By Lucas Thalen

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By Lucas Thalen CPS Information Processing 9
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The History

• At the beginning of world war one the Germans had
  captured Vimy Ridge, in France, and turned it
  into one of the most fortified bastions of
  defence in the great war. This loss would cost
  the allies dearly, and plague them until it was
  finally taken by the Canadian Corp on April 9th,
  1917. Previously to this attack, all others made
  by the French and British had proved fruitless
  and has caused the enormous casualties, over one
  hundred and seventy thousand men.
• Capturing the Ridge was crucial for a
  breakthrough on the western front, and this
  overwhelming task was left to the Canadians, and
  their able commander, Sir Arthur Currie, the
  first Canadian commander of the Canadian corp.

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Combatants At Vimy Ridge
Commanders British Empire (A)
Julian Byng
Dominion Of Canada (A)
Sir Arthur Currie Allied
Casualties 3,500 Dead
7,400 Wounded Prusso-German Empire (CP)
Ludwig Von Falkenhausen Central Powers
Casualties 20,000 Dead 4,000
Pows The British are included in this chart, as
the attack was part of the Ardennes offensive, in
which they played a large role. This is also
because the British attacked a small portion of
the ridge, but without nearly as much success as
the Canadians.
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The Task At Hand

• The task entrusted to the Canadians was no easy
  one. The Germans had fortified the ridge, and it
  had been deemed to be impregnable by the allied
  powers. It would be many months of planning and
  training before the Canadians were even ready to
  assault the ridge, something Currie had insisted
  on, and this way he made sure to learn from the
  mistakes of the British and the French in 1915.
  They had gone into the attack with minimal
  planning and training, and they paid for it
  dearly.

Gen. Sir Arthur Currie
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The Plan

• The planning of attack on Vimy Ridge was tedious,
  and rightly so, for attacking, taking, and
  holding the ridge against insurmountable odds
  would prove to be one of the largest challenges
  in combat the Canadians had faced to date.
  Several new concepts were introduced for the
  attack, including the creeping barrage, platoon
  tactics, and maps being issued to all soldiers,
  rather than just NCOs. Currie knew he would need
  far more men than could be contained secretively
  in a trench. To get around this problem, he had
  engineers dig cavernous underground shelters,
  which would flood up into the trenches, creating
  a steady stream of men. The ridge would then be
  fortified, and defended fiercely to create
  enormous casualties among the enemy troops that
  counter-attacked.

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The Attack

• The preparatory bombardment began a week before
  the attack on Vimy ridge, and it was so loud it
  could be heard all the way in London. On the
  early morning of April 9th, 1917, the attack
  commenced, and the troops, who had honed the
  creeping barrage proceeded to attack the ridge.
  The German defences were overwhelmed.
  Counter-Battery fire kept their guns from
  attacking, and the swarms of Canadian troops soon
  captured the ridge. It was hailed as a triumphant
  moment for the Canadians, now considered the most
  elite troops available to commanders.

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Legacy Of Vimy

• For Canadians, the name of Vimy has been very
  meaningful, and the victory at the ridge is
  closely tied with the birth of Canada as an
  independent nation of the British Commonwealth.
  This victory was the breakthrough the allies had
  been looking for on the western front, and
  although it was not the end of the bloodshed, it
  ended the gruesome stalemate that had persisted
  for years. It is said that upon hearing of the
  victory, a French soldier exclaimed, Cest
  impossible! (That isnt possible!), and when
  hearing it was the Canadians, his answer
  immediately changed to Cest Possible! (It is
  possible!). After the war, the Canadian
  government built a grand memorial to the dead of
  Vimy, a legacy to the lasting grief and sadness
  of war. It was made to stand for the grand
  sacrifice of war, the toll paid by all, grief,
  and suffering.

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• Even more so is the fact that Canada was only
  then about 50 years old, and over 665, 000 men
  and women of the CAF served overseas in the
  carnage of the great war, of which sixty-five
  thousand of them would never return home, having
  made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of
  their nation.

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Bibliography

• War Museum Of Canada. (2004, September 14).
  Battle of Vimy Ridge. Retrieved September 12,
  2007 from http//www.civilization.ca/cwm/vimy/inde
  x_e.html
• Wikipedia. (2007, September 11). The Battle of
  Vimy Ridge. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
• Images
• http//www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/war
  _artists/pics/13650_1520.jpg
• http//www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/graphics/cana
  dianvimygunners.jpg
• http//www.nfb.ca/web428x321/Films/35340/35340_1.j
  pg
• http//www.travel55.co.uk/Images/leger/leg_vimy_ri
  dge_main.jpg
• http//wwii.ca/images/GhostsVimyRidge.jpg
• Music Sounds
• http//fresh.t-systems-sfr.com/linux/src/pixcon-3.
  00.tar.gza/graph/demos/game/sound/artillery_burst
  
• http//www.thiefmissions.com/tools/dedx01/Snd/T1GS
  FX/hmgfire.wav

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• To a soldier in heaven, st. peter hell tell,
  fit and reporting for duty sir, Ive served my
  time in hell.