Battle of Vimy Ridge

“Training, training, training! Master that gun! Master that gun!... We used to say that our gunners got so good, you know, that they could dissemble a gun, put it in a scoop and throw it in the air, and it’d come down assembled and shoot.”- E.S.Russenholt, 44th (Manitoba) Battalio

Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France April 9 – 12, 1917

The attack began at dawn on Easter Monday, April, 9 in 1917. The Canadians had taken over the crest of Vimy Ridge by afternoon that day. By April 12, the Canadians controlled the entire ridge.

Preparing for the battle Formerly, maps were only to be used by officers and they were rarely seen by the men. All 40,000 men were given a marked map for the battle of Vimy Ridge. “ The troops were conducted over a replica of the battlefield with tapes, flags and signposts indicating German trenches, barbed wire entanglements, machine gun posts, and other strong posts. Each man was told what to expect and when to expect it, what his objective was and how long it would take to get there…” – Daniel G. Dancocks

Week of Suffering

McNaughton’s Flash spotting New Tactics Vimy Glide – advancing at a measured pace of 100 yards every 3 minutes to match a creeping artillery barrage. McNaughton’s Flash spotting and sound ranging A series of microphones were set up along the front. It would pick the sounds as the shells moved through the air and the location of the gun was determined from the time intervals between the microphones by McNaughton and his staff.

Machinery Canada

Weapons machine guns

Weapons asphyxiating (suffocating) / blistering gas

Weapons grenades

Statistics 3 598 dead, 7 004 wounded 20 000 dead or wounded 4 000 captured # of soldiers involved unknown 100 000 soldiers involved In previous Allies’ attempts to take over the ridge, 200 000 Canadians, British, French and Germans were killed and buried.

Sir Julian Byng commander of the British and Canadian Corps the capture of Vimy Ridge Byng had relied on General Arthur Currie to capture Vimy Ridge

A.W. Currie Arrived at the front in the spring of 1915 and became the commander of the 1st division that September. Emerged as a hero in the second battle of Ypres and became the commander of the senior Canadian Divisional Commander.

Billy Bishop Top Canadian flying ace during World War one. Took part in the battle of Vimy Ridge as one of the fighter pilots “…Nor could I believe that the little brown figures moving about below me were really men- men going to the glory of victory or the glory of death.”

Air Battle over Vimy Ridge The Royal Flying Corps had 369 observation planes and 385 available fighters. Germans had one third of this total. However, the Germans had more advanced guns and they also had the Red Baron and his legendary Flying Circus.

Bloody April The month of April became to be known as Bloody April because of the warfare in the skies above Vimy. The Red Baron alone had made thirty kills during that month.

Victory By mid-afternoon, April 12, 1917, the Canadians had earned complete victory over the Germans. Not only did the Canadians gain Vimy Ridge back from the Germans, they had earned pride and recognition as an independent nation.

Vimy Ridge Battle Honours Major – General Arthur Currie Knighted Victoria Cross to Private William Milne Victoria Cross to Lance-Sergeant Ellis Sifton Victoria Cross to Captain Thaine MacDowell Victoria Cross to Private John Pattison

Bibliography "Battles: the Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917." First World War. 25 Oct. 2007 <http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/vimyridge.htm>. Freeman, Bill, and Richard Nielsen. Far From Home. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryers Ltd., 1999. "The Battle of Vimy Ridge." Veterans Affairs Canada. 24 Oct. 2007 <http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/firstwar/vimy/vimy3>. "The Battle of Vimy Ridge." War Museum. 1 Nov. 2007 <http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/vimy/index_e.html>. "Vimy Ridge." Spartacus Educational. 27 Oct. 2007 <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWvimy.htm>. "Vimy Ridge." Vimy Ridge. 20 Oct. 2007 <http://canadian-history8.tripod.com/id10.html>.

http://www. vac-acc. gc. ca/remembers/sub. cfm http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=memorials/ww1mem/vimy/vimyqtvr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNerOTB-OxQ