Vimy Ridge Reminds Us of What We’re Capable Of

Before Vimy Ridge, Canada sent men to Britain’s wars. After April 9, 1917, Canada fought its own.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France during a commemoration ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, on April 9, 2017. Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

April 9, 1917: The morning was cloudy with intermittent rain and snow showers as some 80,000 Canadian soldiers waited in their chalk tunnels at the foot of Vimy Ridge. Located a few kilometres north of the German-occupied French town of Arras, the ridge was a dominant feature on the front lines. It was captured by the Germans in October 1914, which gave them unlimited views of Allied positions to the north, west, and south. The British and French armies had tried to take the ridge back but had failed, and now the Canadian Corps—four heavy divisions of some 20,000 men each—would try again.