TRUCE It begins with one or two soldiers And one or two following With hampers over their shoulders. They might be off wildfowling As they would another Christmas Day, So gingerly they pick their steps. No one seems sure of what to do. All stop when one stops. A fire gets lit. Some spread Their greatcoats on the frozen ground. Polish vodka, fruit and bread Are broken out and passed round. The air of an old German song, The rules of Patience, are the secrets They'll share before long. They draw on their last cigarettes As Friday-night lovers, when it's over, Might get up from their mattresses To congratulate each other And exchange names and addresses. -- Paul Muldoon. The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one of the most remarkable incidents of WW-I and perhaps of all military history, with enemies laying down their arms for some hours, singing Christmas songs, sharing food, and binding up each other's wounds. It began in some places on Christmas Eve and other on Christmas Day, the truce covered as much as two-thirds of the British-German front, with thousands of soldiers taking part. Perhaps most remarkably, it grew out of no single initiative but sprang up in each place spontaneously and independently. Many first-hand accounts have been transcribed to the Internet.