Rations too were very poor Beyond the thin midday soup there was nothing but the third of a loaf and something infinitesimal to eat with it usually half mouldy jam Most of mine was always eaten by a fat rat for which I often lay in wait but in vain This sparse living which left us always half fed brought about a most unpleasant state of affairs The men often suffered literally from hunger and this led to pilfering of rations When it comes to food the good manners that in Europe are mostly whitewash are soon scratched off Privations and danger tear away all that has been acquired and then good form survives only in those in whom it is born In some sectors soldiers on both sides kept hostilities to a minimum Around the massive fortifications of Belfort France for example the French had manned their lines with older army veterans These men understood early in the war that the two sides had reached a stalemate They had little enthusiasm for combat across no man's land On the other side German troops kept quietly to their trenches as well Their officers knew even if they could mount an effective assault their advance would eventually be halted and thrown back by Belfort s heavy guns As the war continued volunteers completed their training and arrived at the front Many of the veterans who fought at the start of the war were killed 10
rotated of the out front lines or released from duty for serious injuries New recruits came with determination for the fight and rushed into no man's land as their officers ordered massive assaults on enemy positions Officers on both sides of the war threatened courts martial for disobeying orders or for fraternization with the enemy ACTION AT PLOEGSTEERT WOOD Nevertheless the war was not a constant battle On many days only snipers were firing across no man's land Along the western front troops from the Allies and the Central powers raised white flags whenever they sought a temporary truce Cease fires occurred at mealtimes or when one side wanted to rescue their Troops on both sides used lulls in the fighting to retrieve wounded and dead
wounded or bury their dead Officers observed these friendly episodes with alarm and ordered them to stop A British general G T Forrestier Walker announced that such fraternization Discourages initiatives in commanders and destroys the offensive spirit in all ranks Friendly intercourse with the enemy unofficial armistices and the exchange of tobacco and other comforts however tempting and occasionally amusing they may be are absolutely prohibited British officers believed a bit of action would help stem the tide of brotherly feeling In November the British army suffered heavy losses during the fighting in and around the Belgian town of Ypres not far from the North Sea coast As the French army moved in to reinforce the British French officers pressured their British colleagues to stage another offensive and retake the initiative The British officers studied their maps of the Ypres Salient a bulge in the line where Allied troops were exposed to German guns from three sides The countryside was as flat as a tabletop In rainy weather the trenches filled with mud and miserably cold water There were few obstacles such as hills or wide rivers that could be used for defense The British found a likely spot for II Corps a large division of the army to stage a renewed assault on the German lines at Ploegsteert a small Belgian village with an adjoining forest just north of the French border 12
On December 19 1914 the Eleventh and Twenty second Brigades of II Corps began an advance just east of Ploegsteert Wood Small groups of men climbed over the trench parapets and rushed across no man's land They were met by heavy machine gun and rifle fire from the German side Although the British were supported by artillery many of them were killed or wounded when their own shells fell short of the German THE SIGNAL FOR A TRUCE positions The British were easily thrown back leaving behind hundreds of dead as well as wounded men screaming for help Firing ceased when German units positioned opposite the Twenty second In many sectors of the western front both sides came to an understanding In a letter home a British telegraph operator Andrew Todd explained the truce system Brigade agreed to assist wounded British soldiers lying in no man's land This occurred in many places along the western front during the war At a signal enemy troops would agree to hold their fire when Perhaps it will surprise you to learn that the soldiers in both lines of trenches have become very pally with each other The trenches are only 60 yards 55 m apart at one place and every morning about breakfast time one of the soldiers sticks a board in the air As soon as this board goes up all firing ceases and men from either side draw their water and rations All through the breakfast hour and so long as this board is up silence reigns supreme but whenever the board comes down the first unlucky devil who shows even so much as a hand gets a bullet through it wounded men were helped back to their own lines or soldiers came out to bury the dead There were no formal truces however and officers had the authority to court martial any man for
