A Christmas Truce

[ItalianPolishGuy]

:)

[pr0666]

When WW2 had a actualy point,WW I had none. Whole idea of WW1 was pointless...

[sdcoyote70]

There is a great British website on the truce see christmastruce dot co dot uk

Also a book about it containing soldiers' letters from that website, see Oh Holy Night: The Peace of 1914 on amazon.

[davedavedaveannoy1]

War is useless, it might advance technology and forge new political and economic systems its ultimately destructive and wasteful. Many millions of lives lost because some little european country and all the allies that backed it had a pissing contest with another. Millions dead over a petty pursuit, I feel so bad for those poor men, they died for nothing.

[i842much]

Nothing? Nothing but democracy, freedom, preventing the annihalation of several races of mankind. Standing in the gap for God and the freedoms he gave us to believe as we wish. To end a war that could have continued on killing more men, women and children. I would not call that dying for nothing. The pursuits of Kings will always be paid for by the minions underneath them, however our King or Presidents have freedom and God at the heart of the interests, until perhaps this President.

[davedavedaveannoy1]

@i842much #1. Democracy is not the term you are seeking, Republic is the term you are seeking. #2. I'll admit, it was for something, but for the most part it was just rivalry between socialist nations, though intervention by the United States brought some freedom. But in reality one half of Europe sided with one nation, and half of europe sided with its enemy. They fought a massive and gruesome struggle because of a little one, brothers separated and killed because of useless alliances.

[i842much]

@davedavedaveannoy1 Then we agree, yes I meant Republic, but they always starts another argument.

[SOULxOFxTHExSOL]

@davedavedaveannoy1 its pointless until terrorists happen and people attack eachother, im all military but i partly agree with you, my bad and they also didnt die for nothing, it was for their country

[davedavedaveannoy1]

@SOULxOFxTHExSOL They fought and died for their nation, their legacy, their people. But the conflict was for nothing, they may have sacrificed much, but for what purpose. The idiocy unleashed by that single Black Hand assassin ended the lives of tens of millions and gave rise to a horrific disease that made the war itself look like a petty skirmish. All those people died for something, yet for nothing. Pray that the ancestors of the past and the generations of future forgive us for our crimes.

[SOULxOFxTHExSOL]

@davedavedaveannoy1 man they still doin it today...... the war on terror means defending your country but it is becoming more than that and getting to pointless measures, it can be ended fast in my opinion.... nuke... i see what u mean man.................. i see

[davedavedaveannoy1]

@SOULxOFxTHExSOL We do need to exterminate it, and fast. This Insurgency is a disease, a cancer upon this world, if we want to create peace we need to use fear in our fight against it. Every side has a weakness, and theirs is Islam, if you can frighten them religiously you can win. Unfortunately it wont be looked on kindly by the UN nor the non-extermists and could rally more to their cause.

[SOULxOFxTHExSOL]

@davedavedaveannoy1 wow... good point

[Csp499]

I wonder what would have happened in Iraq if the Americans and Iraqis had something like Christmas in common...

[deadlymassacre1]

@Csp499 Suicide Bombers.

[biglampelswick]

NO MORE WARS 2010, NEVER  AGAIN

[ascoop22]

Looting, thousands marched back to Germany for forced labour, burning of towns execution of civilians in both Belgium and France. Look into the rape of Belgium if you want to know more. Also there was artillery shelling and air bombing of cities, unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant shipping and civilian ocean liners. The Royal Navy blockaded both military and civilian supplies to Germany including food which resulted in starvation, so total war there also.

[Perc3ptive]

It was foolishness. And now look at Europe. A demoralized, decultured rabble overrun by foreigners.

[cfodk]

WW1 was largely a political war. I think many soldiers on either side felt betrayed by their own governments. The civilian populations did not suffer the same horrors as in WW2 - which is why WW2 came to be in the first place. Its a terrible thing to say, I know - but if you want to win decisively you have to "wipe out" not only the enemy soldiers, but also their homes, families and friends. Had they not done that to Germany in WW2 we would still have a German "Reich" to deal with today.

[MatoVuc]

germany at the end of WW1 was reduced to a pathetic economical, industrial and armed state, that later on turned into a devastated population, especially with the oncome of the great depresion, which then left an impressionable populace longing for a "Messiah" to deliver them to greatness again...

and the true reason why Germany never rose up again was because it was devided up and the era was gripped in the Cold War...

[MatoVuc]

the UN would have been as useless as the League of Nations had it not been for the Cold War state in the world...

[Fridomfry]

This Xmas truce was somehow the last expression of a Christian feeling after 120 years of nationalist craze.

It involved British troops more than Belgian or French: Those had already seen too many war crimes done by the German army on their soil to feel like chanting carols with the men who burned their cities and shot hostages.

[lehtorja]

Nonsense. French army was the one that later mutinied in grand scale. Don't put too much emphasis on allied war propaganda. The war was simply pointless for ordinary soldiers - on all sides.

[Fridomfry]

??? Excuse me, but this is pure nonsense. If the French army had mutinied on grand scale, the German army would have won the war within a week. I suppose you refer to the aftermath of the Cemin des Dames battle in May 1917, when a few divisions declared they would hold the line, but no longer be launched in bloody, pointless assaults. The problem was quickly settled by Pétain. And, the next month, the French won two new victories. The same men later pushed the Germans back to the Rhine.

[ascoop22]

It wasnt war propaganda. The Germans were very merciless and destructive with civilians and scorched earth policies. They accepted what total war meant and their deeds done were out of necessity and orders. Evil and barbaric are words that fit. Same as all wars.

[ascoop22]

A few mutinies happened everyday day for a while but petered out by July, scattered regiments or battalions and smaller or what was left of them. Moral was very low for the French, yet, they were not only still holding off German attacks but also advancing in some places and by the end of August 1917 were back at the same place where they were when the Germans started the battle of Verdun a year and a half before.

Too bad Petain didnt have balls and a cure 23 years later.

[ascoop22]

Every Army has a breaking point, even one with the most tenacious spirit in battle and highest moral like the Australians. They went from ending one battle with more men than they went in with, because of men who were relieved running back to join their mates in an attack, to refusing to go into battle. The Russians had a revolution.

[ascoop22]

Fresh troops of the First American Army were affected and by mid October, after just 3 weeks in the Argonne, Pershing was rounding up over 100,000 stragglers in the rear and issuing orders to shoot any man that ran away. German moral suffered enough for it to be a major factor in them losing the war.

Like lehtorja said, the war was simply pointless for ordinary soldiers - on all sides.

[Perc3ptive]

'Pershing' is an Anglicized bastardization of his real surname, Pfoershing. Thus, the man leading the Americans against the 'Huns' in the First World War was of a 'Hun' himself.

[lehtorja]

Sorry ascoop22, but could you perhaps provide us with a credible list of German atrocities in WWI? Remember, the term "total war" was a later invention. Are you sure you are not mixing World War I with World War II?

[lueshi4242]

shows how pointless the whole thing was very sad

[LordLugburz]

great video mate

[LastRussianEmporer]

it was the englishs fault the serbians caused the problem allied with russians allied with england n france so tech it was their fault

[lehtorja]

Check your details. France was allied with Russia, Britain was not. They promised only diplomatic support just before the war. Germans backed Austria unconditionally, and were to blame much more than the British.