By December, 1914, it had become clear to even the most optimistic observer that the war would not be over by Christmas. That month brought the first enemy-inflicted deaths of the war, when German warships bombarded three northeast coastal towns; meanwhile, the recently invented airplane was being put to deadly use in raids over the southeast. In France that month, the Battle of the Marne gave a taste of the devastating power of modern warfare—a reality to which troops in the trenches on both sides tried to turn a blind eye in the famous Christmas truce. This book uses contemporary newspapers and magazines, diaries, and other records to present a comprehensive image of this extraordinary Christmas, both at home and abroad.