The battle
The trenches are the same as they were in 1914,
only fortified with concrete.
Some 12 km northeast of Arras, France, Vimy Ridge gained early importance during the war on account of thee heights which overlooked the Allied-held town. German forces seized control of the ridge in September 1914 and promptly constructed deep defensive positions comprising bunkers, caves, passages and artillery-proof trenches, heavily protected by concrete machine gun emplacements. No matter how hard the British and French troops tried, they could not seem to defeat the German sixth army. So Canada came to the rescue.
At dawn on the morning of Easter Monday 1917 - April 9, 1917, the Canadian attack comprising four divisions began following a heavy three week British artillery barrage and was supported by a well devised creeping barrage. Within thirty minutes, the Canadian 1st Division, under Arthur Currie, had succeeded in capturing German front like positions in spite of a snowstorm; within a further half hour the second line had similarly passed into Canadian hands.
With the entire ridge wholly under Allied control by April 12, the operation was judged a spectacular success.
The ridge did not come without cost: 10,602 Canadian were wounded during the attack, and 3,598 killed. The opposing German force suffered even more heavily, with an astonishing 20,000 casualties. General Arthur Currie was knighted for his wartime services. Four Victoria Crosses were awarded as a consequence of fighting at Vimy. Which is the most prestigious award to be given to soldiers for valour.
At dawn on the morning of Easter Monday 1917 - April 9, 1917, the Canadian attack comprising four divisions began following a heavy three week British artillery barrage and was supported by a well devised creeping barrage. Within thirty minutes, the Canadian 1st Division, under Arthur Currie, had succeeded in capturing German front like positions in spite of a snowstorm; within a further half hour the second line had similarly passed into Canadian hands.
With the entire ridge wholly under Allied control by April 12, the operation was judged a spectacular success.
The ridge did not come without cost: 10,602 Canadian were wounded during the attack, and 3,598 killed. The opposing German force suffered even more heavily, with an astonishing 20,000 casualties. General Arthur Currie was knighted for his wartime services. Four Victoria Crosses were awarded as a consequence of fighting at Vimy. Which is the most prestigious award to be given to soldiers for valour.
The after effects
The graves at Vimy Ridge
The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time all four Canadian divisions attacked together. Men from all regions of canada were present at the battle. Brigadier-General Alexander Ross, Commander of the 28th Battalion at Vimy Ridge said "I thought then, and I think today, that on those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation.