The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a key moment in World War One. After four months of unparalleled savagery and losses, men on both sides took a day off to remember what peacetime was like. History books and documentaries tend to exaggerate the extent of the truce, however. While many parts of the line went quiet that day, fighting continued elsewhere. Only in a few special spots did the men get out of their trenches and fraternize. The high commands of both sides saw this as a threat to discipline and in 1915 issued strict orders for it not to happen again. Christmas 1915 saw no Christmas Truce.
While the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a real unit whose 2nd battalion fought at Ypres, E Company and all its members are fictitious. In fact, battalions only had four companies, but E Company is exceptional in many ways! All other units and major operations depicted in this story are real, as are many smaller details. I’ve taken one major artistic liberty—the regiment was actually in billets behind the line during Christmas 1914. Of course, after all Willoughby and his pals have been through, I couldn’t resist the temptation to have them witness one of the most extraordinary events of the war. I hope the fictional heroics of Major Thompson and his men in some small way reflect the real-life valor of the men of the “Ox and Bucks”.
My principal sources for this story have been Alan Wakefield’s Christmas in the Trenches and Simon Harris’ excellent History of the 43rd and 52nd (Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire) Light Infantry in the Great War, Volume II: Operations in France and Belgium. I beg the indulgence of these specialists for any artistic liberties I have taken with their areas of research.