The
Battle
of Vimy Ridge
The
attack on Vimy Ridge began on
Easter Monday, April 9,
1917. The weather the day before had
been clear, but on the actual day of the attack, the weather was cold
and
overcast. Prior to the battle, the
troops were given their ration of rum and a mug of sweet tea. As one
private
recalled, “first a little rum, then blood…” (32). The tactic of the
creeping
barrage was employed as the troops crossed No Man’s Land.
The light field guns preceded the infantry by
about seventy-five meters, lifting at intervals of three minutes. Troops practiced the “Vimy Glide” (walking at
the rate of 100 yards every 3 minutes) to ensure that their timing was
perfect (33). The Canadians carried 170
rounds of
ammunition, two Mills bombs, a bayonet, a gasmask, forty-eight hours’
worth of
iron rations, two water bottles, sandbags, a rubber groundsheet and two
signal
flares into battle (34).
At
0400 hours, the exits to the
“subways” were opened and
the troops went out into No Man’s Land.
At 0530 hours, a signal gun sounded and the attack begun. There
was initial success for Haig’s
troops. The creeping barrage had been
successful in keeping the German troops in their trenches.
The Canadian Corps was supported by six
British and two Canadian Heavy Artillery Groups. They
were necessary to take the ridge and
succeeded effectively.
Canadian troops advance
into No Man's
Land
Image Courtesy of Veterans Affairs
Canada, 2005.
On
Vimy Ridge, the main German
defenses were on forward
slopes, and the troops were in range of the British artillery.
The Canadians almost immediately seized Vimy
Ridge, in “one of the war’s most memorable actions” (35).
There was early success in the centre as
well. Allenby’s Third Army advanced 3
½
miles into the German lines. The middle
advance had removed the threat to the rail centre and dislodged the
Germans
from strong positions. And the mighty
Nova Scotians at Hill 145 charged madly towards the Germans, who fled
their
posts (36). There was no initial success
on the right flank. Gough and the Fifth
Army came up against the Hindenburg Line defenses. But eventually they
did
break through, proving that even the Hindenburg Line was pregnable
(37).
Click here to see the advance made
by the Canadian Corps.
By
the evening of 9 April, almost
all objectives had been
reached. The attacks had accomplished
their task of keeping the Germans away from the main Nivelle
Offensive.
As a result of the attacks, the Germans could
not divert any troops away from Arras
to help with the main French attack. Click here
to see the Canadian opeations from 9-12
April 1917.
The Canadian Corps
suffered over
10,000 casualties in the
battle. Of them, 3,598 would claim a final resting place at Vimy Ridge.
Click here to learn more about the
Battle of Vimy Ridge on Canada's World War I website.
Soldiers carry a wounded Canadian
away from battle
Image Courtesy of Veterans Affairs
Canada, 2005.