The Battle of Vimy RidgeThe attack on Vimy Ridge, the northern part of the wider battle of Arras, started at 5:30 am on the Easter Monday, of April 9, 1917.It was the first occasion on which all of the four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked as a composite formation.The Canadian succeeded in capturing Vimy Ridge owed its success to a range of technical and tactical innovations, very powerful artillery preparation, sound and meticulous planning and thorough preparation.At Vimy, the Canadian Corps and the British XVII Corps on their immediate southern flank had captured more ground, more prisoners and more guns than any previous British Expeditionary Force offensive.Vimy Ridge was a particularly important tactical feature. Its capture by the Canadians was essential to the advances by the British Third Army to the south and of exceptional importance to checking the German attacks in the area in 1918.The Canadians had demonstrated they were one of the outstanding formations on the Western Front and masters of offensive warfare.
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Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France
The message of Vimy Ridge is one of bravery and sacrifice. The battle, is commonly highlighted as a turning point in Canadian history, where these four Canadian divisions fought together as a united fighting force for the first time. While 3,598 Canadian soldiers were killed during the battle, the impressive victory over German forces is often cited as the beginning of Canada’s evolution from dominion to independent nation. To underscore the sacrifices made by Canada, which suffered 60,000 fatalities during the First World War, France granted Canada 107 hectares of land at Vimy to build and maintain a memorial. |
More images of trench warefare
Vimy Ridge monument
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/fact_sheets/vimy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/battles-of-world-war-one/the-battle-of-vimy-ridge/
http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/battles-and-fighting/land-battles/vimy-ridge/
https://www.vimyfoundation.ca/significance-of-vimy-ridge/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/battles-of-world-war-one/the-battle-of-vimy-ridge/
http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/battles-and-fighting/land-battles/vimy-ridge/
https://www.vimyfoundation.ca/significance-of-vimy-ridge/