Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix

Author:John Hendrix
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams

patriotism and a youthful desire for adventure, his war changed when he mortally wounded a French soldier in No Man’s Land. Paul comforted the injured soldier during the cold night as he died. To Paul, his death felt worthless.

Just as Remarque had in his tale of Paul Bäumer, I wanted to tell the story of this terrible war not from the distance of historical dates and famous battles, but from the eyes of one living it. The story of the Christmas Truce is not about politics, but people. For the trenches were not occupied by government leaders, generals, and politicians, but by masons, teachers, farmers, and other common folk. Regardless of their uniforms, the men on both sides of No Man’s Land actually fighting the war were frightened, weary, and freezing. And for one bright Christmas Day, they chose to value their shared humanity over their patriotic duty.

Sadly, this moment came very early in a war that continued for four long years. The event might have been a real opportunity for a broader, lasting truce, but it was not appreciated by the commanding officers behind the front lines. In 1915, there were small attempts at another truce on Christmas (resulting in several courts-martial on the British side), but most of the men in the trenches had lost hope after a year of horror. And that same year, British commanders, embarrassed by the truce of 1914, gave direct orders to shoot any Germans above their trenches on Christmas

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