Act I 
Late summer, 1914. War is declared. At a Berlin opera house, the announcement disrupts the careers and romantic relationship of acclaimed opera singers Anna Sørensen and Nikolaus Sprink. In a small country church in Scotland, it inspires dreams of heroism in William, who demands that his younger brother Jonathan immediately enlist with him, as their priest, Father Palmer, looks on helplessly. In the Audeberts’ apartment in Paris, it causes conflict as Madeleine criticizes her husband for going to war while she is pregnant with their first child. Driven by the fervor of nationalistic battle songs, the five men from different countries prepare to go to war.

December 23, 1914, late afternoon. In and around a battlefield in Belgium, near the French border. A horrific battle rages between the German soldiers and the French and Scottish soldiers. The French and Scottish soldiers attempt to infiltrate the German bunker but fail miserably, and corpses begin to pile up in the no man’s land between the three bunkers. Nikolaus engages in combat—and is shocked at his own violence when he stabs a soldier to death. When William is mortally wounded by gunfire, Jonathan refuses to leave his brother, but is taken to safety by Father Palmer.

Soon after, in the Scottish bunker, Lt. Gordon assesses the casualties from the battle. Father Palmer attempts to offer Jonathan solace in prayer. In the French bunker, Lt. Audebert discovers the French General waiting for him. The General reprimands him for surrendering and threatens him with a transfer. After he leaves, Audebert laments the loss of his wife’s photograph to his aide-de-camp, Ponchel. Once alone, Audebert tallies the casualties in the recent battle while expressing how much he misses Madeleine and their newborn child, whom he has not yet seen. When he expresses a need to sleep, soldiers from all three bunkers echo his sentiments. As it begins to snow, covering the corpses in no man’s land, the soldiers slowly fall asleep. Alone in the German bunker, Nikolaus reveals his despair about war to an imagined Anna.

December 24, late morning. In the German bunker, crates have arrived—and little Christmas trees from the Crown Prince. Lt. Horstmayer curses the Crown Prince for not sending them more useful presents like ammunition and reinforcements. He receives a directive from headquarters that Nikolaus has been ordered to sing at the nearby chalet of the Crown Prince, along with one Anna Sørensen. Nikolaus departs for the chalet, excited to be reunited with Anna after many months apart. The French soldiers have received crates of wine, sausages, and chocolates from the quartermaster and open them jubilantly. Ponchel, a barber by trade, brings coffee to Audebert and sits him down for a haircut. He recalls the coffee he had with his mother every morning in their hometown, not far from Lens, before the war. When Audebert mentions that his father-in-law is from Lens, Ponchel tells him that the man is one of his customers. As a reminder of his morning visits with his mother, Ponchel carries an alarm clock next to his heart that sounds every day at ten o’clock. In the Scottish bunker, crates of whiskey have arrived from home. Jonathan writes a letter to his mother, not mentioning his brother’s death.

At the chalet of the Crown Prince, Anna and Nikolaus perform a duet. Following the performance, they steal a few moments together on a terrace outside, and Anna notices how war has changed Nikolaus’s spirit. She has arranged for him to spend the night with her and is angry when he tells her that he must return to his fellow soldiers. She vows to accompany him back to the battlefield.

Later that night, the Scottish, soldiers drink whiskey and play a bagpipe that another unit has sent them, and Father Palmer sings a sentimental ballad about home. The men in the other bunkers hear the song and react to it with sadness, caution, and annoyance. Nikolaus arrives; his fellow soldiers greet him with cheers and applause and are amazed that Anna has accompanied him. When the song in the Scottish bunker finishes, Nikolaus sings a rousing Christmas song loudly in response, and midway through, the piper begins to accompany. 

Emboldened, Nikolaus stands atop the bunker raising a Christmas tree as a gesture of peace. Against their superiors’ protestations, the soldiers from all bunkers stand. Nikolaus bravely moves to the center of no man’s land. Eventually, the three lieutenants, waving white flags of truce, agree to a ceasefire … but only on Christmas Eve. The soldiers slowly and cautiously move toward each other. They share their provisions, their photos, and their names. Father Palmer has set up a makeshift altar and celebrates Mass with the men, while Jonathan finds his brother’s body and vows revenge. After Anna sings “Dona nobis pacem” to the soldiers, Father Palmer entreats the men to “go in peace.” Bombs explode menacingly in the distance.

Intermission

Act II
Christmas Day, dawn. Jonathan tries to bury his brother. Because the truce is officially over, two German sentries are prepared to shoot him when Father Palmer and Gordon intervene. Looking on, Horstmayer proposes that it may indeed be time to bury all of the dead. The three lieutenants agree to extend the truce.

Later that morning, the soldiers form a processional bearing the bodies of the dead away as Father Palmer delivers last rites. Anna looks on with Nikolaus, and he promises her that he will not suffer the same fate.

In the meantime, news of the ceasefire has reached the British Major, the Crown Prince, and the French General. From afar, they declare that they will punish the soldiers for fraternizing with the enemy—as the soldiers play a game of soccer.The next day, Audebert, Horstmayer, and Gordon acknowledge that their superiors have learned of the truce and that it must end. Regretfully, they each return to their bunkers with their men.

Later in the day, Horstmayer arranges for Anna to be taken away from the front lines, and Nikolaus berates him for his allegiance to the Fatherland. Horstmayer arrests Nikolaus for insubordination, but Anna takes his hand firmly and leads him across no man’s land. Horstmayer orders his men to shoot, but they refuse. Reaching the French bunker unharmed, Nikolaus requests that Audebert grant them asylum, and their wish is granted.

Back in their bunkers that night, soldiers write home about their experiences with the truce.

December 27, afternoon. The British Major visits the Scottish bunker and condemns Gordon and his soldiers for participating in the truce. As punishment, he announces that they will all be sent to the front lines of Neue Chapelle. A German soldier runs across the battlefield, and the Major orders him to be killed. Jonathan shoots the man, and a ringing alarm clock reveals that the victim is Ponchel, disguised in a German uniform after a visit with his mother. Audebert runs to help him and learns through his mother’s gossip that his wife has given birth to a son. Ponchel dies, and Audebert returns to his bunker to find the French General waiting for him. The General tells Audebert that he will be transferred to Verdun as punishment for fraternizing with the enemy and that his unit will be disbanded. Audebert informs the French General—his father—that he learned he now has a son. The two men ponder the child’s future and vow to survive the war for his sake.

Later that day, the Crown Prince angrily announces that the German soldiers are to be deployed in Pomerania as punishment for the truce. As Horstmayer and his soldiers are taken off in a boxcar, they hum the Scottish ballad they heard from their bunker on Christmas Eve. Over the now empty battlefield, snow quietly begins to fall again. 

—©2026 by Mark Campbell