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Over 3,500 Canadian soldiers died at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. My great-grandfather was one of them. Fortunately for me he’d already procreated. Walter Ernest Parker didn’t just contribute to my grandmother’s birth, but also to the birth of a nation.
--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: April 9, 1917--
That sounds weird, but it reflects a common belief. Canada was officially born as a nation on July 1, 1867. But there are those who say we did not come of age as a country until this particular World War I battle that began on April 9, 1917. It was a defining moment for Canada when the country emerged from Britain’s shadow and truly took its place in the world as its own entity.
The Canadians were seen as fresh meat for the grinder. In the previous two years the French had suffered 150,000 casualties in their vain efforts to take the strategically important ridge in Northern France from the Germans. Knowing it was going to be a motherfucker of a task, the Canadians planned and practiced before just throwing more bodies at it. Under the command of British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng and Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie, they conducted meticulous rehearsals using models and maps of enemy strong points. Each soldier was given a specified role as either a rifleman, a machine-gunner, or a grenade thrower.
The key to victory was the tactical use of artillery to protect the advancing soldiers. Prior to the attack, the artillery pounded the shit out of the Germans. On the day of the attack, artillery created a constant wall of advancing fire that the four divisions of Canadian soldiers advanced behind. Go too fast, get blown up by your own artillery. Go too slow, and the Germans would come up from their cover and shoot you down. Timing was everything, hence all the practice.
Many German positions were overrun by the Canadians on the first day of battle, and victory was attained on April 12. In addition to the 3,598 Canadian dead, another 7,000 were wounded. Canadian Brigadier-General A.E. Ross said of the victory, “I witnessed the birth of a nation.”
Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honor, for their courage in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The ridge remained under Allied control for the rest of the war, representing a pivotal moment in overall victory the following year. Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden used the battle as a symbol of Canadian unity to pressure Britain to change Canada’s status from a colony to a dominion and member of the Commonwealth.
In 1922 France permanently ceded the ridge to Canada for the building of a park and a memorial. My great-grandfather is buried there, somewhere, in an unmarked grave.
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My great grandfather (shown below) would want you to buy my book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN.
We visited Vimy Ridge on the 100year anniversary in 2017. It is indeed a beautiful and haunting place, worthy of the memorial that sits atop it. My wife's grandfather and great uncle were there in 1917 and fortunately survived.
Oh Canada 🇨🇦!