WW1 football truce

And In some instances the truce was short and fighting resumed the same day.

Hi All,
It was only active like others have indicated in sections along English and German trenches and the only reason the fighting resumed the next day was that Officers in the English Army heard about it and threatened to shoot any soldier who repeated it again for treason, whether this also happened in the German Army is open to question I would think but I can’t see the German Officers relishing the thought of an unofficial truce either. 🙁
Also the London/Irish regiment has one of the balls that the Germans tossed over when the London /Irish troops advanced, it’s part of their museum.

Geoff.

A nicely recorded story of one of those localised instances I referred to.:)

Some Nottinghamshire connections have been commemorated:

http://newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Christmas-Truce-Monument-unveiled-in-Sconce-a

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-30493813

I think Yves Buffetaut’s book regurgitated stories previously told but unpublished. Certainly the contrary view that no French would dream of camaraderie with the Bosch also held strong currency. The truth is we are unlikely ever to know for sure and the distance in time will both ensure we do not and enhance the mythic resonance of the story.

Maybe it happened more than we know.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30433729

The best that can be said is that there are a few corroborated reports of localised “truces” of very short duration on the British/German sectors but certainly nowhere else where the Belgians and French had already suffered at the hands of the Germans so understood the reality of war.

These localised stories have become enhanced and enlarged over the decades and in this anniversary year built on and embellished to suit the mood of the times. As to the futility of war, well that’s a separate argument but I can state categorically that I am relieved I was not born into a world with Adolph Hitler as Chancellor of Europe with the Jewish population of the UK being sent to the gas chambers. But that’s just an opinion, of course.

If only “Tommy and Fritz” said “sod this for a game of soldiers!” put down their weapons and just went home. Who could stop them,try or punish a whole army?

Well according to Albert Wyatt it is true as he was one of the players.
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/the_thetford_man_who_says_the_1914_christmas_day_football_match_is_much_more_than_just_a_myth_1_3897065

The unofficial truce happened along a wide length of the front.

Does anyone really think nobody in that 20+ miles had a football to hand and fancied the idea of a kick-around in no-man’s-land?

Moggy