Unlike the Great War, there would be no December truce between Allied and German forces in 1941
19 December 2020 • 7:00pm
Allied soldiers escort away German prisoners, who surrendered after a successful British commando operation code-named Operation Archery, at German military bases on Vaagsoy and Maaloy, in Norway, December 27, 1941.
Credit: AP
This time there was no football played between the trenches amid the carnage of war.
This time there were sniper bullets and artillery shells raining from the skies and sea as an intense battle raged during the season of peace and goodwill.
Unlike Christmas 1914, which saw British and German troops briefly lay down their arms for an impromptu ceasefire football match in no-man’s land, the last days of December 1941 witnessed a fierce, but relatively unknown battle between the Allies and German forces.