Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

A succinct account (under 100 pages) of the Christmas truce of 1914 along the Western Front. Murphy's writing is clear-cut but interesting enough to keep you reading. He essentially summarizes the lead-up to the war, as well as its first five months when soldiers on both sides "dug in" to the trenches that would become their homes for the next four years. A quote that stood out (from an English lieutenant): "The situation seems absurd- 2 huge armies sitting & watching each other like this." WW1 in a nutshell.

But on Christmas Day, 1914 fighting was replaced with festivities as the Germans and Allies came together to celebrate "peace on earth and goodwill to men" in No Man's Land all across Western Europe. I enjoyed learning how German families sent their soldiers Christmas trees to spruce up the gloomy trenches, and how English/German regiments would take turns serenading one another with Christmas carols!