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Why was Vimy Ridge successful?
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. Canadians attacked German machine-guns, the greatest obstacles to their advance, with great courage. They saved many comrades’ lives as a result.
What is Vimy Ridge known for?
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was fought during the First World War from 9 to 12 April 1917. It is Canada’s most celebrated military victory — an often mythologized symbol of the birth of Canadian national pride and awareness. More than 10,600 Canadians were killed and wounded in the assault.
Why was Vimy Ridge important to the Germans?
In 1917 Vimy Ridge was a strong point of the German defences in northern Europe. The Ridge dominated its area of the Western Front, allowing the Germans unrestricted view of the Allied positions. Behind the Ridge were captured French mines and factories that the Germans used for their war effort.
How did Vimy Ridge change Canadian identity?
The Battle of Vimy Ridge during World War I was a key event in Canada’s development as a nation. Vimy became a shared symbol for Canadians and a source of national identity and pride. The French and British armies had failed to take Vimy Ridge from the Germans, at a cost of thousands of lives.
How did the Battle of Vimy Ridge affect the war?
This success had a profound effect on Allied planning. Though the victory at Vimy came swiftly, it did not come without cost. There were 3,598 dead out of 10,602 Canadian casualties. After Vimy, the Canadian Corps went from one success to another, to be crowned by their achievements in the 1918 “advance to victory”.
Why was the Battle of Vimy Ridge so important to Canadian history?
Vimy Ridge was a particularly important tactical feature. Its capture by the Canadians was essential to the advances by the British Third Army to the south and of exceptional importance to checking the German attacks in the area in 1918.
Did Canada fight in ww2?
Canada, of its own free will, entered the war in September 1939 because it then realized that Nazi Germany threatened the very existence of Western civilization. Almost from the beginning Canadians were in the thick of the fighting—in the air.
Was the Battle of Passchendaele successful?
After more than three months of bloody combat, the Third Battle of Ypres effectively comes to an end on November 6, 1917, with a hard-won victory by British troops at the Belgian village of Passchendaele.
Why was the Battle of Vimy Ridge such a significant moment?
The Battle of Vimy Ridge, fought between 9 and 12 April 1917 as part of the Battle of Arras in northern France, is widely regarded as a defining moment for Canada. Vimy Ridge was the first time the entire Canadian Corps, which was composed of at least 75,000 to 80,000 Canadian soldiers across four divisions, fought together.
How did Vimy Ridge Change Canada’s status?
It led to Canada’s change of status from colony to dominion and Commonwealth member. Vimy Ridge became the site of one of the most starkly moving memorials anywhere, a limestone structure built atop Hill 145, inscribed with the names of the 11,285 Canadians who died in France with no known grave.
How many German soldiers were on Vimy Ridge?
Among the roughly 10,000 German soldiers entrenched on the ridge, many had a clear view of the Canadian positions at the base of Vimy’s gradually-angled western slopes. Canadian pioneers at work in a wood near Vimy Ridge. August, 1917. Canada Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-001729 (modified from the original).
Who was the British general who commanded Vimy Ridge?
Vimy Ridge. The Canadians were under the command of British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng (later Governor General of Canada). A popular leader with a keen eye for talent, he had great confidence in the Corps’ 1st Division leader, Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie.