Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS (don't write about the song) (05/14/15)
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TITLE: The Interlude | Previous Challenge Entry
By Graham Keet
05/16/15 -
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Corporal Scotty Knowles, a veteran of ten months in the mud and blood of the trenches, joined him. “All quiet still, Private? Rumor is that we might be going over the top today – take ‘em by surprise.”
“Surely not today?”
“Especially today. This is war, Private; no quarter asked or given.”
The wind howled in a gust from the North, and then he heard it. “Do you hear music, Corporal?”
“Yeah, sure I do, the Folies Bergère have come to visit us. No, you idiot, I don’t hear anything.”
The sound of voices singing in unison grew louder. “Blimey, Corporal, they’re singing.”
“I think you’re right - could be a ruse though. I’ll warn the Lieutenant, we must be ready for anything.”
Jenkins peered again through the slot in the barricade; then froze. Heads were popping up then dropping down again in the German trench a few hundred yards away. “Corporal, there’s a lot of movement - they could be coming for us.” Lieutenant Hamilton rushed into the observation post ahead of Knowles. “Let me see.” He peered through the slot using his binoculars. “They’re climbing out of their trench, but they’re unarmed.” He turned and shouted to his men in the trench next to him, “Standby, but hold your fire.”
The singing grew louder, and many of the men in the British trench started to join in singing ‘Silent Night’. “What do we do now, sir, they seem to be approaching us? Maybe they want us to join in some sort of celebration; after all, it’s Christmas Eve.” Jenkins couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Didn’t they teach you that to fraternize with the enemy amounts to treason, Private? But I guess we need to find out what’s going on.”
The group of Germans had now grown and the sound of their voices filled the air as they sang familiar Christmas carols in German. Lieutenant Hamilton called six men, plus Jenkins and Knowles. “Let’s go and meet them; you others stay in the trench and watch. If there’s any funny business, open fire on them.”
As they approached the German group, Hamilton told the others to stay put, while he walked towards the German officer, who was advancing to meet him. The German spoke perfect English. “Lieutenant, I know that for both of us the consequences of fraternizing with the enemy are severe. But it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m sure your men are as tired of fighting and killing as mine are. Let’s call a truce.”
“I can’t speak for my higher authority, but I'm prepared to call a truce for as long as I'm in control of this platoon.” With that the two men shook hands. A cry went up from both trenches, as men left their weapons and charged towards each other over ‘no-man’s land’. Then with laughter and crying, in broken German and barely understandable English, the men of both sides embraced one another, sharing tidbits of food, and showing photographs of relatives and loved ones back at home. For a moment Private Rory Jenkins had to pinch himself to make sure this was real. On the day he thought he might have to kill his first human, here he was rejoicing with the enemy, as he and Kanonier (Artilleryman) Krause shared their belief in Jesus, whose birth was bringing them together.
* * *
Captain James Kirby of the Royal Flying Corps eased his Bristol F2 Biplane down over the Marne River, and saw, what he thought, were British and German soldiers locked in combat between the two trenches. Noticing that many German soldiers were still pouring out of their trench to join the fray, he flew low over them, strafing them with his Vickers machine gun. He was surprised to see that the fighting suddenly stopped as the men scurried back to their respective trenches. Horrified, Jenkins embraced Krause. “The pilot didn’t know – we must keep praying for each other.”
“Ja, my friend,” Krause had tears in his eyes. “God willing we will meet again.”
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