1914 Christmas Truce
On the morning of the 25th of December, only a few months into a four year war that had already taken more than two million casualties... something extraordinary happened.
Men, young soldiers and officers from both sides of the western front, chanced to step onto the No Man's Land between them and the enemy. A brave few that soon turned into many: Germans, British, French, Belgians, all along the trench lines.
In some parts, not one shot was fired as carols and anthems were sung, gifts were exchanged, and even friendly games of football were started. Never again would such blatant fraternization between enemies be seen again, in this war or the next.
An unofficial ceasefire, and as it happened "No Man's Land, became Every Man's Land."
"The men are exchanging gifts."
Ludwig stared at the object in the other's extended hand, and then at its owner. The tone of the last sentence made it seem like the bewildering action should be self explanatory.
Several moments passed, but still Ludwig made no move to take it. The object was waved a little forcefully in front of him.
"Well? Don't just stand there, you ninny," Arthur huffed. "Take it!"
Ludwig's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You are... offering me a gift?" he said incredulously.
"Yes."
There were a few more moments of awkward silence. Ludwig could feel the embarrassed impatience flowing off from the other man.
"You think it's poisoned?" Arthur finally asked irately. "I'm insulted that you would even consider the notion. I'll have you know that these yams are incredibly hard to come by during these times! They certainly aren't part of our rations, and if you don't want them, the least you can do is say it bloody outright-"
"Nein, bitte!" He took the canned yams quickly, stemming the hostile outburst. "I am sorry. I am just...confused. You and I, we are enemies."
"Why yes, we are enemies! What an astute observation!" said Arthur. "What of it?"
Ludwig looked uncomfortable.
"For heaven's sake, man! Lighten up! It's Christmas! Just get into the spirit!" Arthur encouraged. "Just look, one of your officers even gave me a button as a present! Isn't it just marvelous?" He held up the small brass trinket up as if it were a prize, and Ludwig honestly couldn't tell if he was being mocked again.
He glanced back at the canned food, looking it over. "...Thank you," he finally assented. He dug into his own pockets and produced a pack of cigarettes, offering them to his English counterpart.
Arthur took them, venturing a smile and a pat on Ludwig's broad shoulder, to which the German responded to with a funny look.
"You are young," Arthur said, shaking his head at the reaction. His attention turned to their men around them, conversing quietly or attempting to kick a makeshift football on the muddy field. Ludwig waited expectantly for him to continue, knowing the simple statement hadn't been meant as an insult.
"You find it strange, but you'll understand soon enough. When the world moves too quickly for you and war becomes a daily ritual, one of our kind finds that a peaceful day should be cherished. They are ever so fleeting. I will tell you that never before have I witnessed a day like this, where both parties have lain down arms to commune together on the battlefield."
"Yet out of everyone here, you and I have the biggest reason for not participating in this festivity," Ludwig said. He eyed the other pointedly. "Don't think that I did not notice your eyes when you came close to our trenches. You were looking and memorizing our positions."
"As I'm sure many of your soldiers have done to ours as well, even inadvertently," Arthur countered. "This day is exceptional, but as we fully know - this war has to continue."
"You shouldn't be so narrow minded, boy. Your opportunities will suffer." Arthur watched Ludwig bristle under the comment, a small smirk poking at the corners of his mouth, and Ludwig saw hints of the true enemy he was facing - a proud and powerful empire - not the amiable, albeit exasperating man he was talking to.
"The world isn't black or white, but differing shades of grey. When you live as long as we do, you'll see your enemies become your closest allies, or your family become the worst of enemies. But in the end, when all has been said and done, when the hatchet has been buried and the old treaties uprooted, it is we who will remain. We will remember, although we may not forgive - but eternity seems too long a time to hold grudges."
Arthur laughed a little then. "Actually, I don't think I'll ever forget your troops singing God Save the King yesterday night either." Ludwig grunted unhumorously, he pointed out that England's men had sung his songs too. They watched the men play a friendly game in the snow, the little bit of tension from earlier quickly diffusing between them.
"Despite everything, it seems only yesterday that I was drinking some friendly rounds with your brother in Berlin, but now... now we're bringing down each other's men left and right. And knowing his strictness in military matters, I don't believe he has the luxury of participating in a ceasefire like this, even if he wanted to." Arthur settled deeper into his coat, dusting off some stray flakes of snow off.
On that last bit, Ludwig had to agree. Despite Gilbert's disruptive informalities on other affairs, Prussia was known for military discipline and sternness. Once word of this truce returned to their commanders, it would only be a matter of time before it was put down quickly.
"This war is something else entirely," Ludwig said. The past couple of months had been very bloody, and he'd be lying if he said that his people had gained much during the period.
"The time for gentlemen's wars is over. The tactic of choice these days appears to be having young men run into machine gun fire," Arthur scoffed. For what? A precious few feet of soil?
It'll be over come Christmas time, had been the saying. But they both knew better. They were only five months in, and it was only just beginning. The advent of new technology and arms from both sides of the war told them it would be unlike anything they'd ever seen before.
Both their thoughts were interrupted when the makeshift football Arthur had produced earlier, which the men were now using, somehow found its way to them in its lopsided trajectory. Whether or not it was a proper football made no difference. The mirth on dirty faces, the relief and enjoyment in the atmosphere between the assortment of different uniforms that should have marked enemies was somehow heartwarming. It was a few precious moments they could spend without real animosity between any of them, as people and not numbers in a pointless conflict.
"But we can speak of these things a different time because today, today is Christmas," Arthur said, his tone resuming its lightness. It was as if that fact about Christmas should have cleared everything up by now. He placed his foot on the ball and looked up, genuinely friendlier than Ludwig had seen in a long time.
"Now, I really don't know about you, but I'll be damned if I have to spend it lobbing grenades at your side of the field. Who knows when we'll have another reprieve like this!" He kicked the ball back and moved forward to join the men, leaving.
For the first time in a while, Ludwig chanced a small smile. He shook his head before following to continue their game of football.
~x~
I tried very hard getting this ON the 25th, but instead I got it in an hour into the 26th. Oh well, but I suppose it's still Christmas somewhere for a little bit longer!
This year marks the Centennial of World War I's beginning. Our present world stems from the global results of that fateful conflict and I think the remembrance of history is important to understand our modern circumstances.
The 25th is the anniversary of the unofficial Christmas truce of 1914. Some famous accounts are from the 24th at night, where British and German soldiers began singing Christmas carols and shouting festivities to each other from their trenches. The next day is what most people are familiar with - some football and conversation. In some places along the Western Front, the truce lasted till New Year's! People also got the chance to bury their dead.
It soon came to end though. After commanders on both sides of the war learnt about everything, they prohibited interaction and things like that. It was under the threat of being court-martialed, but many soldiers who had made friends with the enemy didn't want to fight afterwards!
Sometimes, you have to really study some of the stuff happening around this time to really understand just why this event was so special. People who had been shooting at each other only hours earlier just up and dropped everything to unanimously begin celebrating with each other. It was completely random and amazing! But also, the full horrors of the war hadn't come yet. So that's why soldiers didn't really have that hate yet.
You saw this less from the French and others though. I mean, they were much less eager to celebrate with the ones who were occupying their territory. Plus, the Franco-Prussian war was still pretty recent. And the thing about Gilbert, Prussian units were too disciplined and professional to actually go and violate protocol to celebrate Christmas with the enemy. The same thing with some British units. They were ordered to keep firing on each other, so the truce wasn't everywhere.
Even so, while the second world war had a lot more ideological impetus to it, the first world war was honestly just terribly pointless. In this war, there really was no foe, no such 'evil' to be stopped. I was feeling a little sentimental, so I wrote this. If I taught you some history, I have accomplished something!
I'm really happy that little Christmas Truce strip was animated in the older anime. This kinda takes place right after that...? It's after they've been going at football for a while and then decide to take a little break, and England brings out a gift. Also, I think it's worth mentioning that England's royal family was German, ironically. So I think that despite their pre-war rivalry they might have been quite a bit familiar with each other. Edward V of England and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were cousins, Queen Victoria's grandsons! And not just England and Germany, there were relatives in Russia, Greece, Denmark, etc. Victoria was called the Grandmother of Europe, haha.
I will probably get the urge to write more WW1 stuff with our fellow nations as other anniversaries come up, so stick around if you're interested! The title/summary description may or may not be subject to change...it depends on how cheesy this story looks to me later...eh...
Merry Christmas!