Click here to view a dramatization of the start of the well-known 1914 Christmas Truce. This scene is from the 2005 French movie entitled Joyeux Noël, which, although historically inaccurate, is nevertheless poignant. The film was rated 3 ½ stars by Rotten Tomatoes, 4 stars by IMDB and also 4 stars by Roger Ebert. It was also nominated for an Oscar as the Best Foreign Film of 2005.

The event actually took place near Ploegsteert, Belgium. Although there is a marker at the site today, it is a farmer’s field.

James (“Jim”) Patton BS BA MPA is a retired state official from Shawnee, Kansas and a frequent contributor to several WW1 e-publications, including "Roads to the Great War," "St. Mihiel Tripwire," "Over the Top" and "Medicine in the First World War." He has spent many hours walking the WW1 battlefields, and is also an authority on British regiments and a collector of their badges. An Army Engineer during the Vietnam War, he does work for the US World War 1 Centennial Commission and is affiliated with the WW1 Historical Association, the Western Front Association, the Salonika Campaign Society and the Gallipoli Association.