Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. [Map] Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
First World War - Vimy Ridge -naval 12 inch howitzer in action to capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and new maps crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the
…show more content…
New artillery tactics allowed the gunners to first target, then destroy enemy positions. A nearly limitless supply of artillery shells and the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in ground, facilitated the destruction of hardened defences and barbed wire. The Canadian infantry would be well supported when it went into battle with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive
During this conflict, the British had 7,213 regular soldiers the Americans had 3,000 soldiers. Fort Ticonderoga which is located between Lake George and Lake Champlain in upstate New York was seen important by the Continental Army and the British. Whoever controlled the fort controlled the waterways which could be used
They were aiding their allies who were against the Germans. Canadians had two British divisions on their right, and two French army divisions on their left. One British officer remembered, "The Germans held the higher ground and were able to fire into our Allied trenches. "(Ypres 1915) Salient was a dangerous place to defend as it was surrounded on three sides by enemy soldiers and artillery.
Source III portrays that Canadian nationalism was created by the victory of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and how the battle unified and strengthened Canada as a nation. The source embraces civic nationalism and illustrates how a strong sense of patriotism for one’s country can be founded and can further inspire and establish nationalism. For example, the Canadian soldiers that fought at Vimy Ridge were patriotic and fought for Canada, and the results and rewards of the battle were significant to the war. At the time, German leaders and soldiers that fought at Vimy Ridge would disagree with the source, as they believed the Battle of Vimy Ridge did not considerably influence the outcome of the war. They would argue that although the location and
Vimy Ridge was one of the greatest battles of Canadian history, it was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary assault for the French Nivelle Offensive. This essay will describe the success of the Canadian troops, the battle’s significance, and the importance of the positioning with respect to the geography of the land. The actual battle took place 5:30 am Easter Monday April 9th 1917, but the planning of the attack took place for more than 5 months beforehand starting in November of 1916. Rehearsals and training also occurred, and the soldiers were trained specifically for each position in the war.
Britain forces increased the pressure during the attack, leaving American forces worn out and with little ammunition. Eventually the British climbed the walls of the redoubt and engaged in bayonet fighting, causing Americans to flee. Overall the Americans proved that they could fight on equal footing with British forces and therefore had a good chance of winning the American
This was a result of the battle method that the natives employed, they would hide and shoot in the shadows of trees, misleading the Americans, and confusing them as to their definite location. Furthermore, Salaberry also encouraged hoots, hollers, bugles and more during the battle, to create an illusion of a larger military force, making the Americans think that they were outnumbered. Eventually, the Americans retreated, panicked and fearful, and Montreal was safe. Although this battle is notably less violent and briefer, it known as one of the most important battles throughout the War of 1812. Since this war was won by a force of all-Canadians, a sense of pride and unity was shared amoungst the colonists, as they were able defeat a force that was at least 4 times larger, without support from Britain.
World War II a global devastation lasting six years during the 19th century, taking tens of millions civilians and military. Canadian Forces and civilians played a large part in Allied victory, not only military forces but, women taking the places of men. Canada participated in plenty of battles but, the question still remains of which were most important. The three most important battles that Canadian Forces fought in during WWII are those that led to victory.
Vimy Ridge was considered Canada’s greatest victories. This is the time when the country came out from Britain’s shadow and was capable of doing great things as their own country. Canadian soldiers earned respect and a reputation of effectiveness and a tough army. On April 9th 1917 the Canadian army were ordered to attack Vimy Ridge which was located in Northern France in the pas-de-Calais region. Near the border of Belgium, is a village called Vimy which was equipped with Barbed wires and machine guns.
Trenches were dug with walls about 10 feet high that were often reinforced with sandbags or planks of wood. Barbwire was placed out the front of the trenches to prevent a frontal assault
General Howe stated “It took them a night to build that yet it would of taken my men a month to build it”. He realized that the patriots were desperate to build such a fortification and they must of been running out of ammunition and troops. The British troops with fixed bayonets attacked the hill and had to retreat back to the bottom of the hill. The British troops regrouped after the retreat and charged two more times up the hill. The patriots began to run low on ammunition and some began to retreat from the hill.
The Canadian army in order to gain gather information from the Germanies, 500 planes sacrificed in this battle. Otherwise, Canadian army also used tanks to provide a protection for the Canadian soldiers as they moved. At the end of this battle, there were 3598 Canadian soldiers died and over 7,004 were injured and Canada was the only army that got success in the Vimy Ridge Battle.
Also, artillery howling down obliterating the trenches and making chaos for the soldiers. The different types of weapons including flamethrowers and mustard gas increased
World War 1 was a historic event which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This bloody conflict took the lives of more than 17 million people who were fighting for their countries. Being a British colony at the time, Canada was dragged into the war that did not impact the country in any way, yet thousands of Canadians volunteered to devote their lives for their nation. The first World War had the greatest impact on Canadian history during the 20th century, as this event helped Canada gain more independence from Britain, it helped introduce women in the workforce, and also introduced non-white Canadians in the army. For the longest time, Canada had been under British control, however, this changed a bit after World War 1 took place.
This gave the Continental army courage to know that they could stand up to the British army for two charges, and only lost because they ran out of ammunition. One interesting fact is that the British suffered the most casualties of any single fight of the American Revolutionary War. Another one is that the Continental army had spent the night building up the defenses. Much of the wall they build, called a redoubt, was nearly 6 feet tall. One last fun fact is that British general, William Howe, was astonished at the Continental army’s defense, saying, “The rebels have done more work in one night than my whole army would have done in one month."
“We have shown that even in trench warfare it is possible to mystify and mislead the enemy.” -Sir Arthur Currie (World War 1). The most vital and important battle that gained Canada respect was The Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada played the biggest part in taking this area since they fought alone.