Vimy Ridge

 Vimy Ridge

This essay will describe the events that took place at Vimy Ridge during World

War I. Britain and France both attempted to take control of the Ridge which was currently occupied by the German Army and both failed. It was left to the Canadian

Army to take the Ridge. This essay will prove that after many struggles, and careful preparation, Canada was defined as a Nation at Vimy Ridge.

Vimy Ridge was a key to the German defence system. It rose 61 m. above the Douai Plain which favoured the Germans because there was a gradual incline on the West. This meant that the Canadians would have to attack over open ground where they would become prime targets for German artillery, machine guns and rifle fire. Military mining played a big role in the battle of Vimy Ridge. Engineers built a network of tunnels under no-mans land. They also dug subways totalling more than

5 km. in length, through which assault troops could move to their jumping-off points.

The subways provided protection from enemy artillery fire, and permitted the wounded to be brought back from the battlefield. Chambers were cut into the walls of the subway for brigade and battalion headquarters, ammunitions stores, communication centres and dressing stations.

The taking of Vimy Ridge fell to the Canadian Corps under the command of the British General Julian Byng. He appointed the Canadian born Major General

Arthur Currie as the Commander of the 1st Canadian Division. Currie believed

“Thorough preparation must lead to success. Neglect nothing.”. He left nothing to chance, every stage of the attack was planned to the very last detail. General Currie had a full scale model of Vimy Ridge built to train his soldiers. They got the locations of every trench, machine gun and other valuable information about the enemy by using aerial photographs taken by the Royal Flying Corps and information from intelligence raids across enemy lines. Over 1,400 Canadians lost their lives retrieving this information. The key positions of the model were marked with flags and coloured tape. Currie had his soldiers practice and rehearse every step they would take on the day of the attack, so when the day came, the troops would be fully informed about their objectives and their routes. Maps were given out to guide even the smallest units. The soldiers were also trained to use the enemy machine guns so when the enemy guns were captured, they would know how to use them.

The German defence system was made up of three defensive lines. They consisted of a maze of trenches, concrete machine gun strong points that had