Fighting in the Great War was different/from earlier conflicts.
The soldiers on each side dug ditches,/called “trenches,”/where they lived and fought.
The fighting was called “trench warfare”/with the Allied Powers on one side/and the Central Powers on the other,/enemy facing enemy.
The longest trench was dug/by the German army in France,/and it was over three kilometers long!
Fighting happened in the area between the trenches,/called No Man’s Land.
Soldiers fought fiercely/to get territory little by little/and No Man’s Land was a dangerous place.
On Christmas Eve 1914,/something wonderful happened. No one is really sure where it started,/but all along the Western Front,/the soldiers decided to stop fighting. A spontaneous truce for Christmas had begun!
In a few places,/army officers from both sides/talked and decided terms for the truce:/when to stop fighting/and when to start again. But there was no general plan. In most places,/ordinary soldiers decided/by themselves/not to fight. It was Christmas,/a time of peace.
There are many stories/about how the Christmas Truce began. Some people say/that German soldiers followed their tradition/and put up Christmas trees all along the Western Front. These twinkling trees were beacons/in the darkness of No Man’s Land/and could be seen/by the Allied soldiers. Others talk/about how British soldiers heard the German enemy/singing the Christmas carol, “Stille Nacht”/— and suddenly realized/it was a song they knew! Then they began to sing along/in English. The song was “Silent Night.”
Maybe it was the Christmas trees;/maybe it was the Christmas carols;/maybe it was because they were without their families at Christmastime. No matter how the Christmas Truce started,/it was an incredible event. One by one,/soldiers from both sides/began to leave their trenches/and walked into No Man’s Land.
On Christmas Eve 1914,/something wonderful happened. No one is really sure where it started,/but all along the Western Front,/the soldiers decided to stop fighting. A spontaneous truce for Christmas had begun!
In a few places,/army officers from both sides/talked and decided terms for the truce:/when to stop fighting/and when to start again. But there was no general plan. In most places,/ordinary soldiers decided/by themselves/not to fight. It was Christmas,/a time of peace.
There are many stories/about how the Christmas Truce began. Some people say/that German soldiers followed their tradition/and put up Christmas trees all along the Western Front. These twinkling trees were beacons/in the darkness of No Man’s Land/and could be seen/by the Allied soldiers. Others talk/about how British soldiers heard the German enemy/singing the Christmas carol, “Stille Nacht”/— and suddenly realized/it was a song they knew! Then they began to sing along/in English. The song was “Silent Night.”
Maybe it was the Christmas trees;/maybe it was the Christmas carols;/maybe it was because they were without their families at Christmastime. No matter how the Christmas Truce started,/it was an incredible event. One by one,/soldiers from both sides/began to leave their trenches/and walked into No Man’s Land.