Battle Of Vimy Ridge Essay

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a great Canadian victory during World War I, as it was the first battle to be won almost entirely by Canadians. The belligerents involved were mainly the Canadian Corps and the German 6th Army, and the battle took place at Vimy Ridge in northeastern France. Vimy Ridge was a strategic ridge that gave excellent sightlines to the battlefields that extended below it, and as such, was a desirable objective. Initially held by the German forces, both British and French attempts to take the ridge in 1916 failed. In 1917 the British command promoted Canadian commander Arthur Currie to the rank of general and was tasked with taking Vimy Ridge. Currie trained his troops on a mock version of the ridge safely behind the front lines in order to properly prepare his men for the real attack. This way, there would be no confusion. Another tactic that was used to great effect was the creeping barrage, which placed a continuous artillery strike just ahead of the advancing

The Canadian Corps that were involved in the war were organized into four divisions, but many times the divisions were under British command and separated from each other. They were primarily used to supplement British assaults, but Vimy Ridge was the first time that the four Canadian divisions fought together. This was quite an event because they were also under the command of General Arthur Currie, a Canadian. On a tactical scale, the victory was not incredibly significant on an international level, but the battle was a huge morale boost for Allied soldiers because they’d lost multiple battles. The Canadians from then on were seen as elite soldiers that could be relied upon, and this was quite a landmark for the fledgling country of Canada. This allowed Canada to step out from underneath the shadow of Great