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Significance
Location
Northern France
Stands 110 metres
high and runs for 8
10 kilometres.
The Ridge held a
commanding view of
the entire Douai Plain.
Under control of the
Germans.
Leadership
Tactics
Currie made sure that the preparation for the battle
was extremely thorough.
He was convinced that poor planning had caused
heavy loses in the past.
Troops built a full scale model of the battle area and
carefully practised their manoeuvres again and
again.
Plans flew scouting missions and clearly plotted the
position of German guns.
Tactics
A maze of underground tunnels were
dug to move troops & supplies safely
& secretly.
The plan was to have the troops
closely follow a massive barrage of
artillery fire on the German position.
By doing this they gained the element
of surprise.
The Battle
Attacking together for the first time, the four
Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am
on April 9, 1917.
More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the
Germans all along the front.
Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the
infantry to continue moving forward under heavy
fire, even when their officers were killed.
Three more days of costly battle delivered final
victory (the battle ended on April 12, 1917.
Battle Scene
Outcome
The price was heavy: 10,500 casualties,
including 3,598 dead.
A boost for Canada; made our soldiers known
worldwide.
Today you can see the Canadian National Vimy
Ridge Memorial at the battle sight in France.
As a result of the victory, Canada won a seat
as a separate nation at the peace talks after
the war seen as a real international player .
BrigadierGeneral A.E.
Ross declared
after the war, "in
those few
minutes I
witnessed the
birth of a nation."
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/return-tovimy-ridge