Also Within this year in history

After a Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, launching World War I. Other nations began to choose sides in the conflict, but the U.S. remained initially neutral. In Central America, the Panama Canal opened after 11 years of construction and the loss of more than 25,000 workers’ lives. On Christmas Eve 1914, British and German soldiers paused their fighting for unofficial Christmas Truce, sharing carols and even a soccer game.

Dec

25

World War I

The Christmas Truce

Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.

1914 Christmas Truce

On Dec. 25, 1914, five months into World War I, British and German troops on the Western Front stopped fighting in a spontaneous ceasefire, soldiers from opposing nations put their weapons aside to enjoy carols and a game of soccer together. Our Picture Shows British officers from Northumberland Hussars meeting their German counterparts in no mans¿ land of the Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector of the Western Front during the Christmas truce of 1914. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Mirrorpix via Getty Images

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