University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2012 “A REMARKABLE INSTANCE”: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND ITS ROLE IN THE CONTEMPORANEOUS NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR Theresa Blom Crocker University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Crocker, Theresa Blom, "“A REMARKABLE INSTANCE”: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND ITS ROLE IN THE CONTEMPORANEOUS NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR" (2012). Theses and Dissertations-- History. 2. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/2 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. 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Theresa Blom Crocker, Student Dr. Phil Harling, Major Professor Dr. David Hamilton, Director of Graduate Studies “A REMARKABLE INSTANCE”: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND ITS ROLE IN THE CONTEMPORANEOUS NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR THESIS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Art in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Theresa Blom Crocker Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Phil Harling, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2012 Copyright © Theresa Blom Crocker 2012 ABSTRACT OF THESIS “A REMARKABLE INSTANCE”: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND ITS ROLE IN THE CONTEMPORANEOUS NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR The orthodox narrative of the First World War, which maintains that the conflict was futile, unnecessary and wasteful, continues to dominate historical representations of the war. Attempts by revisionist historians to dispute this interpretation have made little impact on Britain’s collective memory of the conflict. The Christmas truce has come to represent the frustration and anger that soldiers felt towards the meaningless war they had been trapped into fighting. However, the Christmas truce, which at the time it occurred was seen as an event of minimal importance, was not an act of defiance, but one which arose from the unprecedented conditions of static trench warfare and the adaptation of the soldiers to that environment. An examination of contemporaneous accounts of the truce demonstrates that it was viewed by the soldiers involved as merely a brief holiday, and that British army commanders generally ignored or tolerated the truce, eventually releasing orders preventing its continuation or reoccurrence but taking no steps to punish any of the men who took part in it. A review of the letters and diaries of truce participants sheds light on the event itself, while simultaneously challenging the orthodox narrative of the First World War. KEYWORDS: Christmas Truce, First World War, Memory, Narrative Construction, Trench Warfare _____Theresa Blom Crocker_____ _____April 24 2012____________ “A REMARKABLE INSTANCE”: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND ITS ROLE IN THE CONTEMPORANEOUS NARRATIVE OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR By Theresa Blom Crocker _____Dr. Phil Harling_________ Director of Thesis _____Dr. David Hamilton_______ Director of Graduate Studies _____4/24/2012______________ Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the members of my thesis committee who provided so much assistance with this work. Dr. Phil Harling offered valuable feedback from the initial inchoate idea through the final draft of the thesis, and devoted a lot of time to helping me to find the forest amongst the trees. Dr. Karen Petrone provided very useful advice about structure and sources, and Dr. Akiko Takenaka similarly provided helpful comments about memory and history. I am grateful not only for their advice on the work itself, but also their obvious enthusiasm and support for the project. I would also like to express my appreciation to my supervisor, Barbara Jones, for allowing me the opportunity to seek a graduate degree. In addition, Barbara, Ruth Booher and Thalethia Routt all provided support and encouragement throughout my degree work. I am particularly grateful to them for their patience and understanding when class times or research trips prevented me from being readily available. Thanks to Lori Cresci and Pat O’Connor for their interest in the project and their encouraging comments. Thanks also to Saskia and Joe for putting up with a parent who, for the past year, has had only one topic of conversation. If they ever rolled their eyes in exasperation, they at least had the grace to wait until I left the room. Finally, I would like to thank my husband Mark for everything he has done to help with this work. From sharing my passion for the subject to providing advice on the various drafts of the project, his support, patience, insight and understanding have proved invaluable. I probably would have been able to complete this work without him, but I certainly would have enjoyed it less. I therefore dedicate this thesis to him, with love. iii Table of Contents Page Acknowledgements……………………………………………………… iii Chapter 1 – “Stupidity plus tragedy equals futility”: The Modern Narrative of the First World War……………1 Chapter 2 – “There is nothing like the truth”: The Western Front and Trench Warfare………………….21 Chapter 3 – “It’s a funny show this”: Soldier’s Representations of the Christmas Truce……….40 Chapter 4 – “Strange it all seems”: The Christmas Truce and the British Press………………..60 Chapter 5 – “It was a thing to be hushed up”: The Christmas Truce in Retrospect………………………..87 References…………………………………………………………………102 Vita………………………………………………………………………….107 iv Chapter One “Stupidity plus tragedy equals futility”: The Modern Narrative of the First World War It is wishful thinking to suppose that an historical memory can be transmitted without being simplified. The memory is already simplified before people decide that it needs to be transmitted. - Clive James, The Crystal Bucket Colonel Melchett: Field Marshall Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field. Captain Blackadder: Would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy, sir? Captain Darling: How could you possibly know that, Blackadder? It’s classified information. Captain Blackadder: It’s the same plan that we used last time and the seventeen times before that. Colonel Melchett: Exactly, and that is what is so brilliant about it. It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we’ve done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they’ll expect us to do this time. There is, however, one small problem. Captain Blackadder: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds? -Blackadder Goes Forth The famous Christmas truce, which has recently been granted a starring role in the narrative of the First World War, consisted of numerous unofficial cease-fires which took place between British and German troops in the trenches of Flanders on the Western Front, although there were instances of French and Belgian troops participating as well. Ranging from simple agreements not to fire upon the opposing side, to pre-arranged armistices for the sole purpose of burying previously unclaimed bodies, to all-out fraternization with exchanges of food, tobacco and alcohol, the Christmas truce is an intriguing episode in an 1 otherwise long, bloody and bitter war.1 The event, which holds a privileged position in orthodox First World War mythology, is interpreted as a manifestation of the frustration and anger that soldiers felt towards the meaningless war they had been trapped into fighting. The truce, which seemed to spring out of nowhere and ended just as quickly, has left behind the legend of a “candle lit in the darkness of Flanders,”2 and a lingering collective memory of football matches, shared cigars and camaraderie. As the standard accounts of the truce maintain, the soldiers in the trenches, fed up with the war, the politicians who had deceived them into enlisting, and the incompetent military tactics of the generals who commanded them, were eager to show their opposition to them all by defying their officers and consorting with their enemies. The generals, outraged by the willingness of their men to fraternize with the enemy, issued harsh orders prohibiting continuation of the truce, and the soldiers, now reluctant to fire upon opposing troops, had to be coerced into resuming the war, and in some cases were even punished for their participation in the cease-fire.