BlueDotMusic's video: Christmas Truce 1914 ChristmasCarolAcappella Silent Night bluedotmusic WW1

The carol Silent Night was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops during the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, as it was one Carol that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew. The Christmas truce (German: Weihnachtsfrieden; French: Trêve de Noël) Ploegsteert Wood, Warneton, Hainaut, Flanders Region, Belgium only 8.6 miles from the Killing Fields of Ypres…. 11th Brigade, 4th Division troops of the London Rifle Brigade with troops of the 104th and 106th Saxon Regiments. A series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to the holiday, German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In areas, men from both sides ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps, while several meetings ended in carol-singing. Men played games of football with one another, giving one of the most enduring images of the truce. However, the peaceful behaviour was not ubiquitous; fighting continued in some sectors, while in others the sides settled on little more than arrangements to recover bodies. The following year, a few units arranged ceasefires, but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914; this was, in part, due to strongly worded orders from the high commands of either side prohibiting fraternisation. Soldiers were no longer amenable to truce by 1916. The war had become increasingly bitter after devastating human losses suffered during the battles of the Somme and Verdun, and the incorporation of poison gas. The truces were not unique to the Christmas period, and reflected a growing mood of "live and let live", where infantry in close proximity would stop overtly aggressive behaviour, and often engage in small-scale fraternisation, engaging in conversation or bartering for cigarettes. In some sectors, there would be occasional ceasefires to allow soldiers to go between the lines and recover wounded or dead comrades, while in others, there would be a tacit agreement not to shoot while men rested, exercised, or worked in full view of the enemy. The Christmas truces were particularly significant due to the number of men involved and the level of their participation – even in very peaceful sectors, dozens of men openly congregating in daylight was remarkable – and are often seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of human history. Background song "Silent Night performed by Artisan. Download 20 Christmas Carols here: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=320917281&id=320917273&s=143444&ign-mpt=uo%3D6 WW1 Commemoration Poetry Playlist; https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqIk601MRX0gGX46Z7eZNnvUxuGzc_8ZF Other videos by Artisan are on the Christmas Carols playlist; http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFA8BCB734E8EFD9D Join the Blue Dot Music Experience. http://www.youtube.com/BlueDotMusic http://www.facebook.com/BlueDotMusic ©2014 blue dot music All Worldwide Rights Reserved. Video created for blue dot music by Robert Nichol/Allcast http://www.allcast.co.uk