A CHRISTMAS RUSE, ARGONNES 1915
'From now there will be no more fraternisation...' - NO tale of Christmas Goodwill
Dear parents and brethren,
At the moment I am sitting in the dug-out on watch. In case the French decide to attack I am to sound the alarm. I have just returned from the forward sap which is only six metres away from the enemy trench. The French have now calmed down a lot, only now and then a shot rings out. When we arrived on the 14th the French spotted us and only then their fire became more lively, but as we didn’t retaliate they calmed down pretty quickly. Two days ago they started to whistle and shout over to us; and of course we answered in the same manner. The French became quite cheeky and some of them began to raise their heads over the parapet and shouted over to us to hold our fire. By then some of us had gathered to watch what was going on. A Frenchman threw a small parcel over to us. I don’t know what was in it, but one of our men did the same and soon a lively exchange developed with cigars and cigarettes, biscuits and apples and even bottles of cognac and schnapps being exchanged in that manner. It all ended when the Hauptmann heard of what was happening and threatened to put us all on a charge. I just learned that a Leutnant of a neighbouring company of II. Battalion has ordered his men to begin trading with the French in a similar manner. But this was a ruse! In secret some sappers had driven a small shaft from a forward sap towards the French position and had packed the end with several kilos of explosives. When they had lured a number of French soldiers into the sap by throwing over cigars and cognac, the charge was detonated. From now there will be no more fraternisation (...) - Letter by Musketier Fritz Berkenkamp (Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 145), 26 December 1915, Argonnes
I love these little snippets into the ordinary Soldiers lives.