In his movie, War Horse, director Steven Spielberg brings to life the remarkable story of a family horse from Devon, England whose life takes the viewer through the convergence of emotion and horror on the battlefields of Europe in World War I. Based upon Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 children’s book, War Horse highlights both the tragedy of war and the beauty of compassion. At a poignant part of the story, trench warfare between the forces ceases as a British and a German soldier meet half-way between their trenches to rescue the horse from barbed wire. In this story, Morpurgo captured a historic reality that should give all of us pause.
It was December, 1914, the early days of World War I. This world war fought in Europe was the horrific conflict involving trench warfare, poison gas (now banned by the international community), and the carryover of antiquated gentleman’s fighting with the prolific killing of modern weaponry. Mud-filled trenches, seemingly endless rain, and fields of corpses characterized the conflict. But within this nightmare there was a groundswell of peace in the insanity. Like a flower growing out of the mud-encased madness. Peace broke out from the lowest levels of combat.
As December, 1914 went on, and as Christmas approached, the troops on both sides had begun expressing overtures of peace and friendship to one another. To the officers’ dismay, the troops were intermittently sharing cigarettes and rations, communicating pleasantries, and expressing desires for peace. News stories were beginning to document these spotty expressions of kindness along the western front. Something was brewing. Finally, it was Christmas Eve, December 24th 1914 and the unthinkable happened…
As if sparked by some unseen force for good, here and there along the western front German and Allied forces put down their weapons and mandated peace. In his book, Silent Night: The Story of The World War I Christmas Truce, Stanley Weintraub records the astounding development in the trenches of death that fateful night. German soldiers here and there held up signs to the opposing forces— “YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT.” A commander of the British Fifth Army said, “Every dugout had its Christmas tree, and from all directions came the sound of rough men’s voices singing our exquisite old Christmas songs” (Silent Night, p. 30).
One German private, Carl Muhlegg, said, “’I handed the captain the little Christmas tree….He lit the candles and wished his soldiers, the German nation and the whole world ‘Peace according to the message of the angel.’ Toward midnight, firing ceased and soldiers from both sides met halfway between their positions. ‘Never,’ wrote Muhlegg, ‘was I as keenly aware of the insanity of war’” (Silent Night, p. 33)
One British soldier, Albert Moren, remembered, “It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and … there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights—I don’t know what they were. And then they sang ‘Silent Night’—‘Still Nacht.’ I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life.” (Silent Night, p. 44)
The next day—Christmas Day, 1914—was filled with the same. Mud, standing water, and rotting corpses all around them, soldiers from both sides visited each others’ trenches, traded food and cigarettes, told jokes, and even played soccer. As you would imagine, not all forces were on board with these peaceful overtures. Some commanders objected. Curiously, one young German soldier named Adolf Hitler vehemently opposed this peace, calling it a gross denial of German honor (Silent Night, p. 71). After a few days, the commanders persuaded the troops to descend back into their trenches for warfare.
The story is sobering, isn’t it? In the complexities and evils of our world, warfare is indeed a fact of life. Some war may even be necessary, and most would agree that sometimes peace is only ultimately achieved through a just war. But for all of us, the remarkable and inspiring peace that broke out on that Christmas Eve in 1914 reminds us that life is exceedingly precious, to be cherished, to be honored, to be loved in the spirit of Christmas.
