urban legends ✓

the wild soldiers of world war I ☹

During the First World War, a rumor ran rampant that soldiers from opposing sides defected and subsequently went into hiding together. Wild claims pervaded about their living together in abandoned caves, villages, and even in trenches. They stayed hidden during the day and came out at night to rob the dead and dying of their supplies. Over time, these deserters became so numerous and uncontrollable that the military decided to put them down with gas.

No one knows exactly where this urban legend began. Although creepy, stories of these soldiers likely aimed to express the emotions of those fighting in the war. Soldiers from both sides recognized that fighting each other was pointless, that their real enemy turned out to be war itself.