Arras France Tourism Guide » Vimy

The Canadian War Memorial of Vimy near Arras

Arras Guide — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:41:46 +0000

The Canadian War Memorial of Vimy is the most prestigious Canadian monument in Europe and was designed by the Canadian sculptor and architect, Walter Seymour Allward. The Vimy Memorial stands on Hill 145, overlooking the Canadian battlefield of 1917, at one of the points of fiercest fighting and is located about 20 kilometres north of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. The Memorial stands as a tribute to all Canadian soldiers who risked or gave their lives in battle during the First World War and commemorates the 9 April 1917 battle.

Photo by Jeffrey J. Soulliere

The construction of the Memorial required 11,000 tonnes of concrete and masonry for the foundations and 6,000 tonnes of limestone to construct the monument itself. It took 11 years to build it. Inscribed on the ramparts of the Memorial are the names of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were declared “missing and presumed dead” in France and have no known graves. A commemorative ceremony takes place every year on 9 April, the date of the battle’s anniversary.

In 1922, the land which contains the Vimy Memorial was granted by the French nation to the people of Canada in recognition of the sacrifices made by Canada during the First World War and for the victory achieved by Canadian troops when the Vimy Ridge was seized on 9 April 1917.

The Canadian Memorial of Vimy offers a spectacular view of the mining valley of Artois region, which was the context of violent and bloody fighting during the war.

The 110 hectare park surrounding the Vimy Memorial is adorned with 11,285 Canadian pine trees paying tribute to the 11,285 Canadian soldiers ‘missing and presumed dead’ during the First World War. Even today, the grassy ground is pock-marked with the depressions of mine-craters, shell-holes and mounds from the massive artillery bombardment which the Canadians used before seizing Vimy Ridge. Because the ground is still full of unexploded mines and shells, visitors are warned not to stray from marked pathways. By walking through the perfectly restored trenches and tunnels, the visitors can experience the significance of the task the Canadian Corps had to carry out to defeat the German troops.

The battle of Vimy ridge near Arras

Arras Guide — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:59:00 +0000

During the First World War, Vimy Ridge, a 14-kilometre long escarpment, represented a strategic point for the German defence system. The ridge gave a good vantage point for fortified machine guns and artillery to fire on invaders. The German soldiers had fortified it so well that during the first three years of the war, all attempts of the allied forces to take it failed. The ridge had already killed 130,000 French soldiers and 20,000 British soldiers till the beginning of 1916. When the 35,000 Canadian soldiers arrived at Vimy at the end of 1916, they knew it would be a tough fight. The Germans had built their own fortifications consisting of three layers of trenches, barbed wire, deep tunnels into the hill, and a light railroad to carry supplies. But once seized, Hill 145 which was the highest and the most important point on Vimy Ridge, would provide the Canadians a dominant position allowing them to see the German back defences in the Douai plain and those which were on the ridge itself.

Canadian Major-General Currie was sent to study the fighting methods of the French troops. The observations played a fundamental role in the progress of the battle. Lessons learned earlier in the war were used to develop an effective battle plan. Near Vimy, the Canadian soldiers underwent weeks of training on sites behind the front on terrain very similar to that on which they would be fighting. Miles of tunnels were dug through which troops could pass in readiness for the opening of the attack without coming under shellfire.

To provide greater flexibility and firepower in the battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers.

At dawn on the morning of Easter Monday 1917 – 9 April – at 5.30, the four Canadian divisions attacked together, for the first time in the Great War, under a freezing rain. The ground conditions were very bad, with slippery mud waiting to hamper the Canadians as they began their assault. There were countless acts of sacrifice as the Canadians charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. After two hours of fighting, three of the four Canadian divisions achieved their mission but the 87th Battalion of the fourth Canadian division was seriously hit by the machine-gun nests and lost half of its men. In spite of all, the majority of the objectives was accomplished by the evening of the 9th April. The Canadian soldiers repulsed two counterattacks before seizing the last two places of resistance three days later. Defeated, the German army retreated by 6 kilometres.

The Canadian victory at Vimy, though minor on the military level, was the first victory of Canada as an independent nation.

For the first time in the Great War, all four Canadian divisions fought together on the same battlefield. Canadian valour and bravery brought about a fantastic victory, not only for Canadians but for the entire allied forces. Vimy Ridge proved to be a turning point in World War I. Canadians were an important part of this epic battle. One and half year later, the Great War was over.

Vimy’s facts in brief :

3,598 Canadian soldiers died during Vimy Ridge’s battle and more than 5,000 were wounded.

Each soldier carried 40 kgs of material, 2 grenades, 30 cartridges and earned 1.10 $ a day.

20,000 German soldiers were killed or wounded.

60,000 Canadian soldiers died during the Great War.

During the Second World War, Adolf Hitler visited the Vimy Memorial and its preserved trenches (June 1940). As the Allies had accused Hitler’s troops of destroying the Memorial, Hitler made the visit to demonstrate that the Memorial had not been damaged.