Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-02-25
CHRISTMAS DAY
IN THE TRENCHES
LETTER OF AN ENGLISH
OFFICER


Christmas dawned with a slight frost
and a certain amount OF mist. About 3
o'clock or SO some Of the oppo-
site began waving their heads over tho
parapet and holding up little Christmas
trees, boxes. parcels and bottles. We
didn't fire at them but watched from our
loopholes. Then one German got up on
top of their parapet. waved a parcel in tho
air and chucked 1t toward us, shouting
"A Merry Christmas" In English. One
of the two Tommies who are attached to
us and were out there with their guns
scrambled up on top OF our parapet and
went out TO pick up the parcel. which had
fallen into a ditch about half way. Both
parapets by this tins were lined with
people watching. The German who had
thrown the parcel walked out. too. and
these two met in the middle and shook
hands.
Terrific cheers from both sides. The
stopped there talking and then the other
erma came out from their trenches
and the Garwnas had their belts on with
bayonets and kurkis. The latter interest
ed the enemy immensely. The German
officers didn't come out at first, but our
British officers were there.
One of our fellows could ak a very
little German. But they all managed to
get on all right as about 10 OF them could
talk English. The men got on well
enough together with signs. They all ex-
changed presents and our men came back
very proud Of half marks. pfenigs, etc.
| The troops opposite us were Saxons and
holly denied having any connection with
Prussians. Eventually the German off,
GERS came out as we'll. They asked us to
bury the bodies Of the men of the Thirty
ninth and Twenty-third Gurkhas, Who had
been killed on November IL and 13 in an
attack we made and who had been lying
out there ever since. Our two Tommies
did most of the work, buying the bodies
In a big she'll hole. They found the bodies
In the asualty list as missing. One OF
them had got right up to the edge of the
Herman trench before he was shot.
All this time while they were all talking
In the middle our fellows and the Ger
mans were hard at work patching up the
parapets from the front. 1t must rave
been a terrific relief to DO 1t comfortably
In daylight with no bullets about instead
Of trying to do it by night lying fiat on tho
ground and trying to make ones self az
thin as possible.
The Germans were also hard at work
burying their own dead. There were q
lot of them lying out behind their
trenches. Eventually someone suggested
thai the day should be immortalized by q
photograph. The Germans called up q
man with a camera and took q lot Of
groups. They were told they'd be worth
ASo0u i'oi Ms I LiiSIA IL lIISy Coul4 gel Iucul
to the Daily Mail.
They had a Christmas tree fully 10 feet
high in their trench, all decorated. Also
lots Of little Christmas trees. How they
got them up there beats me az there are
no plantations around here. The gunner
observing officer was In rather a stew
all this time as in the occasional breaks
In the fog he caught glimpses OF a big
crowd of people in front of our trenchea
and yet could hear no rifle fire from either
side. He t%elephoned down to the trenches
to say the guns were trained on the enc
my's trenches end that he was going to
open fire. So the Christmas party broke
UP and the Germans went back to theiI
trenches and we to ours. All the Ger
mans insisted on Shaking hands with ev.
cry white man and with all the Indian
officers. They said we're not going ia
fire any more today and they kept theil
word. Not IA shot was fired all Christmas
day after 8 o'clock.
The war is much hated by every one par
ticipating In the same. but citizens OF ev,
cry country are staying by their flag and
hoping it will end soon.