 On the day itself , Brigadier @-@ General Walter Congreve , then commanding 18 Infantry Brigade , stationed near Neuve Chapelle , wrote a letter recalling the Germans initiated by calling a truce for the day . One of his brigade 's men bravely lifted his head above the parapet and others from both sides walked onto no man 's land . Officers and men shook hands and exchanged cigarettes and cigars , one of his Captains " smoked a cigar with the best shot in the German army " , the latter no more than 18 years old . Congreve admitted he was reluctant to personally witness the scene of the truce for fear he would be a prime target for German snipers . 
