Across The Fence: The Christmas Truce of 1914

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the "unofficial" Christmas Truce of 1914.

On June 28, 1914, Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austria-Hungary heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand. The assassination stirred a diplomatic crisis that would escalate to the scale of world war, The Great War. A month later on July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and invaded. Russia came to the aid of Serbia and Germany invaded Belgium and Luxembourg and advanced on France.

This invasion forced Britain to declare war on Germany. The British were able to stop Germany's advance...