Significance Of The Battle Of Vimy Ridge

In the beginning of World War one, Canadians were not yet acknowledged to be an individual group of people. They were still considered to be a part of England, and for a period in the war Canadians were under British command. However, as the war progressed Canadians were able to break the bonds that held them to the British, giving them the opportunity to show who they were. These soldiers that fought as Canadians were the ones who began to develop Canada’s identity as a country separate from Britain. It wasn’t long before Canadian soldiers became known as a force to be reckoned with, as they were strategic, hardworking and great team-workers. The volunteer soldiers that went to war to represent Canada were known as the C.E.F. (Canadian Expeditionary force), and they were an indispensable factor in the victory of World War one. The book “Canadians at war; A
Vimy ridge was a vital key in the defense of the Hindenburg line, therefore it was well fortified and heavily protected. This was another battle that the Canadians were called to when it seemed impossible to win. The Canadian’s strategy to win this battle was to bombard the ridge with artillery fire from March 20, 1917 until April 9th. The Canadians then proceeded to use a technique called the Creeping Barrage, where they snuck closer and closer to the line a few hundred yards at a time with their artillery firing just in front of them. By using this technique, the Canadians made progress rather quickly, and after 3 days Canadians had successfully captured Vimy ridge at the loss of 3500 Canadian soldiers. British and French troops were in awe of the precision and effectiveness of the Canadian strategy that was shown in that battle at Vimy ridge. Afterwards, Brigadier-General A.E. Ross said, “In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation.” And it is often said that Canada went into that battle as a colony, and came down as a