Remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge 106 years later

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As the world continues to be ravaged by the new war in Europe and new uncertain times are to come, Canadians are being encouraged to remember the efforts of Canadian soldiers in World War I during those four bloody days in France, between April 9 and 12, 1917. It is important to remember that more than a century ago this nation was essentially created by the efforts of all Canadians demonstrating patriotism and a high level of civic responsibility. Today we need to demonstrate the same patriotism and civic responsibility to keep Canada the best country in the world to raise a family. A couple of months after the critical battle at Vimy, another enemy, the Spanish flu, decimated the world, also taking a devastating toll in Canada. Just having survived the Covid-19 pandemic, which tested world resiliency, the world is once again facing uncertain times, brought on by the new conflict in Europe. The current situation requires that all Canadians unite to care for each other like never before. We must rely on our own civic responsibility and sense of duty to overcome these black clouds that are enveloping the modern world. Let us now look back in history to the days of Easter 1917, which defined the birth of a proud and compassionate nation. We will soon be celebrating Easter ourselves, but let's not forget our compatriots who gave their lives to ensure better lives for us. As dawn broke on that morning at Vimy, close to a hundred thousand Canadians poured from trenches, dugouts and tunnels, surged up a slope and conquered an enemy position considered impregnable by its German defenders and, frankly, by Canada's allies. This was the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Forces fought as a unified force. They planned and rehearsed, planned again, and they stockpiled vast amounts of ammunition. On Easter Monday (April 9), they launched the battle, and because they were so well prepared, the artillery barrage was said to be so enormous you could hear the distant thunder of it as far away as London, England, a distance of more than 250 kilometres. It was a costly victory. 3,600 Canadians making the ultimate sacrifice, and approximately 7,000 being wounded on the 9th: the worst day's losses for Canada in the war. Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadians had done a remarkable thing and, they had done it with French, English, First Nations and recent immigrants fighting together. Vimy was followed by other Canadian victories, some of them even greater feats of arms. Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian Corps commander after Sir Julian Byng, the victor at Vimy, was promoted, boasted that he had won an even better victory at Lens when he persuaded his British commander-in-chief to let the Canadians capture Hill 70, forcing the Germans to counter-attack at enormous cost in German soldiers' lives. Currie's arguments for smarter tactics carried weight chiefly because of Canadian success at Vimy. The Vimy experience provided a pattern for future successes. The Canadians had rehearsed tirelessly before the battle. They dug trenches and tunnels and piled up tons of ammunition for the heavy guns that pulverized German trenches and wiped out most of the German artillery hidden behind Vimy Ridge. The motto for Canadian success was "thorough". Nothing that could help soldiers succeed would be ignored. Digging trenches and tunnels and lugging artillery shells through miles of wet, muddy trenches was brutally exhausting work. The Vimy victory shaped a Canadian way of making war. Other nations might celebrate flamboyant valour or dogged sacrifice; Canadians built on the conviction that only thorough preparation could spell success. At Hill 70, at Amiens, in crossing the Canal du Nord and even by capturing Passchendaele in October 1917, Canadians could take pride in their "ever-victorious" Canadian Corps. The victory at Vimy Ridge was greeted with enthusiasm in Canada, and after the war the battle became a symbol of an awakening Canadian nationalism. One of the prime reasons is that soldiers from every region of Canada - fighting together for the first time as a single assaulting force in the Canadian Corps - had taken the ridge together. As Brigadier-General Alexander Ross would famously say: "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation." So it is time for reflection, time to learn from our own history and act in accordance with what we have learned, in facing these challenging modern times. Let's not forget! Are our leaders listening or hiding? Lest we forget…and Happy Easter!