CHRISTMAS TRUCE 1914
The
Christmas Truce occurred on and around Christmas Day 1914, when the sounds of rifles firing and shells exploding
faded in a number of places along the Western Front during World
War I in favor of holiday celebrations. During the unofficial ceasefire,
soldiers on both sides of the conflict emerged from the trenches and shared
gestures of goodwill.
What
Happened During the Christmas Truce of 1914?
Starting
on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops fighting
in World War I sang Christmas carols to each other across
the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands
joining the Germans in their joyous singing.At the first light of dawn on
Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and
approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas”
in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a
trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and
shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes
and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. Some Germans lit Christmas
trees around their trenches, and there was even a documented case of
soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. German
Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch recalled: “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange
it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the
celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a
time. Meanwhile, some soldiers used this short-lived
ceasefire for a more somber task: the retrieval of the bodies of fellow
combatants who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines.
SAINSBURY'S AD
Based on this true event Sainbury's released an ad in 2014 closely working together with the Royal British Legion (RBL) to ensure that these famous moments of the first world war are brought to life with authenticity and respect.
THE STORY BEHIND THE AD
CHRISTMAS AD
