Author's Note: Unlike all the other stories to date, this one is based off a true event in history, which was a cease-fire on the Western Front of World War I on Christmas Eve. It's very melancholy for a Hetalia Christmas story, but I hope that you, as the reader, will enjoy it.
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All is Calm On Christmas Eve
A Hetalia Axis Powers story
Based on the Christmas Truce of 1914
Starring…
Ludwig – Germany
Arthur – England
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In the midst of the Great War, Arthur, an officer in the British officer, fought tooth and claw with the Germans that were led by Ludwig.
"Surrender, British dogs!" Ludwig sneered as he shot his rifle through the back of a retreating British soldier.
"Krauts are only good for running!" Arthur returned as he mowed down a line of Germans soldiers with his machine gun.
The battle raged on and on, with neither side giving each other an inch.
Then, on Christmas Eve, all the guns went quiet and peace fell on the desolated countryside.
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When Ludwig woke up from his quick nap, he saw, much to his chagrin, Germans soldiers started to build Christmas trees in their trenches.
"What the hell are you doing, you cowards?" he demanded angrily as he saw his subordinates decorating the machine gun area with candles.
A young corporal went up and handed his commanding officer a piece of chocolate from his rations.
"It's Christmas Eve," he replied. "At least, let there be peace on this godforsaken place."
Unable to say anything back, Ludwig could only watch as the young corporal helped his comrades raise another Christmas tree within the trenches.
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On the British side of the trenches, Arthur was shocked to find that the Germans were decorating their trenches with tinsels and ribbons instead of polishing their machine guns or attempting a raid on them.
As he stared through his binoculars at this strange sight, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He took off his binoculars and saw that it was a sergeant under his command.
"Sir," he said. "Can you hear it?"
As Arthur took the time to listen, he heard the sweet sound of a Christmas carol.
"It's singing," he whispered to himself. "The Krauts are actually singing."
As he thought to himself, he saw a group of soldiers under his command singing a carol themselves.
Arthur was about to tell his men to stop singing when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw it was the sergeant again.
"Please sir," he asked, tears slowly dripping down his cheek. "It's Christmas."
As the British man saw this battle-hardened soldier getting emotional over such a sight, he paused to listen to the words of the carol his men were singing:
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
As Arthur listened to the words of this beautiful song, he too started to weep as he thought that he almost forgotten about this special holiday.
"It's truly Christmas," he thought as he heard the British and German troops forming a beautiful melody with their song.
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After an hour of singing, one of Ludwig's men, a young private, did the unthinkable: He put down his rifle and climbed out of the trench, heading for the British lines.
"He's going to get killed," Ludwig thought in horror to such a decision made by this inexperienced soldier.
Suddenly, more of his men started to put down their guns and walk toward the dreaded no-man's land, which was a place filled with rotting corpses and broken equipment.
As he watched this scene, Ludwig saw that the British soldiers were doing the same thing and were heading out to greet the Germans with wide-open arms.
At such a sight, Ludwig, despite his strong exterior, started to weep as well.
"It's truly Christmas," he thought as he dropped his own weapon and climbed out of the trench to join his men in greeting their enemies on this blessed holiday.
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For Arthur and Ludwig, the rest of the time was a blur.
There were mass funerals for the fallen soldiers on both sides…
There were swap meets of men trading buttons and rations for boots and helmets...
There were impromptu games on the battlefield with every man holding a smile on their face…
There were even more times of caroling and bonding as enemies hugged each other like brothers...
"Sleep in heavenly peace," the two officers thought as they stood side-by-side, watching their men associate with each other. "Sleep in heavenly peace."
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The truce continued through the night. When the sun rose, the Germans and British soldiers solemnly waved good-bye to each other and trudged back to their trenches along the Western front.
After the last soldier was back in his respective side, the artillery fired again and the machine guns killed with lethal force.
However, as Ludwig and Arthur commanded their men to kill each other, they both thought back to that night, that holy night, were the night was calm and enemies could stand by each other as friends.
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