What Canada Won at Vimy Ridge

‘The Battle of Vimy Ridge was clear enough evidence that Canada had progressed into an independent entity from Britain because Canada succeeded where Britain failed. The itself ridge is a 110 metre high point that runs for 8 – 10 kilometres in length with a long gradual slope down the hill, giving whoever controlled the point a clear uninterrupted viewpoint for miles. The Germans had almost three years to defend this ridge and consequently developed a complex system of underground trenches that were safe from artillery fire above the heavily fortified positions of trenches, barbed-wire, and machineguns. Because of these heavy defenses, Vimy Ridge was dubbed “impenetrable”. The less known battles for Vimy Ridge by the French in1915 and by the British in 1916 all ended in heavy casualties favoring the defenders and the Germans maintaining their hold. One would expect that Canada, a mere colony of Britain,would fail like its bigger brother, but the opposite happened. Canada took the top of the ridge in under a day, and the entire ridge in less than a week. In fact, the battle became the largest allied success since the start of the war because Canadian soldiers captured more arms, prisoners, and ground than any other battle. From the battle of Vimy Ridge, Canada “emerged from a under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness.” The fact that Canada took Vimy Ridge whereas both France and Britain failed to do so demonstrated that Canada was, at least, on par with other countries, eventually garnering international reputation.’