 The following year , a few units arranged ceasefires but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914 ; this was , in part , due to strongly worded orders from the high commands of both sides prohibiting fraternisation . Soldiers were no longer amenable to truce by 1916 . The war had become increasingly bitter after devastating human losses suffered during the battles of the Somme and Verdun , and the incorporation of poison gas . 
