WW2. Soldiers in France near the German border pause to observe Christmas the best way they could, 25 Dec 1944.
WW2. Children sleeping on bunks in a London Underground station during the Blitz. 1940
WW1. Australian troops celebrate Xmas in London's Harefield Hospital, 1915.
Vietnam war. Katum base camp, Christmas dinner, Dec. 25, 1967.
Singing around the Christmas tree in Fort Lee, Virginia, 1944.
Santa Claus hands out presents to Dutch children in Volkel, Netherlands - Dec, 1944.
I like the wooden clogs.
Christmas tree decorated at a coastal base by German forces occupying Poland Gdynia, 1939.
In the horror of battle and the misery of the trenches of World War I, it’s hard to imagine the Christmas spirit surviving very well, but on the night of Dec. 24, 1914, it did, and it led to a night and a day of peace on the battlefield. (from Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum)
Santa Claus visit soldiers on Guadalcanal, Dec 25, 1942.
This photo really captures the moment — soldiers stepping out of the trenches, meeting face to face, and for a short time just being men far from home rather than enemies. You can almost feel how surreal it must have been after months of fear, mud, and artillery.
Christmas in wartime always feels like one of those moments where the human side pushes through the machinery of conflict. The famous 1914 truce is such a powerful reminder that the people fighting were often more alike than different, even if only for a brief pause before reality returned.
For me, that contrast is what makes wartime Christmas stories so memorable — a reminder that humanity can still surface in the harshest circumstances.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
A quiet moment of Christmas on the front — a soldier with a makeshift tree and a warm drink, holding onto a small piece of home in the middle of war.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
Pvt. Robert F. Engleman and Pvt. Robert S. Frick decorating a Christmas tree in the captured German town of Ederen, 1944.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
“Christmas on the Rhine”
A quiet, almost cheerful moment—soldiers drifting along the river, mixing duty with a touch of normal life.
I’ll be sharing a few more WWI Christmas cards like this—small glimpses of the season from the front.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
“Just a line from home”—a lighthearted WWI card wishing everything goes off “nice and smooth” this Christmas, even as the soldiers can’t quite keep their footing.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
“Unser General Winter”—soldiers humorously building “General Winter” himself, a nod to the cold being as much an enemy as any army.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
A dark bit of trench humor—“Wishing You a Merry Christmas” paired with a soldier marching off his captive, capturing the uneasy reality behind the holiday.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
In 1917, the 46th (North Midland) Division produced this Christmas card, depicting soldiers crossing no-man’s land under the stark light of a flare.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here: