European University Institute Library

Meetings in no man's land, Christmas 1914 and fraternization in the Great War, Marc Ferro, Malcom Brown, Rémy Cazals, Olaf Mueller ; translations by Helen McPhail

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-[259]) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Meetings in no man's land

bibliography

166315400

Marc Ferro, Malcom Brown, Rémy Cazals, Olaf Mueller ; translations by Helen McPhail

Christmas 1914 and fraternization in the Great War

The soldiers 'football match' and the unofficial ceasefire of Christmas 1914 has become a legend of the Great War, but fraternization between enemy troops was actually widespread. In winter 1914, after months of marching, soldiers on both fronts began to dig trenches, and the war became a battle of attrition in which young men faced each other across what was often only a few yards of the muddy, bombed landscape called No Man's Land. Trapped in this devastation the soldiers of both armies experienced a shared feeling of pointlessness that culminated in the unofficial armistice of Christmas 1914, when German and English soldiers laid down their weapons for a few hours of joyful peace and carol singing. In this book, four international experts look at the Truce of Christmas 1914 by examining personal accounts, diaries, and letters from soldiers.--, Provided by Publisher

Introduction / Malcom Brown -- Introduction to French edition : the realities of fraternization in the First World War / Marc Ferro -- The Christmas Truce 1914 : the British story / Malcom Brown -- Good Neighbours / R?my Cazals -- Brother Boche / Olaf Mueller -- Russia : fraternization and revolution / Marc Ferro