11/30/2017 0 Comments Battle of Vimy RidgeThe Battle of Vimy Ridge was a battle that was located in Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France. It only lasted for 3 days; it started on April 9th of 1917, at exactly 5:30 AM, and ceased on April 12th of the same year. The two opponents were the Canadian Corps, which had 4 divisions, against the German Sixth Army, which had 3 divisions. The reason for the attack was to get a better view over the Allied Lines; the ridge was also seven kilometres long. The battle of vimy ridge, a painting by richard jackThe Canadian Corps used a creeping barrage to aid them in capturing most of the ridge in only one day. A village named Thelus fell on the second day of the attack, as well as the crest of the ridge. By the time April 12th came, the Canadians had total control over the ridge. It did come with a cost, though. The corps had to deal with 10,602 casualties: 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded. The German Sixth Army had an unknown number of casualties, although 4,000 of their soldiers had become prisoners of war. Trenches used in the battle of vimy ridgeIn the battle, for the first time ever, all 4 divisions of the Canadian Corps fought on the same battlefield, which probably contributed to their swift success. The battlefield actually had corpses on them even before the battle started; previous failed French attacks left the field with over 100,000 rotting corpses. What's cool is that the Canadian Corps had captured more ground, more prisoners and more guns than any British Expeditionary Force. There were 4 Victoria Crosses awarded after the battle; to Private William Milne, Lance-Sergeant Ellis Sifton, Private John Pattison, and Captain Thain MacDowell. Vimy ridge memorialThe memorial for the Vimy Ridge battle took 11 years to build, and cost $1.5 million. It was revealed on July 26, 1936, by King Edward VIII. Thousands of Canadian and French Citizens attended the opening of the Vimy Ridge Memorial.
Vimy Ridge was a very important success to the Canadians, as it provided a great view of what was happening; they could see if German attacks were happening, etc, etc.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Tony Webster