By Joe Corrigan
The battle of Vimy Ridge was set to commence at 5:30 am on Easter
Monday, April 9th, 1917. It was to be part of the larger Battle of
Arras conducted by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Commonwealth
units. During that night, thousands of Canadian troops waited in the many
subways that lead up to their front lines. The shelters were 8 meters below the
surface and they protected the troops from enemy artillery fire. Given that the
Germans on Vimy Ridge had an excellent vantage point from which to observe
troop movements on the allied side of the front, the subways were the only way
to ensure that the element of surprise was maintained up until the attack took
place. Evidence of that long, sleepless night still exists in those tunnels
with hundreds of carvings in the chalk walls. Soldiers names, home towns, battalion
numbers, unit emblems and countless maple leafs left a mute testimony to
the anxious hours spent by many of the over 97,000 Canadian soldiers who took
part in the attack.
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| Artillery at Vimy |
At the appointed time, nearly one thousand Canadian artillery
pieces opened up on the German positions. In addition to the creeping barrage,
the artillery targeted German gun positions that had been located using aerial
observation, flash spotting and sound monitoring in the months prior to the
attack. It was at this point that 15,000 to 20,000 Canadian soldiers emerged
from the subways into their front line trenches. The infantry units, now
reconfigured as independent sections each with their own riflemen, machine
gunners (utilizing the portable Lewis gun) and bombers armed with Mills bombs
(grenades) went over the top. The reorganization allowed the troops to be self-sufficient
and in possession of every weapon needed to out-flank and neutralize obstacles.
At a walking pace of 100 yards every three minutes, which became known as the
“Vimy Glide,” they followed the creeping barrage at a safe distance arriving at
the German front line before the enemy troops sheltering there could come out
and set up their defenses. Once that objective was taken, the barrage moved on
towards the second line of trenches.
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| Infantry Advance at Vimy |
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| The View of the Douai plain from Vimy Ridge |
This is where the careful planning and rehearsals started
to pay off. The 4 divisions of the Canadian Corps were fighting as a unit for
the first time in the war. Each division had its own objective. They were lined
in order from 1 to 4 with the 1st division on the southern edge of
the advance and the newly arrived 4th division on the northern edge.
The first three divisions had similar objectives on the ridge differing only in
how far they had to go. The 1st division having the farthest distance
to reach the final objective known as the “Brown Line” on the far side of the
ridge. The 4th division had the shortest distance to cover but they
were tasked with taking the highest points on the ridge namely Hill 145 and a
knoll known simply as “the Pimple”. Every soldier in every battalion had
rehearsed on a scale model of the ridge and knew exactly where they were to go
to reach their objectives. Unlike the British on the first day of the Battle of
the Somme, there was no lack of understanding as to what the troops needed to
do and what strongholds they would have to eliminate along the way.
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| Plan of Attack at Vimy Ridge |
Everything went according to plan for divisions 1, 2 &
3 and they captured their sections of the ridge by 1:30 pm that day. Things did
not work out so well for the 4th division, however. The newest of the
Canadian formations, they had yet to be tested in battle. They had taken part
in a major trench raid leading up to the attack in early March which had been a
disaster. There were high casualties sustained in the raid, many of which were
experienced officers. On the day of the assault, the commander of the division
decided to cancel the barrage directed at an enemy defensive position surmising
that, if taken intact, the defensive position would be useful in fending off
German counter attacks. It was a costly mistake causing many casualties and
weakening the division to the point that they had to mobilize a “work battalion”,
the 85th Nova Scotians, to revitalize the assault. It ended up
taking the 4th division three more days until the strong points on
the Pimple were finally dealt with. Finally, on the 12th of April,
the ridge was in Canadian hands. It was a costly victory, although not the
costliest of the war. Over 10,000 casualties were sustained, close to 3,600 of
them fatal. The cost to the Germans has never been tallied but it is believed
that they suffered a similar number as well as over 4,000 taken prisoner.
British and French generals who had scoffed when told that
the Canadians planned to take the ridge in a matter of hours were astounded
that, at least in the case of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions, the battle went exactly as planned. From that point on, the Canadian
Corps gained a reputation as “shock troops” and the allied high command knew
that, as British Prime Minister Lloyd George expressed, “when the Canadians
moved into the line the Germans knew to expect the worst”. Vimy Ridge was the
only clear success in the battle of Arras. As a result, General Julian Byng was
promoted to commander of the British 3rd Army and General Arthur
Currie took over as Canadian Corps Commander. Later Currie would be given
command of the entire Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) which, in turn, would
receive independent status from the BEF, unique among the Dominions of the British
Empire.
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| Canadian Troops After Vimy Victory |
Vimy Ridge remains a symbol of the coming-of-age of the 50
year old Canadian nation on the world stage. It was the first battle in which
the newly formed Canadian Corps fought as a unit and it was an overwhelming
success. As one soldier put it “We went up the hill as Albertans and Nova
Scotians. We came down as Canadians”. There are a large number of Vimy
commemorative videos on YouTube. Here are a couple of links that may be of
interest. https://youtu.be/Vv8cL4HYid4 and https://youtu.be/T6oUw01DEu4
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| Artist's image of the soldiers' spirits and the monument |
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| Vimy Monument |
Joe Corrigan has been Museum Manager at Lang Pioneer Village since February of 2003. He has been a lifelong student of history. His specific areas of interest are Canadian and world political, military and sports history with a particular focus on biographical works. Joe has been interpreting Sir John A. Macdonald at the Museum's Historic Dominion Day event since 2007. 