By Scot Hanna-Weir
At the start of the Great War, many of the soldiers had optimistically hoped that the war would be over by Christmas. They had little way of knowing how long the conflict of World War I would last, let alone that it would certainly not be the war to end all wars. In early August, Germany had moved through Luxembourg and Belgium and was moving toward France. This rapid progress was stymied by a series of outflanking maneuvers that led to a battle line being drawn on the Western Front, from Lorraine in France to the English Channel. It is on this western front where trench warfare began, as Allied and German troops dug into their positions. As it became clear that neither side was making rapid progress toward victory, the trenches began to be fortified and the soldiers settled in for the winter ahead.
The conditions in the trenches were harsh. As Stanley Weintraub describes in his book on the Christmas Truce, Silent Night:
The German Expressionist Otto Dix:
These appalling conditions had much to do with the spirit from which the truce emerged. The soldiers were eager for creature comforts that would make their time in the trenches more bearable. As Christmas approached, both sides began sending gifts to those on the front line. The Germans were receiving Liebesgaben, loving gifts. These packages generally included a large meerschaum pipe with Prince Friedrich Wilhelm’s likeness on the bowl or a box of cigars inscribed Weihnacht im Feld, 1914. Public contributions to these Pakete might have included “Schokolade, Zuckerbrötchen, Bonbons, Zigarren, Zigaretten, Dauerwurst, Ölsardinen, Pfeifen, Hosenträger, Halstücher, Handschuhe und so weiter.”
Of course, all the Schokolade in the world cannot replace the feeling of being home. One German soldier summed it up nicely in a poem that appeared in his hometown paper:
The English sent their troops the Princess Mary box, a replica of the Queen Victoria brass chocolate box from the Boer War of 1899. The box contained cigarettes, pipe tobacco, and a greeting card reading, “May God protect you and bring you home safe.” 2,166,008 boxes were made for this outpouring of gifts. In addition to the boxes, plum puddings, chocolate, and butterscotch were also sent. The Belgians received King Albert cigars and Queen Elizabeth mufflers, and the Frenchwomen at home also called for Noël du soldat donations.
With the harsh conditions and a surplus of holiday supplies streaming in from both sides, the conditions were ripe for a truce to develop. The close proximity of the enemy lines made it easy to communicate, and all were eager for a cessation of what seemed like an interminable conflict to honor the holiday and to have an opportunity to bury the dead.
Alan Cleaver writes about the start of the truce:
Musical retaliation was a theme across many of the locations where the truce broke out. Patriotic songs had already been traded across enemy lines, and so as Christmas approached, carols were a natural extension. O Tannenbaum is mentioned frequently in the letters of soldiers as being heard coming from the Germans, accompanied by the sight of the Weihnachtsbäumen emerging atop the trenches. Weintraub recounts a story of the great lengths that the Germans would go in order to procure and prepare the Christmas trees:
After the singing exchanges that occurred in many sites throughout Christmas Eve and into the morning, Christmas Day brought an opportunity for either side to meet, exchange gifts, retrieve and bury their dead, and possibly even participate in some friendly football competition. Accounts of a football game vary, but there is at least one accounting of the event that remembers both Allied and German soldiers in “No Man’s Land,” in an outright melee – with no teams or sides, but everyone comically taking turns at kicking the ball into a goal and clopping around in large, muddied boots.
While many of the men on the front lines may have welcomed the truce, these sentiments were not universal. One German officer responded to a British overture for peace with these words:
Where the truce occurred, it also had to come to an end. In some places, it seems the time limit had been well established. Sergeant W. Blundell’s words appeared in the Bedfordshire Times and Independent of January 9, 1915: “They asked us not to fire that day and said they would not; and no firing was done until next day and then we were fighting for all we were worth.” In other locations, the truce lasted much longer, with both sides reluctant to fire upon those they had been friendly with the day before. According to the Manchester Guardian’s Paris Correspondent, “The sequel was more interesting than the event itself. The French and German soldiers who had thus fraternized subsequently refused to fire on one another and had to be removed from the trenches and replaced by other men.”
In tonight’s performance, the music performed is primarily drawn from carols sung during the Truce in locations throughout the western front. The first set of pieces on the program were all performed by Major Buchanan-Dunlop’s men of the 1st Leicestershires. All of these carols retain their original melodies, except for While Shepherds Watched, which is a newly composed setting of the text by Gordon Jessop.
The second set of pieces represents those sung by the German forces. Certainly, Stille Nacht is the most famous of the songs associated with the truce, and it is often suggested that both sides joined in the singing of this song together. However, this is unlikely as according to most of the letters many of the Allied soldiers were hearing this carol for the first time as sung by the German soldiers. It was certainly a favorite among the Germans though and frequent mentions of it appear in communications from both the Germans and from Allied letters. Adeste Fideles / O Come all Ye Faithful is the song that the Germans and Allied troops took up together, in English and Latin simultaneously.
Minuit, Chrétien, c’est l’heure solennelle, or O Holy Night/Cantique de Noël is specifically mentioned as one of the displays of virtuosity of one of the soldiers in the trenches. Weintraub describes a few of the superstar performers of the truce:
The set of pieces that begin the second half of the concert were not performed during the truce, but instead serve to contextualize the events of the Truce in their larger context. After all, as beautiful as the truce is, it must be remembered that it took place in the midst of one of a vicious and costly war. The first piece, reminds us that there was intense hardship even at the first Christmas. The Coventry Carol comes from the 15th century Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, a nativity play which portrayed events from the Annunciation to the slaughter of the innocents. In the play, the Carol is sung by the women of Bethlehem just before Herod’s soldiers come in to slaughter their children.
Aitken’s setting of John McCrae’s famous 1915 poem, Flanders Fields remembers the dead through the image of poppies. Today, poppies are still a powerful image of remembrance, particularly in the UK where roughly one million people lost their lives in WWI. American YMCA worker Moina Michael is credited with beginning this tradition when she began wearing a poppy year-round in 1918. She successfully lobbied The American Legion to recognize the poppy as an official symbol of remembrance, and then took this idea to her native France. The idea spread throughout Europe and now various forms of the Poppy Appeal continue to raise money for veterans groups and to act as a sign of respect and remembrance for those who gave their lives.
Anne Kilstofte’s Soldier’s Prayer sets text by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), an American writer who, while not present at the Truce, enlisted when the United States entered the war in 1917 and was killed by a sniper on a scouting mission during the second battle of Marne. In his poem Prayer of a Soldier in France, Kilmer compares the plight of the soldier to the suffering of Jesus. In Kilstofte’s treatment of this text, the soloist carries the text by Kilmer and she then interpolates text from the Stabat Mater, sung by the choir. The Stabat Mater text describes the weeping of Mary next to the cross while her son is crucified. This juxtaposition creates a heart wrenching parallel of the weeping mothers for the lost soldiers of war.
World War I remains one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Estimates in casualties range from 9 to 15 million, with numbers climbing as high as 65 million when accounting for military and civilian deaths, as well as those deaths from malnutrition or disease associated with the war (particularly the Spanish influenza). It is hard to understand that in the midst of an event that deadly, a temporary truce could have occurred. The Christmas Truce of 1914 is an almost unbelievable event where the human spirit and the power of song triumphed to create a moment when even sworn enemies could see their common humanity.
At the start of the Great War, many of the soldiers had optimistically hoped that the war would be over by Christmas. They had little way of knowing how long the conflict of World War I would last, let alone that it would certainly not be the war to end all wars. In early August, Germany had moved through Luxembourg and Belgium and was moving toward France. This rapid progress was stymied by a series of outflanking maneuvers that led to a battle line being drawn on the Western Front, from Lorraine in France to the English Channel. It is on this western front where trench warfare began, as Allied and German troops dug into their positions. As it became clear that neither side was making rapid progress toward victory, the trenches began to be fortified and the soldiers settled in for the winter ahead.
The conditions in the trenches were harsh. As Stanley Weintraub describes in his book on the Christmas Truce, Silent Night:
- Cold rain had muddied and even flooded many trenches, and decomposing bodies floated to the surface. Crude duckboard platforms barely kept soldiers dry, but few were eager to shelter in mucky hideaways that might be worse. Unless soldiers moved about, they would sink into the liquefying mud, and many slept erect if they could, leaning against the dripping trench walls. It was a stomach-churning atmosphere for eating one’s rations. Latrines were nearly non-existent and accomplishing bodily functions a nightmare.
The German Expressionist Otto Dix:
- lice, rats, barbed wire, fleas, shells, bombs, underground caves, corpses, blood, liquor, mice, cats, artillery, filth, bullets, mortars, fire, steel: that’s what war is. It is the work of the devil.
These appalling conditions had much to do with the spirit from which the truce emerged. The soldiers were eager for creature comforts that would make their time in the trenches more bearable. As Christmas approached, both sides began sending gifts to those on the front line. The Germans were receiving Liebesgaben, loving gifts. These packages generally included a large meerschaum pipe with Prince Friedrich Wilhelm’s likeness on the bowl or a box of cigars inscribed Weihnacht im Feld, 1914. Public contributions to these Pakete might have included “Schokolade, Zuckerbrötchen, Bonbons, Zigarren, Zigaretten, Dauerwurst, Ölsardinen, Pfeifen, Hosenträger, Halstücher, Handschuhe und so weiter.”
Of course, all the Schokolade in the world cannot replace the feeling of being home. One German soldier summed it up nicely in a poem that appeared in his hometown paper:
- I wear love’s gloves on my hands,
Love’s leggings warm my thighs,
Love’s tobacco fills love’s pipe,
In the mornings I wash with love’s soap.
For loving gifts, a thank-you letter:
Warm is love’s cap against my skull;
sigh to myself, “So much love—and no girl!”
The English sent their troops the Princess Mary box, a replica of the Queen Victoria brass chocolate box from the Boer War of 1899. The box contained cigarettes, pipe tobacco, and a greeting card reading, “May God protect you and bring you home safe.” 2,166,008 boxes were made for this outpouring of gifts. In addition to the boxes, plum puddings, chocolate, and butterscotch were also sent. The Belgians received King Albert cigars and Queen Elizabeth mufflers, and the Frenchwomen at home also called for Noël du soldat donations.
With the harsh conditions and a surplus of holiday supplies streaming in from both sides, the conditions were ripe for a truce to develop. The close proximity of the enemy lines made it easy to communicate, and all were eager for a cessation of what seemed like an interminable conflict to honor the holiday and to have an opportunity to bury the dead.
Alan Cleaver writes about the start of the truce:
- So Christmas 1914 drew near with opposing forces trying to survive in trenches often waist-deep in mud and water. No side was making any advance and the only ‘victories’ were achieved by cowardly snipers picking off the occasional soldier who forgot to keep his head below the parapet. Since the troops were within shouting distance of one another, they could call out Christmas greetings. And if the Allies sang the National Anthem at the Germans, there would be a hearty chorus of Deutschland Über Alles in response.
No one person started the truce but Major Buchanan-Dunlop of the 1st Leicestershires certainly hastened it. Just before Christmas he received a copy of the hymn sheet used at his old school’s carol concert and on Christmas Eve he led his men in a rendition of some of the songs.
Musical retaliation was a theme across many of the locations where the truce broke out. Patriotic songs had already been traded across enemy lines, and so as Christmas approached, carols were a natural extension. O Tannenbaum is mentioned frequently in the letters of soldiers as being heard coming from the Germans, accompanied by the sight of the Weihnachtsbäumen emerging atop the trenches. Weintraub recounts a story of the great lengths that the Germans would go in order to procure and prepare the Christmas trees:
- Carl Mühlegg, then a private at Ypernbogen, near Langemarck, went to a battalion field kitchen to pick one up. It was remembered fifty years later, “about thirty-two inches tall, [already] nicely decorated and with candles attached to it.” Near Messines he had to cross a kilometer of open field in which he could be seen by the French, silhouetted in the moonlight with his tree. Hostile shots and a “string of machine-gun fire” failed to deter him. “After all, I was Father Christmas bearing a decorated tree, although… with a gun over my shoulder and a bag of ammunition!” Delivering the prize proved easier. “I handed the captain the little Christmas tree… He lit the candles and wished his soldiers, the German nation and the whole world ‘Peace according to the message from the angel.’” Toward midnight, firing ceased and soldiers from both sides met halfway between their positions. “Never,” wrote Mühlegg, “was I as keenly aware of the insanity of war.”
After the singing exchanges that occurred in many sites throughout Christmas Eve and into the morning, Christmas Day brought an opportunity for either side to meet, exchange gifts, retrieve and bury their dead, and possibly even participate in some friendly football competition. Accounts of a football game vary, but there is at least one accounting of the event that remembers both Allied and German soldiers in “No Man’s Land,” in an outright melee – with no teams or sides, but everyone comically taking turns at kicking the ball into a goal and clopping around in large, muddied boots.
While many of the men on the front lines may have welcomed the truce, these sentiments were not universal. One German officer responded to a British overture for peace with these words:
- Gentlemen—You asked us yesterday temporarily to suspend hostilities and to become friends during Christmas… At present time, when we have clearly recognized England’s real character, we refuse to make any such agreement. Although we do not doubt that you are men of honour, every feeling of ours revolts against any friendly intercourse towards the subjects of a nation which for years has, in underhanded ways, sought the friendship of all other nations [but our own], so that with their help they might annihilate us; a nation… professing Christianity… whose greatest pleasure would be to see the political disappearance and social eclipse of Germany.
Gentlemen, you are not, it is true, the responsible leaders of English politics, and so you are not directly responsible for their baseness; but all the same you are Englishmen, whose annihilation we consider to be our duty. We therefore request that you take such action as will prevent your mercenaries, whom you call “soldiers,” from approaching our trenches in the future.
Where the truce occurred, it also had to come to an end. In some places, it seems the time limit had been well established. Sergeant W. Blundell’s words appeared in the Bedfordshire Times and Independent of January 9, 1915: “They asked us not to fire that day and said they would not; and no firing was done until next day and then we were fighting for all we were worth.” In other locations, the truce lasted much longer, with both sides reluctant to fire upon those they had been friendly with the day before. According to the Manchester Guardian’s Paris Correspondent, “The sequel was more interesting than the event itself. The French and German soldiers who had thus fraternized subsequently refused to fire on one another and had to be removed from the trenches and replaced by other men.”
In tonight’s performance, the music performed is primarily drawn from carols sung during the Truce in locations throughout the western front. The first set of pieces on the program were all performed by Major Buchanan-Dunlop’s men of the 1st Leicestershires. All of these carols retain their original melodies, except for While Shepherds Watched, which is a newly composed setting of the text by Gordon Jessop.
The second set of pieces represents those sung by the German forces. Certainly, Stille Nacht is the most famous of the songs associated with the truce, and it is often suggested that both sides joined in the singing of this song together. However, this is unlikely as according to most of the letters many of the Allied soldiers were hearing this carol for the first time as sung by the German soldiers. It was certainly a favorite among the Germans though and frequent mentions of it appear in communications from both the Germans and from Allied letters. Adeste Fideles / O Come all Ye Faithful is the song that the Germans and Allied troops took up together, in English and Latin simultaneously.
Minuit, Chrétien, c’est l’heure solennelle, or O Holy Night/Cantique de Noël is specifically mentioned as one of the displays of virtuosity of one of the soldiers in the trenches. Weintraub describes a few of the superstar performers of the truce:
- A German cornet virtuoso “who is probably well known” played across the lines, and a French harmonica performer broke the night silence in his sector with “Stille Nacht,” while a German violinist stood atop his parapet to offer the French Handel’s Largo. As a village church bell was heard at midnight, Christmas Eve, a British correspondent reportet, it was followed by “a voice, clear and beautiful, singing ‘Minuit, Chrétien, c’est l’heure solennelle.’ And who do you think the singer was? Granier of the Paris Opera. The troops, French and German, forgot to fire whilst listening to that wonderful tenor voice.”
The set of pieces that begin the second half of the concert were not performed during the truce, but instead serve to contextualize the events of the Truce in their larger context. After all, as beautiful as the truce is, it must be remembered that it took place in the midst of one of a vicious and costly war. The first piece, reminds us that there was intense hardship even at the first Christmas. The Coventry Carol comes from the 15th century Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, a nativity play which portrayed events from the Annunciation to the slaughter of the innocents. In the play, the Carol is sung by the women of Bethlehem just before Herod’s soldiers come in to slaughter their children.
Aitken’s setting of John McCrae’s famous 1915 poem, Flanders Fields remembers the dead through the image of poppies. Today, poppies are still a powerful image of remembrance, particularly in the UK where roughly one million people lost their lives in WWI. American YMCA worker Moina Michael is credited with beginning this tradition when she began wearing a poppy year-round in 1918. She successfully lobbied The American Legion to recognize the poppy as an official symbol of remembrance, and then took this idea to her native France. The idea spread throughout Europe and now various forms of the Poppy Appeal continue to raise money for veterans groups and to act as a sign of respect and remembrance for those who gave their lives.
Anne Kilstofte’s Soldier’s Prayer sets text by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), an American writer who, while not present at the Truce, enlisted when the United States entered the war in 1917 and was killed by a sniper on a scouting mission during the second battle of Marne. In his poem Prayer of a Soldier in France, Kilmer compares the plight of the soldier to the suffering of Jesus. In Kilstofte’s treatment of this text, the soloist carries the text by Kilmer and she then interpolates text from the Stabat Mater, sung by the choir. The Stabat Mater text describes the weeping of Mary next to the cross while her son is crucified. This juxtaposition creates a heart wrenching parallel of the weeping mothers for the lost soldiers of war.
World War I remains one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Estimates in casualties range from 9 to 15 million, with numbers climbing as high as 65 million when accounting for military and civilian deaths, as well as those deaths from malnutrition or disease associated with the war (particularly the Spanish influenza). It is hard to understand that in the midst of an event that deadly, a temporary truce could have occurred. The Christmas Truce of 1914 is an almost unbelievable event where the human spirit and the power of song triumphed to create a moment when even sworn enemies could see their common humanity.
