THE MIRACLE OF 1914 - A MUST READ!__________________________________________________ It was 100 years ago this very day that something miraculous happened along the Western Front. After months of bitter fighting, soilders on both sides gathered in no-mans-land in a spontaneous show of peace and goodwill. Heres what happened on that historic day and why it marked the end of an era. In december 1914, the war was entering into a new phase: an extended siege fought along static trenches stretching along a 750km (466 mile) front. The night before christmas, a British captain serving at Rue du Bois heard a foreign accent from across the divide. German soilders were singing christmas carols like Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent night, holy night). Allied troops applauded and cheered shouting out for more. Soilders on both sides began to sing in unison, trading verses in alternating languages. Then, very cautiously and with great courage, unarmed German and Allied soilders climbed out of their trenches to stand atop their defenses. Near Neuve Chapelle, an Irish soilder brazenly walked accross no-mans-land where he was greeted not with machine gun fire, but a cigar. His act of bravery inspired others in his troop to do the same. And when they met, the servicemen exchanged christmas greetings as best as they could and exchanged gifts of momentos, cigarettes and foodstuffs. Most remarkably, a make-shift ball was provided and a football match took place between both sides. At 12:05 am the next day, a flare was lit in the sky - it was a signal that the fighting should resume. The Great War was an unnecessary expedition and waste of lives and talent. It raged on for four years (1914-1919) and attempts to repeat the christmas vendatta in the subsequent years of the war was repelled by the generals, who saw it an unstrategic and counter-military. It may have lasted just for a day, but the scenes of december 25, 1914 was THE LAST GREAT ACT THAT DEFINED THE MOOD OF A DYING AGE.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:33:32 +0000
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