Vimy Ridge Turning Point
During the first world war there were many battles of success and failure. The battle of Vimy Ridge was the first successful battle all because of Canadians. This was a turning point for all Canadians because it made them proud of their country. This battle took place on April 9,1917. From the failure of the battle of the somme, Britain and France thought it would be a good idea to turn to the Canadians. For the first time Canadian soldiers were asked to participate in the battle. They needed new strategies to finally win because they were tired of losing to Germany. “It was time for a change” says commander general Alexander Robins, of the British army.
They spent weeks before the attack making detailed plans. Canada's four divisions were
assembled to fight under the Canadian commander Major-General Arthur Currie. Commander Currie was said to have the best strategies and these are what made Canada's victory successful. One strategy used to attack Germany was the “creeping barrage”. “We would leave at exactly 5:00am each day, get our machine guns loaded and start to bombard no man’s land to gradually advance to the German trenches”. Said solder Jack Mckay. Mckay was always trying to help commander Currie and make suggestions on their daily attacks.
Life in the day of a soldier in Vimy Ridge was terrifying. “I saw my best friend suffocate from the bombing smoke, and it kills me, still, that i could not help him” said Mckay. The soldiers built trenches and the trenches we filled with rats which contained lice and they were full of mud and water. They would have a disease called ‘Trench Foot” and this caused most soldiers to have their foot amputated. If they tried to peek to see what was happening above the trenches they would most likely get shot because the enemy was always waiting to fire at someone. “I liked to warn the new soldiers about peeking because i did not want to see my crew die” said Mckay.
The morning of Easter Monday the Canadians amazing strategies paid off. They had taken and held vimy ridge! This battle impacted most Canadians because it was our first battle and we were the reason for winning the battle. “This victory has impacted my family and I and i'm so proud that I was apart of the battle”. Said Jack Mckay. This victory has given Canada a great reputation and Canadians have so much more pride in their country.
They spent weeks before the attack making detailed plans. Canada's four divisions were
assembled to fight under the Canadian commander Major-General Arthur Currie. Commander Currie was said to have the best strategies and these are what made Canada's victory successful. One strategy used to attack Germany was the “creeping barrage”. “We would leave at exactly 5:00am each day, get our machine guns loaded and start to bombard no man’s land to gradually advance to the German trenches”. Said solder Jack Mckay. Mckay was always trying to help commander Currie and make suggestions on their daily attacks.
Life in the day of a soldier in Vimy Ridge was terrifying. “I saw my best friend suffocate from the bombing smoke, and it kills me, still, that i could not help him” said Mckay. The soldiers built trenches and the trenches we filled with rats which contained lice and they were full of mud and water. They would have a disease called ‘Trench Foot” and this caused most soldiers to have their foot amputated. If they tried to peek to see what was happening above the trenches they would most likely get shot because the enemy was always waiting to fire at someone. “I liked to warn the new soldiers about peeking because i did not want to see my crew die” said Mckay.
The morning of Easter Monday the Canadians amazing strategies paid off. They had taken and held vimy ridge! This battle impacted most Canadians because it was our first battle and we were the reason for winning the battle. “This victory has impacted my family and I and i'm so proud that I was apart of the battle”. Said Jack Mckay. This victory has given Canada a great reputation and Canadians have so much more pride in their country.