Trench Warfare 1914–1918 The Live and Let Live System TONY ASHWORTH TRENCH WARFARE 1914-1918 The Live and Let Live System TRENCH WARFARE 1914-1918 The Live and Let Live System Tony Ashworth M MACMILLAN © Tony Ashworth 1980 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1980 978-0-333-25766-1 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First edition 1980 Reprinted 1986 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LT D Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG212XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Ashworth, Tony Trench warfare, 1914-1918 1. European War, 1914-1918 - Campaigns- Western I. Tide 940.4'144 D530 ISBN 978-1-349-04358-3 ISBN 978-1-349-04356-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-04356-9 To my daughters, Shura and Selby Louise Contents List of Plates IX Acknowledgements XI Maps: The Western Front, 1914-1918 XII A Typical British Trench System Xlll Introduction 2 The Elementary Forms of Live and Let Live: Christmas Truces, Fraternisation and Inertia. The Problems of Communication 24 3 The Two Phases of Trench War. The Bureaucratisation of Trench Warfare (I): The Opportunity Structure of Aggression: Specialisation, its Growth and Develop- ment 48 4 The Bureaucratisation of Trench Warfare (2): Imper- sonal and Centralised Control over Aggression 76 5 The Response of the Trench Fighter: The Ritualisation of Aggression 99 6 The Development and Maintenance of Live and Let Live (I): The Growth of Goodwill; Rewards for Compliance and Punishments for Deviance between Antagonists 129 7 The Development and Maintenance of Live and Let Live (2): Rewards for Compliance and Punishments for Deviance among Compatriots 153 8 Raiding: Its Causes and its Consequences for Live and Let Live 176 vii VIll Contents 9 Conclusion 20 4 Notes 227 Index 259 List of Plates Sentry of the 1/4th Royal Berks watching through a periscope in the trenches near Ploegsteert Wood, Spring 1915. For many trench fighters Ploegsteert was, for long periods of time, a 'rest cure sector' (Imperial War Museum) 2 German soldiers carol during the Christmas of 1914. On both western and eastern fronts, mutual musical entertainments between enemies were not infrequent through the war on very quiet fronts (Ullstein Bilderdienst) 3 Two Germans set up a small kitchen in their dugout, and almost certainly, the enemy opposite had made similar cooking arrangements (Siiddeutscher Verlag) 4 Diagram from a wartime publication showing the layout of an officers' dugout on a typical 'peacetime sector' (BBC Hulton Picture Library) 5 German officers of the 27th Infantry Regiment in their dugout (Imperial War Museum) 6 A French officer shaves in the front line. On some 'cushy' sectors it was even known for soldiers to take baths (Henri Desagneaux, Editions Denoe!) 7 A machine gun in British trenches (Mansell Collection) 8 French officers' mess in the trenches, August 1916. Flowers are in a German shell case. Clearly 'mutual understandings' were well developed on this sector (BBC Hulton Picture Library) 9 Portuguese in the trenches. Arrival of hot rations in a carrier strapped to a man's back, near Neuve-Chapelle, June 1917. The Portuguese were great believers in the 'principle oflaissez- faire' (Imperial War Museum) lOa & lob Trench life on 'cushy' sectors (Imperial War Museum) I lOne synonym for 'live and let live' was 'let sleeping dogs lie' (Ullstein Bilderdienst) 12 Another term for 'live and let live' was 'rest and let rest' (Ullstein Bilderdienst) 13 Afternoon tea in the trenches (Ullstein Bilderdienst) IX x List of Plates 14 Sometimes animals appeared in the trenches. Here the Germans hold a lion cub mascot; elsewhere milking cows were kept in the front line (Ullstein Bilderdienst) 15 A German trench household only 40 yards from the French. This household could have been destroyed by one enemy hand grenade but for the tacit truce (Ullstein Bilderdienst) 16 British troops make puddings in the trenches (BBC Hulton Picture Library) I7 Soldiers eat dinner in the trenches, Arras, March 1917. Possibly an 'egg and chips' sector (Imperial War Museum) 18 German trenches in the Vosges sector where 'live and let live' prevailed for long periods throughout the war (Siiddeutscher Verlag) 19 British troops in France (BBC Hulton Picture Library) 20 British soldiers frying bacon in a reserve trench. On an active front, smoke from the stove would have attracted instant and lethal enemy gunfire (Imperial War Museum) 2 I French soldiers eating in the trenches (BBC Hulton Picture Library) 22 An immaculate German trench a few yards from the French line (Siiddeutscher Verlag) 23 The 9th Battalion, The Cameronians (the Scottish Rifles) make a daylight raid. More than anything, raids destroyed 'live and let live'. This was the other face of trench warfare, and life could be nasty, brutish and short on active sectors (Imperial War Museum) Every effort has been made to contact all the copyright holders of the material used in the compilation of this book, but if any have inadvertently been missed, the publisher would be pleased to make any necessary arrangements. Acknowledgements Much of the material upon which this book is based was written by trench fighters, and these sources which include c\.iaries, memoirs and autobiographical fiction are mostly listed at the end of the book. I have spent many pleasant, sociable hours talking with and writing to soldiers of the First World War. lowe them a debt, firstly for their time and reminiscences and secondly, for their example of adversity borne with fortitude and sometimes humour, and remembered without rancour. In particular, I should like to thank Captain C. Allen, M. C., Sergeant W. Mitchenor, and Private W. Watts. Colleagues have helped and contributed in various ways and, among these, I am especially grateful to Dr Michael Walker, whose constant interest, quick insight and comment served, in informal lunchtime workshops over the years, not only in shaping this book but also as necessary encouragement. I will always be indebted to my first teacher, Professor Norbert Elias, who has introduced so many students to the fascinating world of social enquiry. Additionally, I wish to thank the following: Professor Ilya Neustadt, Anthony Giddens and Jack Winkler for encouragement at an early stage; Professor Percy S. Cohen, Clive Ashworth, David Owens, Dr Helmut Heisler and Dr Paul Atkinson, who have had either a direct or indirect influence on the book. I also wish to thank Professor Martin Albrow of University College, Cardiff, for arranging invaluable study leave when the research was in a formative stage. Further, the often enthusiastic contributions of students made in tutorials during the duration of the research should not go unmarked. I am grateful to the library staff of University College, Cardiff, for their efforts in getting books through the inter-library loan service. Finally, Miss Diana Davies has my thanks for valuable editorial assistance, and Mrs Myrtle Robbins for typing the manuscript so efficiently. Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan TONY ASHWORTH 2 February 1979 Xl