98 years ago today the Canadian Corps launched it's attack on Vimy Ridge

[Barthheart]

It took 3 days to complete their objectives and proved that the Canadian Corps was a force to be feared.  O0

The battle was the first occasion when all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in a battle together and thus became a Canadian nationalistic symbol of achievement and sacrifice.

[Centurion40]

[Centurion40]

[Centurion40]

[Centurion40]

[mirth]

haunting.

[LongBlade]

I went past a road today named Vimy Ridge.

[Shelldrake]

This painting always gives me the chills.

[Centurion40]

+10

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

The Canadians were considered heavy shock troops after, they were sent in to take areas others were having problems.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Vimy Ridge

Vimy Ridge was a key high ground in northern France. The Germans had dug themselves in and the hill was riddled with tunnels, trenches, and complex fortifications; protected by artillery; and reinforced with machine-gun platforms. The Germans had even strung in telephone and electric lines and had built a rail line for moving munitions The British and the French had both tried to take Vimy Ridge — again and again and again. Every attempt had failed, and more than 200,000 men had been lost. It was now Canada's turn. Unlike previous British attacks, the preparations this time were careful and meticulous. A complete mock-up of the hill was built and the soldiers trained on it until they knew the lay of the land by heart. Rather than drag their own guns forward, the Canadians learned how to load and fire German artillery so that they would be able to turn captured guns against the enemy. Andrew McNaughton, a Canadian colonel and a former science professor from McGill University, discovered a way to pinpoint enemy guns by their flash and sound, and key German positions were systematically destroyed before the advance began. As well, British artillerymen were trained to drop their shells just ahead of the advancing army, allowing the Canadians to move forward behind a thundering "rolling barrage." The attack began on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. For the first time in the war, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps advanced together, fighting alongside each other against the brunt of the German army. Perhaps it was the climate. In the cold, wet winds and driving snow and sleet, the Canadians must have felt right at home. They took the hill, sweeping the Germans from the ridge. At Vimy, the Canadians captured more guns, more ground, and more prisoners than in any previous British offensive. Called "the most perfectly organized and most successful battle of the whole war," it was Canada's greatest victory, and one that has since been hailed as a "nation-making moment" that involved Canadians from every region.

We went up Vimy Ridge as Albertans and Nova Scotians. We came down as Canadians. — a war veteran remembering Vimy Ridge

Nearly 3,600 Canadians died taking Vimy Ridge, and a soaring monument in northern France now marks the spot. After that battle, the Canadians were set apart as storm troopers, brought in to head the assault in one great battle after another. Canadian officer Arthur Currie, the key strategist behind Vimy Ridge, was given command of the entire Canadian Corps. He would prove to be one of the greatest generals the war produced. A former schoolteacher, Currie had worked his way up from private and was knighted for his work at Vimy Ridge. One German officer later went on record as saying that if it weren't for Currie and the Canadian Corps, Germany might very well have won the war.

Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line, they prepared for the worst. — British Prime Minister David Lloyd George


A Little Bit of Everything For Dummies®, 20th Anniversary Edition

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9904E2DE153AE433A25752C1A9629C946696D6CF