Vimy Ridge April 9 1917 Canada Becomes a

Vimy Ridge April 9, 1917 Canada Becomes a Nation

The Battle of Vimy Ridge n n n One of the opening battles at Arras. Located in Northern France One of the most heavily defended points on the Western Front. Germans had fortified with tunnels, three rows of trenches, barbed wire, massive artillery and machine gun nests. Allowed Germans to control much of the surrounding territory and prevented the Allies from getting into the wide open Lens-Doulai plain.

Earlier losses n n French and British had suffered masssive casualties in attempting to take Vimy. French 1915 = 150 000

Canadian at Vimy n n n First time the four divisions of the Canadian Corps were brought together Joined British 5 th Infantry Division Arthur Currie put in charge of the Canadian Corps

Currie’s preparations n n n Built replica of the ridge Issued detailed maps to ordinary soldiers Each platoon given a specific task Mining warfare (detonating mines under German trenches) Blended skills of each platoon (machine guns, snipers, engineers, infantry men)

General Arthur Currie

Currie’s Tactics n n n April 2, 1917 Largest artillery barrage in history up to that point Shelled German trenches for a week Used sound and light to determine where the German artillery was. 86% of German field guns destroyed

Tactics continued… n n Dawn April 9, 1917 30 000 members of Canadian Corps began Creeping barrage Indirect use of machine guns to keep Germans in their trenches

NS Highlanders n n n In less than 2 hours, 3 of 4 Canadian divisions had taken their objectives 4 th Division caught in machine gun nests (50% casualties) Nova Scotia Highlanders (supply and construction role) sent into battle and captured the hill by the end of the day

Victory n n n It is said that upon learning of a victory a French soldier said, “C’est impossible!”, and upon learning it was the Canadians who won, changed his answer to, “Ah! Les Canadiens! C’est possible!”. Canadians took 4 000 German prisoners 20 000 German casualties.

Canadian ingenuity leads to victory n n n Rehearsing the tactics prior to the battle To hunt German field guns, Currie used sound ranging. Curie had railway tracks laid to provide the heavy Canadian guns with shells they required. Raids conducted to gather intelligence. Rolling barrage ( Canadian artillery walked in front of the advancing infantry. The shells were landing so close as to obscure advancing Canadians and kept the German soldiers in the bottom of their trenches and under their overhead protection until the last possible second. This tactic allowed Canadian to get close to the German lines and begin assaulting with grenades, then rifles, and finally with bayonets in close quarters)

Cannon Frederick Scott Last Post On Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, Our Silent armies sleep, Through Summer’s sun and Winter’s gale And ‘neath the starry deep; No more for them the dawn of days, Nor sunset on the hill, Their shouts and songs have died away, Their giant strength is still.

The March of time goes swiftly by And brings its care and toil, But in eternal youth they lie Beneath a foreign soil; With iron limbs and fire for breadth They charged amidst the gloom, And shared along those fields of death The comradeship of doom

Yet not in vain they watch and wait, Strong champions of the right; They are the sentries at our gate And guard us through the night, From selfish aim and paltry ease, From slavery of the soul, The men that save the land are these, They point us to the goal.

Monument at Vimy

trenches

n Two hundred and fifty acres of Vimy Ridge, including Hill 145, its highest point, were made "the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada" Canada has built a glorious memorial there to honor all those who Canadians who fought in this terrible war.