27th December), Generalmajor Kaden records what he has heard from IR 106 at Ploegsteert Wood:

Hauptmann Schröder of IR 106 reported on the ceasefire, which has also been agreed with the English on 106’s regimental front. A few of our fellows had very cautiously put up a candle on the edge of the trench, then, when this was not shot at, even a small lighted tree – to applause and cheers from the English! 1.2km behind the trenches in Basse-Ville, Musikmeister Capitän played Christmas songs, also including ‘Home, sweet Home’. The English responded with rapturous applause. Here too the dead lying between the lines were buried. It was even possible to take photographs.
- diary of Generalmajor Richard Kaden, quoted in Fighting the Kaiser’s War (p.208)

On Christmas morning a provisional sector truce had been agreed with officers of the Somerset Light Infantry and Rifle Brigade for the purpose of recovering the numerous dead scattered between the edge of the wood and the German ‘Birdcage’ position, where they had lain since the British local attack on 19th December. The regimental history states that this agreement had “the permission of the Generalkommando” (corps HQ) which must surely have been retrospective. A formal New Year truce proposal given to the British by IR 106 on 30th December and subsequently preserved in the war diary of 1st Rifle Brigade bears both the signature of the regimental commander Oberst William Kohl and a formal statement that it is being offered on behalf of the Generalkommando. Regrettably the British were unable to meet Kohl’s conditions and fighting was officially resumed that day, although at the front both sides understood that a tacit ‘live and let live’ arrangement would continue to prevail.

This official and militarily defensible version of events naturally leaves out the scenes of widespread fraternisation in the IR 106 sector, as described by numerous eyewitnesses. Generalmajor Kaden’s hint that “it was even possible to take photographs” is certainly accurate, as the most iconic British photos of the Christmas Truce were taken in this sector and show men of Kohl’s regiment. Sadly so far as I know, no German photos of the occasion have yet come to light. If the brigade commander knew of their existence it seems likely that they would have been suppressed due to their highly unauthorised subject matter.

The only subsequent mention of the truce in Kaden’s diary is on 8th January 1915. A strict and emphatic anti-fraternisation order had been issued by OHL (German supreme command) on 29th December, and the British press coverage of what had happened at Christmas on the XIX. Armeekorps front was now a source of acute embarrassment both for the Royal Saxon Army and for Kaden personally.

The Times has published an article concerning the fraternisation of the English with the Saxons on Christmas Eve. The Saxons were ‘such nice chaps’ and the English soldiers were reluctant to shoot at them. What cheek! We are glad of their enmity and want none of their sympathy, so it is quite in order if OHL has indeed begun an investigation into these goings-on.
- diary of Generalmajor Richard Kaden, quoted in Fighting the Kaiser’s War (p.208)

However there was clearly little desire at any level of the German military to pursue recriminations against any of the numerous units and individuals who had fraternised that Christmas, which could only have resulted in a demoralising and internationally embarrassing spectacle. In particular, the British propaganda aim of driving a wedge between the Prussians and the Saxons was surely apparent both to OHL and to the Saxon Kriegsministerium in Dresden. It seems that the situation was managed by granting the appearance of military propriety to what had happened so far as this was possible, insisting that the enemy had been first to seek a truce and making it emphatically clear to officers and men alike that nothing of the kind could be tolerated in future. As discussed in my previous article, we have only found one reference to punishments within XIX. Armeekorps for fraternisation - two men of Jäger-Bataillon 13, who were punished with the task of burying a dead cow. Even this may only have been due to the fact that the fraternisation took place around New Year, and thus after the anti-fraternisation order had been passed down to the troops. 

None of the officers I have mentioned suffered any obvious harm to their careers. Löffler and Kohl ended the war as divisional and brigade commanders respectively. Kaden himself eventually came to professional grief for an entirely different reason, forced into retirement for criticising OHL’s conduct of the Verdun offensive. As for the corps commander who had seemingly signed off on the truce proposals, General der Kavallerie Maximilian von Laffert would be awarded the Prussian Pour le Mérite (‘Blue Max’) for his leadership in the Battle of the Somme. His distinguished career came to an abrupt end in July 1917, when he suffered a fatal heart attack after the catastrophic defeat of his command at the Battle of Messines.

For the full story of the Christmas Truce on the whole XIX. Armeekorps front, please see the following article (newly updated for Christmas 2021 with a few discoveries from the past year):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/german1914/permalink/875328469978864

For much, much more on the Royal Saxon Army of the Great War and details of all of our publications, please check out our website at www.royalsaxonarmy.co.uk

Merry Christmas and a much happier New Year to one and all!

[Fattyowls]

Many thanks for this, the views from the other side of the wire as it were are underepresented in accounts of the evens so this really helps. Have a cool Yule.

Pete.

[bierast]

10 minutes ago, Fattyowls said:

Many thanks for this, the views from the other side of the wire as it were are underepresented in accounts of the evens so this really helps. Have a cool Yule.

My pleasure, and merry Christmas to you! To be frank I'm a little dismayed that our discoveries on this subject have not yet been picked up in recent literature (I reviewed a new book on the Christmas Truce a few weeks ago). Hence I am now putting these diary entries out there in the hope of getting the good Generalmajor Kaden some recognition! 

[mebu]

Yes it really is interesting to see the story from the other side, and that the two versions seem to match fairly closely. You have obviously worked hard on getting this.

Peter 

PS with apologies to Matt and the Daily Telegraph, for the cartoon below:

[Interested]

Thanks for posting your extract, makes for a good read.

In case you aren't aware, the cartoon is referring to the latest government policy cancelling football matches because of Covid.

 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

6 minutes ago, Interested said:

In case you aren't aware, the cartoon is referring to the latest government policy cancelling football matches because of Covid.

Well, HMG haven't cancelled any football matches in this wave of Covid.
Lots of matches in England have been postponed  by the governing bodies because of the sheer number of players infected.

In Wales matches are effectively played behind closed doors  with crowds restricted by the Welsh Government to 50, and  in Scotland to 500 by order of the Scottish Government.

But no matches cancelled by any government edict...

[doyle3]

thanks for posting this info. Copy of the book ordered.

[squirrel]

No mention of football in those Saxon accounts...

[bierast]

2 hours ago, squirrel said:

No mention of football in those Saxon accounts...

Indeed, but there are Saxon accounts mentioning football for other sectors on the Saxon XIX. Armeekorps front. In the much more detailed article below I go through the whole corps front sector by sector, matching up the British and German sources as far as possible.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/german1914/permalink/875328469978864

[bierast]

Thankyou all for the kind words on this piece!

For those interested, a quick note on the source - Generalmajor Kaden published an edited version of diary as the book ‘In der Alten Armee’ (1933; never reprinted). However Jürgen owns an original typescript that once belonged to the general, complete with his handwritten corrections, additions and annotations. The published version was edited to remove all references to family matters as well as potentially libellous criticisms of specific officers (understandable, given how Kaden was essentially forced into retirement after falling out with the Falkenhayn OHL over Verdun). However Kaden's references to the Christmas Truce were not censored in the published version, indicating that they were not seriously controversial in 1933.

[squirrel]

23 hours ago, bierast said:

Indeed, but there are Saxon accounts mentioning football for other sectors on the Saxon XIX. Armeekorps front. In the much more detailed article below I go through the whole corps front sector by sector, matching up the British and German sources as far as possible.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/german1914/permalink/875328469978864

Thanks for the link, interesting reading.

[bierast]

After some discussion with my Saxon friends and consultation of sources, I feel I should clarify the situation with IR 107 a little. As mentioned before, the allocation of divisional, brigade and regimental subsectors on the XIX.AK front was still pretty irregular at Christmas 1914 and would be sorted out until its divisions were triangularised in spring 1915.

At Christmas IR 107 still had all three battalions in line abreast (from left to right / south to north - I., II., III. Batl.). Thus it was in contact with multiple British units. The I. Batl. / IR 107 on the left at Rue du Bois (where the lines were closest together) made contact with 1st North Staffordshires on Christmas Eve and. Meanwhile on the right, III. Batl. / IR 107 received the drunken visits from men of the Queen's Westminster Rifles and 3rd Rifles the same night.

Naturally elements of all three battalions of IR 107 were in reserve, and took part in a grand Christmas Eve celebration in Lomme. This opened with a church service attended by the regimental commander and all of the officers currently out of the line; the altar was decorated with two large fir trees brought from Germany. The companies and (battalion / regimental) staffs then celebrated individually, with 'Christmas tables' full of gifts sent from home for collective distribution. Kaden's account adds two British prisoners to these proceedings! The Hauptmann Schreiber whom he mentions was incidentally the acting commander of III. Batl. / IR 107, the battalion responsible for their 'capture'.

Many readers will have heard of 'Krampus', but for those who have not - he is a comical daemonic companion to St. Nicolas / Santa Claus in Austrian folk tradition, who punishes bad children with gifts of coal or carries them off in his sack. This is not a Saxon tradition, but given the popularity of Krampus as a motif on Austrian Christmas cards and the close cultural ties between Saxony and Austria-Hungary it's not so surprising to see it referenced. I don't think there is any suggestion that the Tommies were given any special costume to play this role (though there are certainly a good number of German Christmas photos from WW1 where St. Nicolas appears in person!); the British uniform alone was clearly considered appropriate to represent Krampus for the Feldgrauen, and no doubt caused a great deal of amusement.

Sadly we have not yet uncovered any photos of this memorable party...

Edited 28 December , 2021 by bierast