ONE MINUTE HISTORY - December 24, 2022

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Incitatus Ch.

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Published on December 24, 2022 8:55:39 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wo2YkSGC2Y

Duration: 1:00

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On this day, the spirit of Christmas came to the trenches of World War I. On the evening of December 24, 1914, a Christmas truce went into effect all over the western front and in parts of the eastern front as well. Soldiers who just hours before had been fighting one another stepped out into no man’s land to play games together, sing Christmas carols, and even exchange gifts. In the early part of the war, truces like this were actually quite common to allow for swapping prisoners and recovering corpses, but the Christmas truce was remarkable for its widespread nature and for the stunning goodwill and camaraderie shown by the participants on all sides. Sadly, the following year would see some of the most horrific battles of the war, and by Christmas 1915, commanders had strongly forbidden truces and the increasingly bitter soldiers were far less amenable to the concept in the first place.