The Christmas Truce of 1914

The Great War (First World War) of 1914-1918 saw a new world order of violence that spawned the hallmarks of Twentieth Century conflict - machine guns, tanks, air raids; and gas.

The Great War transformed the common soldier into a unit of sacrifice, to be processed and exterminated on an industrial scale.

The war machine was born, a machine that ran on men. In the course of four years, it would get through 20 million soldiers of all nationalities. 

Today on Far Future Horizons we focus our attention on one miraculous day when the war machine faltered. A day when men who were meant to operate as killing machines stopped. A day when they put down their guns, shook hands, exchanged gifts and discovered they had more in common with each other than with their leaders, kings or governments. Enemies became friends, and for a brief time the world was at peace. It was Christmas Day, 1914.

Christmas Day 2016 marks the hundred and second anniversary of that truce. 

We would like to wish all our dear readers a blessed and joyous holiday season and for the coming New Year we would like to bestow upon all of you this heartfelt wish:

As the dawn breaks on a new year, let us give thanks for all we hold dear: our health, our family and our friends.

Let us release our grudges, our anger and our pains, for these are nothing but binding chains. Let us live each day in the most loving ways, the God-conscious way. Let us serve all who are in need, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Let us keep God of our own understanding in our hearts and to chant God’s name each day. Let us lead the world from darkness to light, from falsehood to truth and from wrong to right.

Let us remember that we are all one, embracing all, discriminating against none.

May your year be filled with peace, prosperity and love. May God's blessings shower upon you and bestow upon each of you a bright, healthy and peaceful new year.

The Great War ~ Episode 2 “Stalemate”

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the centennial of the start of the First World War by presenting the second episode of the documentary series "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century".

This documentary is a joint production of the BBC, the Boston affiliate of PBS (KCET) in association with The Imperial War Museum.

The Great War ~ Episode One "Explosion"

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate the centenary of the incident that provided the spark that started  “The Great War” of 1914-1918, also known as the First World War , World War One and what H.G. Wells inaptly named “the war to end all wars”. In order to mark the occasion we present the first episode of the documentary series "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century". This documentary is a joint production of the BBC, the Boston affiliate of PBS (KCET) in association with The Imperial War Museum.

This series is narrated by Dame Judi Dench and chronicles the First World War over eight episodes.

Gavrilo Princip

June 28^th, 1914 marked the one event that led to of one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo.

The First World War was to shape the nature of modern warfare. Indeed this war would also shape the political and social landscapes of the twentieth and twenty first centuries.

The assassination on June 28, 1914 as illustrated by Achille Beltrame of the Italian newspaper Domenica del Corriere,  July 12, 1914

The Great War  (July 28^th , 1914 –  November 11^th,  1918) was the first mechanized conflict that marked the first use of chemical weapons, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky, and the last century's first genocide

The Great War was the first mechanized conflict that marked the first use of chemical weapons, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky, and the last century's first genocide.