William Keylor: German Soldiers Made First Move in the Christmas Truce

The Christmas Truce is no stranger to popular entertainment – the year 2014 more than any other as its 100th anniversary is marked. The famous moment when British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches in peace on Christmas Day 1914 has been replicated and ruminated upon in history books, film, and propaganda – and now advertising. In the UK, the supermarket Sainsbury’s 2014 Christmas advert dramatises the event, prompting cries of outrage that it has trivialised it. But what really happened 100 years ago?