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Vimy Ridge

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             The battle of Vimy Ridge did not display Canada as a nation separate from Britain by fluke. There were months of preparation before the battle itself actually occurred. Nearly a year before the battle in May of 1916 General Haig of the British forces made the decisive move to veto General Wilson's motion to launch on all out offensive on the Germans. General Wilson had just suffered major losses days before and was looking for thoughtless revenge. Haig, thinking with a cooler head, decided to halt this attack because of a potential threat to Arras if another defeat of Vimy was to occur. This situation was presented to the British Commander-in-chief who ordered preliminary plans for the capture of Vimy Ridge to be made. These plans would include the full force of the Canadian army to fight their way to victory and sovereignty!.
             The attack on Vimy Ridge would consist of the first, second, third and fourth divisions of the Canadian Corps with the fifth Imperial division in support. The French army was in the back lines; they would almost be left behind in the battle because of the speed at which the Canadian army was advancing. The Canadians were led under Sir Julian Byng, which was somewhat ironic considering he was British. Alongside Byng would be General Currie, a Canadian soldier. This was a big promotion for Currie; in times of World War I the British did not consider Canadian soldiers "Fit enough to command anything larger than an infantry brigade"(McKee, p.25). Sir Julian Byng was told not to let another repeat of The Somme to happen where 25,019 Canadian soldiers were killed. To avoid this Byng implemented a very strategic plan to take over the ridge, which would include the smallest detail for each soldier. The "Viscount of Vimy" also brought new technology to the war, a young engineer by the name of Andrew McNoughton of McGill University. This man would specialize in accurate shell launchings and pinpointing German guns.


Essays Related to Vimy Ridge

1. The Battle of Vimy Ridge

... and what seemed like a limitless supply of artillery, this was Canada's "grand entrance ". The new tactics the Canadian Troops used in the battle of Vimy Ridge is part of the reason this battle was such a huge victory. Instead of going along with the traditional trench tactic used in a majority of World ... War 1, Canadians tried something new. The Canadian approach to the Battle of Vimy Ridge was to fight the Germans head-on and force them out of the trenches. This approach, obviously, proved useful. Next, the enormous amount of supplies ... its soldiers well enough to go through with ...

  • Word Count: 906
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Vimy Ridge

... the German trench known as Graben, and had also reached the Black Line along with the 1st division. By 7:30 that morning the 3rd division had reached the crest of Vimy Ridge. The 4th division had the most difficult obstacle, securing Hill 145 and a feature known as the Pimple. 8 They suffered heavy losses in doing so. Finally on April 12, the Germans ... causalities in which 3,598 were fatal. The causalities were by no means light, but were far lighter than those of any previous battles. The French had called the capture of Vimy Ridge by the Canadians, "an Easter gift from Canada to the...

  • Word Count: 1187
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Battle of Vimy Ridge

... over two years, enabling them to strengthen their position to the point that they thought it was impregnable. The French had tried to take over Vimy Ridge with as much as twenty divisions, but were still unsuccessful. They launched 3 massive attacks and they had suffered thousands of casualties. After France's unsuccessful attempt, the British tried to do ... the perfect plan, they would have been shut down just as the French and British were. Canada's General, Sir Arthur Currie was given orders to take and secure Vimy Ridge on the 17th of February in 1917. Luckily enough for the Canad...

  • Word Count: 918
  • Approx Pages: 4

4. vimy ridge

... early April of 1917 30,000 Canadian soldiers moved toward the front line of Vimy Ridge. In 1914 the Germans invaded Vimy Ridge and took possession of the strategic ridge located in northeastern France. The British and the French attempted to conquer Vimy Ridge, but they failed their attempt to overtake the Ridge. In 1917 the Canadians replaced the British and the French to take control ... of Vimy Ridge. Within days of moving to the front line the Canadian military gained complete control of Vimy and won the battle victoriously. The victory of Vimy Ridge made Canada's citizens extremely ...

  • Word Count: 284
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Canada at Vimy Ridge in WWI

... and well-planned attacks decrease the amount of soldiers an army will loose (A New World). The British and French battled the Germans at Vimy Ridge for two years, and lost thousands of men. Thinking that it was impossible, they gave General Sir Julian Byng the chance to show the ... wanted to decreasing their death toll (Orgins of the War). This preparation allowed the Army to turn thousands of citizens into soldiers, within weeks. Vimy Ridge marked the one successful capture on the Allies offensive in 1917. The capture came with its defects; the Canadian soldiers where unable to exploit...

  • Word Count: 734
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Vimy Ridge

... Canada an independent nation. In February 1917, in France, both the British and the French had failed attempts to remove German troops from high grounds. During Vimy ridge Canadians had a lot of firsts. Such as, the first Canadian general, general Arthur Currie. They also used the first curtain warfare. Moreover, it was the first all Canadian deployment. ... soldiers who dug tunnels between trenches and under enemy placements. Those sappers ignited a massive explosion near vimy ridge that acted as a decoy. The victory came with a high price, over 10 000 Canadians died. After the war, th...

  • Word Count: 257
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Battle of Vimy Ridge

... the birth of their nation and a defining moment in Canada's history. One of the most important reasons why Vimy Ridge is a defining moment in Canada's history is because of the independence it gave Canadians and most of all Canadian ... were an utter failure. They only had a quarter million men and seven thousand guns. As for the British troops, the further one moved south from Vimy Ridge, the more depth of British penetration diminished. Eventually, the British troops got to The Sensee Valley and found themselves putting up a fight against nearly one ... the Canadians with a lot more re...

  • Word Count: 336
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Vimy Book Review

... battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place on April 9, 1917. In this book the author, Pierre Berton, shows how civilians from Canada, a country without a military tradition, seized the best-defended German stronghold on the Western Front. The main thesis of the book, being suggested by Burton, is how Vimy became ... the command of Arthur Currie. At a cost of 10,000 casualties, the Canadians went over the top at dawn and held most of the ridge by the afternoon. Using "daring and common sense," the Canadians fought together as a united corps to achieve a victory that would drive their country...

  • Word Count: 552
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Battle of Vimy Ridge

... Lord Beaverbrook, initially used artists to produce paintings for reproduction in his publications. Then the Canadian formed a committee to oversee creation of a national archive of war art. The Taking of Vimy Ridge, by Richard Jack -- Image from Canadian War Museum "He married the traditional battle picture with the new reality that photography had brought," says Brandon. "They are not formalized portraits of ... ...

  • Word Count: 917
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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