The Christmas truce : myth, memory, and the First World War / Terri Blom Crocker ; foreword by Peter Grant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crocker, Terri Blom, author.

Grant, Peter, author of introduction, etc.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christmas Truce, 1914.

World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--Western Front.

World War, 1914-1918--Armistices.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (311 p.)

Place of Publication:

Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The 1914 Christmas truce, when enemy soldiers met, fraternized, and even played football in No Man's Land during the first year of the First World War, is commonly perceived as a manifestation of the anger that soldiers felt toward the meaningless war that they had been tricked into fighting. Contemporaneous sources, however, show that the truce was not an act of defiance; rather, it arose from the professionalism of the soldiers involved, the conditions of static trench warfare, foul weather on the Western Front, the absence of major battles, and memories of traditional celebrations of Christmas. The truce, in short, was caused by rain, mud, curiosity, lack of personal animosity toward the enemy, and homesickness, rather than by frustration and rebellion.

Contents:

"A candle lit in the darkness": the Christmas truce and the First World War

"Absolute hell": the Western Front in 1914

"A great day with our enemies": the Christmas truce

"No war today": the Christmas truce as reported in official war diaries and regimental histories

"One day of peace at the front": the Christmas truce and the British press

"That unique and weird Christmas": the Christmas truce during the war

"The curious Christmas truce": the First World War and the Christmas truce, 1920-1959

"The famous Christmas truce": the First World War and the Christmas truce, 1960-1969

"The legendary Christmas truce": the First World War, the Christmas truce, and social history, 1970-1989

"Memories of Christmas 1914 persist": orthodoxy, revisionism, and the Christmas truce, 1990-2014

"It was peace that won": the Christmas truce and the narrative of the First World War.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780813174020

0813174023

9780813166650

0813166659

9780813166162

0813166160

OCLC:

923253240