Enemies celebrate Christmas Bashny.Net

The incredible thing happened on the Western Front during the First World War.
Christmas Eve and Christmas 1914 French, British and German soldiers celebrated together.
You see, as much as a magical holiday.




Christmas - it is a special day, so even the soldiers at the front of the house got a lot of assumptions, which in addition to warm clothing, medicine and letters, were the Christmas gifts, and even garlands of fir branches.



It all started with the fact that on Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24, German soldiers started to decorate their trenches and sing Christmas carols at the British infantry responded by singing English songs.



German soldiers shouted in broken English: «A happy Christmas to you, Englishmen!» («Merry Christmas to you, Englishmen!"). And in response was heard: «Same to you, Fritz, but dinna o'er eat yourself wi 'they sausages!» («The same to you, Fritz, not obeshtes sausage!»).



Both sides continued to rejoice and shout greetings to each other. Some of the soldiers began to leave in the neutral zone for the exchange of Christmas gifts - chocolate, cigarettes and little things. The soldiers showed each other pictures of their families, exchanged souvenirs. Later, the former enemies even played football in the neutral zone.



On that day, even the artillery was silent. The truce allowed to collect the bodies of fallen soldiers to bury them behind their lines, as corpses remained on the battlefield for a few months. Carried out joint funeral service for the fallen service.



The truce has spread to other parts of the front, and there are many stories about football matches between the warring parties. In many sectors the truce and continued on December 25 and in some areas up to the New Year.















Barnsfater Bruce, who served in the British Army at the time, wrote:

"I would not miss this unique and strange Christmas for what else ... I saw a German officer - Lieutenant, I think, and being a bit of a collector, I hinted to him that took a fancy to some of his buttons ... I took my clippers wires and a few deft movements took him a couple of buttons and put it in his pocket. Then I gave him two of his in return ... Finally, I saw that one of my gunners, who was a little barber-lover in civilian life, strizhёt unnaturally long hair obedient "Bosch", who patiently kneeling on the ground, while the automatic scissors shorn of his neck ».

On that day, everyone had a great mood, a holiday let to forget about the harsh everyday life of the front. All were very happy truce, with a few exceptions, of course. One of these exceptions is a young corporal 16th Bavarian reserve infantry regiment Adolf Hitler.

Christmas truce - a vivid symbolic moment of peace and humanity against the backdrop of one of the most dramatic events in modern history.

Source: dimka-jd.livejournal.com