First World War Christmas truce may not be the only heartwarming moment of the conflict as historian claims to have uncovered ‘untold stories of ceasefires’
A CIGAR swapped between soldiers, a newspaper left in no-man's land - these are the quiet truces that helped soldiers through the war.
New evidence has emerged that soldiers increasingly became friendly with their enemy, despite claims that the animosity between Allied troops and their German counterparts only grew during the First World War.
While the most famous truces was the Christmas Truce, which took place on Christmas Day in 1914, historians have said that there were smaller-scale moments of peace throughout the four years of fighting.
Thomas Weber, a professor of history at the University of Aberdeen, said the truces, while buried in official reports, could be found in ordinary soldiers' accounts of the war.
He told : "In the few cases that were officially reported, they tended to be written out of the story after the event. There is strong evidence that instances of fraternisation were purged from official regimental war diaries before they were published in book form in the interwar years."
He said that one such truce took place between Canadian troops and their Germany counterparts with soldier Ronald MacKinnon writing that there was a truce on Christmas day.
Writing home, the soldier said: "Our German friends were quite friendly.
"They came over to see us and we traded bully beef for cigars."
Other evidence of smaller, friendly encounters between the two sides locked in battle was found in a letter from Arthur Burke, a private who served on the Somme in the 20th Battalion.
Writing home to his family in Salford on Christmas Day, 1916, he wrote: that the "German soldiers had come to the British side and exchanged cigarettes".
Other messages relayed to family suggested that soldiers left newspapers in no-man's land for each other and would often shout messages to each other.
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But historians have said these friendly moments were covered up as officers did not report the cases for fear of being court-martialled.
Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster, added: "This has remained an untold story because word of it was discouraged brutally.
"It was frowned upon and censored and in subsequent Christmases staff officers went to great lengths, using artillery barrages, to drown out Christmas carols."
Our German friends were quite friendly. They came over to see us and we traded bully beef for cigars
Ronald MacKinnon
The claims are in stark contrast to what was formerly believed, with the Christmas Day 1914 Truce formerly known to be the first and only truce between the opposing sides.
Brit troops could hear German soldiers singing carols and patriotic songs in the opposite trenches with the soldiers soon yelling messages of festive cheer to each other across the trenches.
The soldiers from both sides then met on no-mans land.
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