Anthony Price

When Dr David Audley - MOD historian and spy - receives a tip-off from the CIA of a covert KGB operation involving the Vengeful, a long-forgotten, nineteenth-century French navy vessel, he sends his insubordinate protégé Paul Mitchell to investigate. Paul thinks it's a waste of time, but he soon finds himself saving the life of a woman - daughter of a war hero - who may be able to help him unlock the mystery of the ancient wreck.

From mysterfile dot com: " When Anthony Price is on form he really. does write a.very good novel of espionage and intrigue – and in this one he’s quite definitely on form. The particularly intriguing puzzle he poses is why should anyone in 1974 want to kill off those few remaining people with expert knowledge about a little known first War battle waged in 1916. One of the intended victims is young military historian Paul Mitchell, but by sheer luck he survives,·and is at once recruited to find the reasons by Dr. David Audley, that devious agent for the Defence Ministry."

Based on a true account of a soccer game played between the German and English troops in no-man's land on Christmas Day in 1914 during World War I, this book tells the story of four young men who have recently enlisted and have found that war is not as glamorous as they had once thought. The young men get to realize their dream of playing soccer for England when the English and German sides hold a ceasefire on Christmas Day and they play a friendly game against one another.