Ladies and Gentlemen this is the definitive story of humanity. It is a triumph of the human will for compassion. We held a trucefire in Firebase Alpha Aschau Valley in Vietnam with the NVA on Christmas 1970.
Never been anything like it before or since. In the middle of the night, I saw a shooting star. Not overly religious but I took as a sign. I'm glad you all enjoyed this.
hard to believe that this event actually happened, but it did, despite the fact that sticking one's head slightly above the trench could get your head shot off. Whichever soldier came up with this idea and walked into No Mans Land either had unyielding faith in the goodness of his fellow man, had brass balls, or was completely shell shocked.
This is very moving....and to think after this war....there was that OTHER one 1939 - 1945. Millions and millions of lives lost. "When will they ever learn...when will they ever learn...?"
A truly major war had not occurred in Europe in living memory when the first world war began. Therefore, I think the soldiers were not accustomed to the mindset of total hatred and dehumanisation for the enemy - at least, not at that point. The idea of doing service for your country and feeling of the righteousness of the cause was probably more the dominant feeling. It's interesting to note that nothing on the scale of the 1914 truces happened again. By then, pre war Europe was gone for good.
Yes I agree and would add "The common man is always the loser in war" and the private bankers who started the war holding all the cards make profit from both sides. propaganda sucks!
Take a moment and see what happened when the commanding officers on both sides discovered that a truce had been arranged for Christmas Eve. Tells you a lot abaout the mindset of the officer corps at the beginning of the 20th century.
I'm so glad to see this "truce" documented, it helps to restore my faith in the basic goodness of man, even in time of war. That sounds incredibly naive, even to myself, but it's the only way I can say it. Please help me say it better.
As a veteran with some years, I do not disagree. There is an attempt to deify your enemy. To be truthful, I was not instilled with a great hatred for my enemy. The one thing that kept me from running away was that I was letting my buddies on either side of me down. We didn't give the enemy a lot of thought, except that they were going to kill me if given a chance. That is a strong motivator.
Sadly most people do not even know this event was real. They tend to leave it out of the history books.
They even made a movie about this in 2005 I think called Joyous Noel if I remember right.
lordvelos 1 month ago
Is this voiceover guy Michael Gambon? It sounds like him
berserker276 2 months ago
The veteran being interviewed is Henry Williamson who wrote Tarka the Otter and several books about the war which include first-hand accounts.
jameswburke 2 months ago 3
@jameswburke that`s interesting,i never knew that,i have seen this clip many times and have the programme on dvd but didn`t know this.
bazzatheblue 2 months ago
@jameswburke Thanks for highlighting that, James. I had no idea that that was Henry Williamson.
NewRightLondon 2 months ago
my class is doing a play on this.
butkicker75 2 months ago
Ladies and Gentlemen this is the definitive story of humanity. It is a triumph of the human will for compassion. We held a trucefire in Firebase Alpha Aschau Valley in Vietnam with the NVA on Christmas 1970.
Never been anything like it before or since. In the middle of the night, I saw a shooting star. Not overly religious but I took as a sign. I'm glad you all enjoyed this.
flattus47 3 months ago 5
hard to believe that this event actually happened, but it did, despite the fact that sticking one's head slightly above the trench could get your head shot off. Whichever soldier came up with this idea and walked into No Mans Land either had unyielding faith in the goodness of his fellow man, had brass balls, or was completely shell shocked.
bcakapinky 3 months ago
@lilchick799 its a war, over 1 million soldiers lost their lives just in 1914, they used the truce as an oppurtunity to bury their dead
meh4000 3 months ago
y is it showin graves if its the truce ? \
lilchick799 3 months ago
This is very moving....and to think after this war....there was that OTHER one 1939 - 1945. Millions and millions of lives lost. "When will they ever learn...when will they ever learn...?"
tennis11ish 4 months ago
"I'm fighting for freedom" "Exuse me, comrade, but I am fighting for freedom" That really shows the way it works...
antiochostheos 6 months ago 2
@antiochostheos Painfully true: "We're fighting for freedom, God is on our side, the enemy are barbarians who want to rape our women...."
johnmburt1960 5 months ago
A truly major war had not occurred in Europe in living memory when the first world war began. Therefore, I think the soldiers were not accustomed to the mindset of total hatred and dehumanisation for the enemy - at least, not at that point. The idea of doing service for your country and feeling of the righteousness of the cause was probably more the dominant feeling. It's interesting to note that nothing on the scale of the 1914 truces happened again. By then, pre war Europe was gone for good.
ivanthelimpet 7 months ago 2
@FranticGra
Yes I agree and would add "The common man is always the loser in war" and the private bankers who started the war holding all the cards make profit from both sides. propaganda sucks!
MrBiejos 1 year ago 6
Take a moment and see what happened when the commanding officers on both sides discovered that a truce had been arranged for Christmas Eve. Tells you a lot abaout the mindset of the officer corps at the beginning of the 20th century.
flattus47 1 year ago 4
I'm so glad to see this "truce" documented, it helps to restore my faith in the basic goodness of man, even in time of war. That sounds incredibly naive, even to myself, but it's the only way I can say it. Please help me say it better.
McGrenzer 1 year ago
As a veteran with some years, I do not disagree. There is an attempt to deify your enemy. To be truthful, I was not instilled with a great hatred for my enemy. The one thing that kept me from running away was that I was letting my buddies on either side of me down. We didn't give the enemy a lot of thought, except that they were going to kill me if given a chance. That is a strong motivator.
flattus47 1 year ago 3