1914

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1914-12-25: The Christmas Truce takes place on the Western Front > .

Autumn 1914 saw Germany's advance into France grind to halt as successive attempts by both sides to outflank the enemy resulted in a stalemate. By December 1914 the armies had constructed a continuous line of trenches stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss border where they waited to mount offensives in the spring.

With soldiers confined to their trenches, the ‘Live and Let Live’ system developed in which some of the quieter sections observed periods of non-violence. These unofficial breaks in the fighting were strongly discouraged by the military leadership, who later rejected Pope Benedict XV’s calls for a formal period of peace at Christmas. In the end, therefore, the individual breaks in the hostilities that have become known as the Christmas Truce were largely spontaneous unofficial events.

As the ceasefire had no central organisation, it is unclear exactly where the Christmas Truce began. Evidence points to the front around Ypres in Belgium, where numerous accounts from both sides report the singing of Christmas carols as night fell on a frosty Christmas Eve. As the morning fog cleared the next day, some troops ventured into No Man’s Land to exchange small gifts and Christmas greetings. These meetings often conjure up the popular image of troops playing football but, while there is evidence of at least one game being played, these were a rare exception.

Up to 100,000 men on both sides took part in the Christmas Truce, making it one of the largest examples of the ‘Live and Let Live’ system. While this is a significant number, it also shows that hostilities continued along the majority of the Western Front.