Battle of Vimy Ridge - 60th Commerate Service
Battleof Vimy Ridge
Is also considered a major event in Canadian history for the primary role the Canadian Corps played in the attack.
The French and British had suffered thousands of casualties in previous attempts to take it; the French alone lost 150,000 men in 1915.
The Allied commanders decided to launch another assault in 1917. For the first time, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps were brought together. They were joined by the British 5th Infantry Division.
Battle
The German army fortified Vimy Ridge - with tunnels, three rows of trenches behind barbed wire, massive amounts of artillery, and numerous machine gun nests.
On April 2, 1917, the Canadian Corps initiated the largest artillery barrage in history up to that point. They shelled the German trenches for a week, using over one million shells. The Canadians were able to locate and destroy about 83% of the German guns. The Canadians also made many night trench raids during this week. The German troops called this period the "Week of Suffering". The attack was so loud, the sound of guns could be heard plainly in southern England, some one hundred miles from the front.
The Canadian Corps' commanders were determined to learn from the mistakes of the French and British and spent months planning their attack. They built a replica of the ridge behind their lines, and issued detailed maps to ordinary soldiers rather than officers alone. Each platoon was to be given a complete picture of the battle plan and given a specific task. They also employed the digging of long "subways" (tunnels), the ends of which were detonated at zero hour, giving waiting platoons closer access to the German line.
At dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, the Canadian Corps attacked. The first wave advanced behind a creeping barrage, known specifically for the battle as the Vimy Glide. This is where heavy artillery is fired just before the advancing infantry, causing chaos and destruction with a cloud of dust so that the enemy can not see the advancing forces. It had been used to moderate success before, but the Canadians perfected the technique. Corporal Gus Sivertz of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles said,
We were dancing a macabre dance as our nerves just vibrated to the thousands of shells and machine gun bullets... whizzing over. I felt that if I had put my finger up, I should have touched a ceiling of sound.
Nearly 100,000 men in total were to take and hold the ridge.
Results
By April 12, the Canadians controlled the entire ridge, at a cost of 3,598 men killed and 7,104 wounded. The German Sixth Army, suffered approximately 20,000 casualties with 4,000 Germans as prisoners of war.
Vimy Ridge was the first Allied victory in almost a year and a half and it was especially demoralizing for the Germans who had viewed the ridge as one of their most impregnable strongpoints. The ridge provided a leverage point behind the lines from which an extremely effective Allied counter-attack was launched. The counterattack would ultimately lead to victory over Germany by November 1918.
Enduring Legacy
To Canadians, the name Vimy Ridge remains very meaningful historically. It was the first time in the nation's history that a corps-sized formation fought as a unit. The success of the attack, resulting from detailed planning and a variety of innovative tactics sealed the reputation of the Canadians as among the finest troops on the western front. Some have suggested that Canadian unity was fostered - all nine provinces were represented in the order of battle of the Canadian Corps
Vimy Memorial
The battle is commemorated by the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, set atop Hill 145 It is the largest of Canada's war monuments. In recognition of the great sacrifices made by Canada, the French government formally granted Canada a portion of the ridge in perpetuity.
This past Monday April 9, over 25,000 people, primarily Canadians, attended a ceremony at the Vimy Memorial to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle. The official party included Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Queen Elizabeth II, who rededicated the restored memorial.
The high point of Canadian military achievement came at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It helped to give Canada a new sense of identity. This translated into greater autonomy, with Canada sending its own delegates to the Treaty of Versailles negotiations in 1919, joining the League of Nations as a member in 1921.
Today we remember the battle of Vimy Ridge which marked a transition from a young country of only a few decades to a country of distinction on a international level.
Vimy Ridge has personal significance to me. My grandfather was there, I have here a medialon he was given in appreciation for his service in the battle, where he was a chaplain. I have a miniature baptismal font that had with in the First World War, who knows how men’s last moments are connected with this? And I have his preaching scarf and on it is the insignia of the Canadian Forces and the ribbons for the medals that he was given over his two tour of duty.
When I ask my mom about my Grandfather’s involvement in WWI and in particular Vimy Ridge. She has no direct stories to tell… only that, on times when he would remember the war, the war that was to end all wars. He would go quiet and withdrawal from everyone. The memories too painful to share…So let us not tell stories to glorify war or this battle, let us quietly honour the suffering and horror that our fellow Canadians endured for the ideal of a better world!