Peace In No Man's Land

On Sunday 28 June 1914 Bosnian assassins attacked the motorcade of Austrian Archduke anarchists Franz Ferdinand. The first attempt was foiled by the Hapsburg heir deflecting a diabolical device. His bodyguards strongly recommended seeking safety, however Franz Ferdinand insisted on a hospital visit to see bystanders injured by the bomb. His driver took a wrong turn and nineteen year-old Gavrilo Princip stepped out of the crowd and pulled the trigger of a Browning .32 pistol, fatally wounding the archduke and his wife.

Within weeks massive armies mobilized across Europe.

In earlyAugust Germany invaded Belgium, routing the French and British troops. The Emperor's troops were stopped 43 miles short of Paris a month later and after the Battle of Ypres millions of soldiers on the Western Front occupied two opposing sets of trenches stretching hundreds of miles from the Channel to the Swiss border.

The deadly stalemate continued into December without any end in sight.

Peace feelers were rejected by the High Commands of the Axis and Allies.

The daily grind of blood, sweat, and tears abated with the approach of Christmas and hundreds of thousands of soldiers declared an unofficial truce on December 24. Germans and British soldiers met in no man's land. Shared carols were sung in both languages. Fallen comrades were retrieved from the shattered battle ground. The truce continued past Christmas, but military commanders recognized the danger of fraternization and prohibited any repeat of the Christmas peace for the rest of the War to end all wars.

I myself am having a truce and wish everyone peace and love.

It's my gift to the world.

Peace, brothers and sisters.

11-11-1918

Tomorrow I will toast the millions of sad sacrifices of men to imperialism. I also thanked the stars that I’ve never had to fire a shot in anger.<

The truce between the Axis and Allies was signed at 5am, but ceasefire didn't take effect, until the 11th second of the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and for six hours guns along the Western Front unloosed their last cannonade.

Soldiers on both sides had ammo and they weren't taking none of the death home from 'over there'.

It is estimated that over 10,000 men were killed or wounded between 5am and 11am.

The last casualty was reputed to be a Canadian, Private George Lawrence Price.

He was struck in the chest by a German sniper at 10:58am.

One of the 60,000 dead from the Great North.

Pacem in Terrem.

Tomorrow I will ask New Yorkers about Armistice Day, which is a national holiday.

I doubt that less than 10% can say why they had a day off from work.

None of them will know Private George Lawrence Price

"As you get old, you forget. As you get older you are forgotten."

But not by me.

I'm a true old git.

End the Endless War.

The Last Of Millions

George Lawrence Price (1892 - 1918)

The last to fall in the Great War.

A Canadian from Falmouth, Nova Scotia.