On December 25, 1914, British and Germans stopped fighting to celebrate Christmas in Ypres along no-man’s-land. They stopped because they were tired of war and could not celebrate Christmas with their families so they celebrated together. The Christmas Truce is important because it shows that countries can overcome a conflict when it is necessary and can form a temporary compromise.
World War I had a substantial impact on the reason why the soldiers stopped fighting to have a joyful holiday alliance. On October 19th, the British and the Germans began fighting whenever and wherever was possible. During the thirty-four days of fearsome combat and both sides having heavy losses of ammo and men, the winter weather began to disrupt the fighting. On November 22, due to horrible conditions of the winter weather, the British and the Germans had a
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Once out of the trenches and trusting each other that there would be no fighting, the troops exchanged gifts of plum pudding, cigarettes, food, buttons, and hats and took photos. They even started singing Christmas carols together to increase the Christmas spirit ("1914 First"). Some of the soldiers from the opposing sides even had a good- natured soccer match, which was not a complete game, but was included in with many of the other activities that were done for fun ("What Really"). Most importantly this was the only chance that the German and British troops could go out into no-man’s-land and collect the fallen and injured soldiers to bring back their homeland and bury them ("1914 First"). The truce was a good way for the soldiers to connect, honor their fallen soldiers, exchange gifts, and enjoy the holiday, but it was a concern that when Christmas was over they wouldn’t want to go back to war and fight each
The prelude to the Battle of the Bulge began on a winter day in mid-December of 1944. Three powerful German divisions, were the last German offensives in the west at that time during World War II. They began after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Allied had forces swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border earlier that year in September. On December 16, 1944 taking advantage of the weather, which kept the Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the semi-mountainous and heavily-forested Ardennes region in Germany, and advanced 31 miles into Belgium and northern Luxembourg near the Meuse River. Their goal was to trap four allied armies, divide the Americans and the British to force negotiated peace along the western front, and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp in Belgium. Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American staff commander chose to keep the thin line, so that manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes known as the "bulge" in the Allied lines. These American lines were thinly held by three divisions in the Allied Army and part of a forth division, while fifth division was making a local attack and the sixth division was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal defensive fronts, therefore there were more men scattered along a larger area. The German advance was halted near the Meuse River in late December. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight. Within three days, the determined American stand and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach. In snow and sub-freezing temperatures the Germans fell short of their interim objective- to reach the rambling Meuse River on the edge of the Ardennes. But they managed to avoid being cut off by an Allied Pincer movement.
He later uses them to cross the icy Potomac to win the very important Battle of Trenton. The importance of this battle is that it raises the morale of the soldiers. After this, Howe decides to go into winter quarters. Washington and his army do the same, but would occasionally strike against the redcoats whenever they went foraging for supplies for themselves and their horses. After that first winter the Americans and British continued their war.
The battle started when the British sixth air born division went in at ten minutes after midnight. They were the first troops to go into action. The second attack was by the eighty second in the one hundred and first division of air born attacks. They were less successful than the first division.
Britishbattles.com stated that another event was that the British tried to form in town, but they were under fire and they were under attack from every side. Colonel Rahl was wounded, so he and his troops ended up retreating to an orchard in the South East where they surrendered. Finally, for the effects, some of the effects were bad and some were not as bad. According to Britishbattles.com, lucky for the Americans, they came out of the battle with only 4 wounded soldiers and only 2 froze to death. However, the Hessians came out of battle with 20 murdered and about 100 injured but 1000 were captured.
In the summer of 1775, The Americans prepared to attack the British in Boston. But Washington was informed that they were shorthanded on gunpowder. The Americans had fewer than 10,000 pounds, roughly nine rounds per man. The situation was not expected to improve soon. During the night of March 4th, 1776 in Boston. Washington pulled the unthinkable and surprised the British by placing his army up the undefended Dorchester Heights. The British had ships anchored in the Boston Harbor, which were within range of American cannons. The British army woke up the next morning and was amazed to see how much hard work took place that night by the American army. Since the British army was surrounded they had no ot...
World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...
In this essay I will explain the battle between Germany and Britain, discuss how important winning this battle was, what Britain had that the Germans did not have, and what could have happened if Britain would have lost. It is known cleverly as “the Battle of Britain”.
At dawn of 19th August 1942, six thousand and one hundred Allied soldiers, of whom roughly
World War I, was not only a dispute among nations, but also affected thousands of people
It was the evening of Christmas, 1776. The voice of an army sergeant shouted, “Everybody, up this instant! We’ve got a battle to win!” George Washington’s order awoke us soldiers, and we prepared for a rough night, as General Washington knew it would be more than strenuous to get the Continental Army, made up of 2,400 men, across the Delaware River especially in such harsh weather conditions. The plan was to attack in the morning since the Hessians would be celebrating Christmas tonight, they will hopefully be too tired to put up a fight tomorrow morning. The cold, brisk air intruded into the tent, as the rest of the soldiers arose from their slumber, not knowing what the day would bring them, or should I say, night.
"First World War.com - Feature Articles - Life in the Trenches." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending the war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender.
The First World War, also known as the Great War, began in about 1914 and went on until 1918. This brutal war was an extremely bloody time for Europe and the soldiers that fought in it. These men spent their days in trenches holding down bases and taking in attacks from all sides. The soldier's only free time was consumed with writing letters to those on the home front. The letters they wrote contain heart breaking stories of how their days were spent and the terrible signs of war. The War consumed them and many of them let out all their true feelings of war in their letters to loved ones. In The First World War: A brief History With Documents we can find some of these letters that help us understand what the First World War might have been like for these young and desperate soldiers.
It’s 4:30am on September 1st, 1939 and the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein awaits the order to open fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig in what was to become the first military engagement of World War II. Meanwhile, sixty two German divisions supported by 1,300 fighter planes prepared for the invasion of Poland. Fifteen minutes later, the invasion would take place and spark the beginning of World War II. Two days later at 9am Great Britain would send an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that they pull from Poland or go to war with Great Britain. Four hours later the Ultimatum would expire and Great Britain would officially be at war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939.
People have celebrated a mid-winter festival since pre-historic times. They marked the beginning of longer hours of daylight with fires and ritual offerings. The Roman festival of Saturnalia -- a time for feasting and gambling -- lasted for weeks in December. Germanic tribes of Northern Europe also celebrated mid-winter with feasting, drinking and religious rituals.