... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
On 24/12/2025 05:05 pm, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
Thank you. And those wishes are reciprocated to all who post (and those
who only read) here.
A very Merry Christmas.
And a better 2026 for us all (I hope).
JN
JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 24/12/2025 05:05 pm, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
Thank you. And those wishes are reciprocated to all who post (and those
who only read) here.
A very Merry Christmas.
And a better 2026 for us all (I hope).
JN
WHS!
On 25/12/2025 09:26, Spike wrote:
JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 24/12/2025 05:05 pm, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I >>>> have sparred over the last year :)
Thank you. And those wishes are reciprocated to all who post (and those
who only read) here.
A very Merry Christmas.
And a better 2026 for us all (I hope).
JN
WHS!
TGJones? ;-)
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 25/12/2025 09:26, Spike wrote:
JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 24/12/2025 05:05 pm, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I >>>>> have sparred over the last year :)
Thank you. And those wishes are reciprocated to all who post (and those >>>> who only read) here.
A very Merry Christmas.
And a better 2026 for us all (I hope).
JN
WHS!
TGJones? ;-)
LOL!
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
My family film for Christmas day was Joyeux Noel, a superb film about
the events during Christmas Eve 1914 when the combatants held a brief informal truce, between Germans, French and Scottish troops, exchanging gifts, playing football. Refusing to shoot at each other, just for a day
or two.
It may have gone down in history as a rather heartwarming moment, but
the various military commanders on all sides were absolutely furious and determined to inflict punishment.
On 24/12/2025 17:05, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
And best wishes to you too, Martin. Let there be peace.
My family film for Christmas day was Joyeux Noel, a superb film about
the events during Christmas Eve 1914 when the combatants held a brief informal truce, between Germans, French and Scottish troops, exchanging gifts, playing football. Refusing to shoot at each other, just for a day
or two.
It may have gone down in history as a rather heartwarming moment, but
the various military commanders on all sides were absolutely furious and determined to inflict punishment.
On 2025-12-26, The Todal <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
On 24/12/2025 17:05, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
And best wishes to you too, Martin. Let there be peace.
My family film for Christmas day was Joyeux Noel, a superb film about
the events during Christmas Eve 1914 when the combatants held a brief
informal truce, between Germans, French and Scottish troops, exchanging
gifts, playing football. Refusing to shoot at each other, just for a day
or two.
It may have gone down in history as a rather heartwarming moment, but
the various military commanders on all sides were absolutely furious and
determined to inflict punishment.
I imagine they were less "furious" and more "terrified" that the
soldiers might realise that they had options other than shooting
at each other.
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom
I have sparred over the last year :)
On 24/12/2025 17:05, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
And best wishes to you too, Martin. Let there be peace.
My family film for Christmas day was Joyeux Noel, a superb film about the events during
Christmas Eve 1914 when the combatants held a brief informal truce, between Germans,
French and Scottish troops, exchanging gifts, playing football. Refusing to shoot at
each other, just for a day or two.
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I
have sparred over the last year :)
On Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:20:14 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
On 2025-12-26, The Todal <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
On 24/12/2025 17:05, Martin Harran wrote:
... and best wishes for 2026 to all here, especially those with whom I >>>> have sparred over the last year :)
And best wishes to you too, Martin. Let there be peace.
My family film for Christmas day was Joyeux Noel, a superb film about
the events during Christmas Eve 1914 when the combatants held a brief
informal truce, between Germans, French and Scottish troops, exchanging
gifts, playing football. Refusing to shoot at each other, just for a day >>> or two.
It may have gone down in history as a rather heartwarming moment, but
the various military commanders on all sides were absolutely furious and >>> determined to inflict punishment.
I imagine they were less "furious" and more "terrified" that the
soldiers might realise that they had options other than shooting
at each other.
I'm not entirely sure it was either of those, to be honest. Both sides initially underestimated what they were getting themselves into at the outbreak of war, expecting that it would be a relatively limited skirmish
and "all over by Christmas". Obviously it wasn't all over by Christmas, but even then, there was still a sense that it would all be over soon and both sides would find a way to agree peace terms.
The number of casualties in the first few months of the war was relatively low, with both sides essentially sparring for position and full-on battles being less common. And both sides on the Western Front, in particular, were struggling with supply lines and shortage of munitions, while the key battlegrounds had ground to a stalemate. Temporary truces and a certain amount of fraternisation were common in the first few months of the Western Front campaign, even before Christmas.
It's also worth bearing in mind that even then, there was still a certain amount of sense that Britain and Germany were natural allies who were merely divided temporarily by politics. France was still perceived as the natural enemy of both sides, dating back to the Napoleonic wars when Britain and Prussia were part of the coalition which defeated him. So there wasn't any real hatred between the sides.
So a 1914 Christmas truce made logical as well as emotional sense, it was an opportunity for both sides to restock, exchange prisoners and simply have a break to get their own casualties out.
But then, as it dragged on, positions hardened on both sides, and by the
time the next Christmas came round the idea of fraternising with the enemy had gone out of the window. In particular, the first use of chorine gas by the German army came in 1915, and this was a gamechanger in terms of perceptions on the Britishside.
So the fact that the widespread 1914 Christmas truces were not generally repeated in subsequent years wasn't really anything to do with top-down presure. Even in 1914, there was no official truce, it was solely the decisions of on-the-ground commanders on both sides to permit it. But a year later, there was little appetite for a truce among the troops themselves. By the time Christmas 1915 came round, there was a sense that the Germans were no longer playing by the rules, and couldn't be trusted even for a temporary unofficial ceasefire.
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