According to political scientist Robert Axelrod, in “The Evolution of Cooperation”, it was cooperation through reciprocity. Simply put, Tit for Tat.

Read in Axelrod’s book the following:

Tony Ashworth’s, book length study of the live-and-let-live system used in trench warfare is based on diaries, letters and reminiscences of trench fighters.

Here are some excerpts from Ashworth’s accounting.

“If the British shelled the Germans, the Germans replied, and the damage was equal: if the Germans bombed an advanced piece of trench and killed five Englishmen, an answering fusillade killed five Germans. (Belton Cobb l916, p. 74.

“It would be child’s play to shell the road behind the enemy’s trenches, crowded as it must be with ration wagons and water carts, into a bloodstrained wilderness…but on the whole there is silence. After all, if you prevent your enemy from drawing his rations, his remedy is simple: he will prevent you from drawing yours. (Hay 1916, pp. 224-25)

“We got to go out at night in front of the trenches…The Germans working parties are also out, so it is not considered etiquette to fire. (Greenwell 1972, pp. 16-17)

“I was having tea with A Company when we heard a lot of shouting and went out to investigate. We found our men and the Germans standing on their respective parapets. Suddenly a salvo arrived but did no damage. Naturally both sides got down and our men started swearing at the Germans, wwhen all at once a brave German got on to his parapet and shouted out, “We are very sorry about that; we hope no one was hurt. It is not our fault, it is that damned Prussian artillery.” (Rutter 1934, p, 29)

These trench war combatants did not stop the war, however they spontaneously developed a system of cooperation that kept casualties, their own and the enemy’s, at a minimun.

“… On earth peace, good will toward men.”
Those words of the angels and heavenly host appear in the 14th verse of the second chapter of the book of Luke. It is part of the traditional Christmas story we all know so well.
I still think of the manger in Bethlehem, the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and all the other characters when I hear those words. But I also think of one of the strangest Christmas stories I have ever heard.
It is a World War I story, from Dec. 25, 1914, when British and German troops manned trenches just yards apart on Europe’s Western Front.
For a seemingly endless period of time, the two armies had been confined to those trenches, to the mud, the cold, the illness, the death that existed there. They fired back and forth, maiming and killing for some political cause of which many of them had little knowledge. They were merely soldiers fighting a war created by their governments.
But on that Christmas Day in 1914, something strange happened. The fighting stopped.
There are a lot of different accounts of what happened. One of the best is a book by Michael Jurgs, “The Small Peace in the Great War.” Another was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
These accounts tell us that the men were so close, they could talk back and forth, and each side was aware that the other was receiving gifts from home — especially food. One of the German officers had a birthday on Christmas Eve, and there were cakes for him, one of which somehow was slipped over to the British trenches. It carried a request that there be a cease fire so the Germans could celebrate with the officer.
The British complied and sent back some tobacco, according to one of the accounts.
On Christmas Day, the men came out of their trenches and met in no-man’s land. They traded food and other gifts, and there was even some entertainment.
And in the middle of all of this, there were several soccer games between the two sides. Only hours before they had been shooting to kill each other. Now they traded Christmas gifts and played soccer on the friendliest of terms in the spirit of Christmas.
Then when the day was over, they went back to their respective trenches and went back to war, although there was a long period of no fighting in some areas along the front.
Eventually, the full hell of war returned. The men went back to existing in the squalor of the trenches and going about the business of killing each other.
What a unique story. It shows that given the opportunity, people can bring peace in the worst of situations. Would that we could play a soccer game that would never end, one that would bring the warring factions of the world — not only countries, but political parties within countries — to a single field with no weapons and with no political goals.
Would that all the players in that game could relive the spirit of Bethlehem, could feel the love of that first Christmas night, and could hear the angels say once more
“… on earth peace, good will toward men.” And let’s add “toward ALL men.” Let this be our Christmas prayer.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Don Bolden is editor emeritus of the Times-News.

In reading this I had to respond in hopes of being heard!
I read your editorial on “A Different Christmas Story” What a wonderful story! I was unaware of this story and when I heard it in the lyrics of a song over Christmas I thought they were just that, lyrics.

For many reasons I felt awfully alone this Christmas. I truly believe that it is because there are so many who would rather “rally the cause” than truly “love one another”. What I mean by this is that even if the person doesn’t believe in Christ and the true reason for Christmas, they are the very ones on the front of the picket lines screaming “Make Love Not War”. They would rather worry about Whom we Americans place first during the Holidays and how it offends them than live up to what they are the first to scream during war times.

I was watching “House” last Tuesday night and the writers of that show hit the nail on the head- House was in the Chapel watching a hand held TV when a Nun came in to pray. Anyway they got on the subject of Jesus and he was lambasting the Nun regarding the 7 sins. Well long story shorter, House was somehow “offended” and the Nun’s statement was “How can you be offended by something you don’t even believe in?”

WHAT A WONDERFUL STATEMENT!!! So for all of those who want to take Christ out of Christmas, for those who are advocating Love not War and then raise their hand for every single cause that goes against peace on earth and good will toward men, for those who feel they have been offended because McDonalds displayed “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” on their marquee sign. Let us ask-How can you be offended by something you don’t believe in?

Let those of us who do believe carry on our traditions, let us praise God every day of the year! Christmas, Easter, INDEPENDENCE DAY-Folks you need to recognize. Those of you who want equality for everyone need to realize that we Christians are part of the equation. We are Americans, We are as free as the next American and that includes Our Freedom of Religion. Carry on as you wish we will leave you be but would like the same courtesy regarding our beliefs.

See you at the soccer field!

Karen

Snow Camp, NC