Review: Was The Battle At Vimy Ridge Truly A Turning Point In Canadian History
Aiden Jajo
Mr. Kennedy
CHC 2D
May 1, 2015
Vimy Ridge: Was the Battle at Vimy Ridge Truly a Turning Point in Canadian History? Neil Armstrong, an American Astronaut, and first person to land on the moon, once said these notorious words, “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” These words were said as he landed on the moon, and forever changed history. This was a milestone and a turning point in space exploration for both the United States of America, and for Canada as well. Another turning point in Canadian history was the battle of Vimy Ridge. The Battle of Vimy Ridge truly was a turning point in Canadian history for several reasons; Prior to Canada’s attempt, both the French and British attempted to capture Vimy, unfortunately
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The battle shows Canada's ability to act independently and without Britain’s command. It gave Canadians the chance to been seen as equal to countries like France and Britain. General Arthur Currie was able to outsmart any of the British and French generals plans when he came up with the idea of the creeping barrage. The creeping barrage resulted in a swift capture of Vimy ridge and less deaths than both the British and French failed attempts. “The Canadian achievement in capturing Vimy Ridge owed its success to sound and meticulous planning and thorough preparation, all of which was aimed at minimizing casualties.” (Canada) The biggest achievement in winning the battle at Vimy was that both France and Britain attempted to capture Vimy Ridge and failed. This shows that although we were not seen as equal to those countries, Canada had the ability to accomplish conquests that even the British and French could not. In this battle the Canadians received the recognition we deserved. Furthermore, Canada's victory had minimal help from allied countries; all divisions of the Canadian army joined together and executed their training. This was Canada's first sense of individualism. “The French and British had failed to take Vimy ridge from the Germans and it cost them thousands of lives. The task fell to the Canadian army to take the ridge.” (CBC) The fate of the task fell into …show more content…
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<https://www.umanitoba.ca/canadian_wartime/grade9/students/dafoe_intro.shtml>
Morton, Desmond. “Significance of Vimy Ridge.” Vimy Foundation. Vimy Foundation, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2014 <www.vimyfoundation.ca/signifigance>
Stechyson, Natalie. “Vimy marked Canada’s birth as a nation.” National post. National post, 9 April. 2012 web. 27 Nov. 2014 <http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/09/vimy-ridge-marked-canadas-birth-as-a-nation-g-g-says-on-95th-aniversary-of-battle/ >
Kennedy, Mr. “Vimy Ridge.” Vimy Ridge 1917: Birth of a Nation. (pg.3)
“Significance of Vimy.” Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada at war, 3 Sept. 2007. Web. Nov 30. 2014
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