Christmas Truce of 1914

Well sence it's Christmas I thought I would talk about one of my favorite Christmas stories.
Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War. Through the week leading up to Christmas, parties of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches; on occasion, the tension was reduced to the point that individuals would walk across to talk to their opposite numbers bearing gifts. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides – as well as, to a lesser degree, from French units – independently ventured into "No Man's Land", where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs. As well as joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides had also been so friendly as to play games of football with one another. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
I just like the idea that even in the hell of war, humanity can come through.
Also Merry Christmas to everone on the Forums.

Oh this was an amazing time when both sides come together to play football and have fun for one single day before going back and killing each other.

Like to point out this only happened once because most everyone expected it to be a very short war not a 4 year slug fest.

Well yes also because high command made sure that it wouldn't happen again.

Often wondered if both sides went fuck this and decided to cast a rebellion right then and there, or if one side just took advantage of it and slaughtered everyone and then won the war.

I have wondered that to. Everone just throws down there guns and just walked home. I could just imagine their faces when the Generals just start seeing there men leaving the trenches, Like fuck this shit.

And then all of history is changed. or If some asshole shouts COMMUNIST REVOLUTION and everyone revolts.

I could just imagine, also just to get back to the topic some troops were transferred because they refused to fight the same men they spent christmas with. I rememder reading about one case where German troops were sent to the Eastern front because they refused to fight the men they spent Christmas with.

They could agree to have a truce on Christmas but not to end the war...

Only the Men in the Trenches agreed to the truce, the people in charge were horrified by this. How dare people try to act peacefuly, especially during Christmas?

I'm still shocked at how no side took advantage of the cease fire.

Like I said the high command didn't no that it was happening and the common soldier was thinking that the other man in the trench over there is just like me but wearing a diffrent uniform, I think we can stop killing eachother for one day.

Hitler hated it with a passion. Just wanted to present that fact.

How many millions agreed to this? Simultaineously? If one of them was thinking a little more outside of the box [further than they already were], those soldiers could have refused to fight and ended the war. The real power is not that influence that the generals weild, but that which is the choice of the common citizen, the common soldier.
Yes, under normal circumstances, soldiers would not refuse orders and do whatever the commanders tell them to, but this was hardly a normal circumstance. They were already disobeying orders, parhaps even directly in some cases, and it would not have taken THAT MUCH more of a push to refuse to continue shooting at the guy that they had tea with the night before.

I wonder what the soldiers were thinking the next day as they aimed their weapons across the no-man's-land at the same people who had sung songs with them the night before, ate rations at their side.
Alas, I do not blame them. They did what they could under the circumstances.

I'm not as shocked. Soldiers are soldiers. They are people too. Its the politicians that you have to watch out for.

Yes I have heard of that.

Who knows maybe if the world took note, at such humanity the war would of ended. I wish it did. Also I don't blame them either, but as I stated before,

You're forgeting that the French made about 60-70% of the forces in the western front and only a few (as described in the OP) agreed to the truce, so end of the war? Not with the French pride.

The truce was between German and Brits. French hated the Germans with a passion.

This is exactly how Communist Revolutions start. Someone is just like,
"Hey guys, guess what?" "What?" "COMMUNIST REVOLUTION!!!!"

Like I stated in the OP only very small numder of French troops agree to a truce. As you said the French and Germans did hate eachother with a passion.

It's exactly what happened in Russia and China, they where all out in the war and some random Russian was like "This war sucks, The Czar sucks" and then another Ruskie was like "URA COMMUNIST REVOLUTION"

well it is those french bastards that started the war in the west, considering the German governent asked for French neutrality and they mobilized against the Germans anyway, But Historically the Biritsh and the Germans have been good friends (American revolution, 7 years war) and neither government really had a reason to go to war. so i is understandable why the truce happened only between british and germans