This Easter marks the 90th anniversary of one of the proudest moments in Canada's history. Namely, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which was a pivotal battle in WWI.
In very short form, Vimy Ridge was a line that was held for the majority of WWI by the Germans, and was deemed by British and other Allied forces to be untakable after something like 3 years of assualts. A more complete background and history is available here.
In very short form, Vimy Ridge was a line that was held for the majority of WWI by the Germans, and was deemed by British and other Allied forces to be untakable after something like 3 years of assualts. A more complete background and history is available here.
Several things make Vimy special for Canadians. Firstly, Canada was really only a fledgling nation, and it was one of the first times that we stood out on our own to the rest of the world. And the way that we stood out was something else! Basically, Canadian troops executing the tactics put forward by the Canadian military acheived in about 4 days what most of the other allies couldn't acheive in 3 years...and with a fraction of the troops. Finally, it was largely hailed as the first major victory for any of the allies in the entirety of the war.
Today, Canada's largest war memorial stands on the site of the battle, listing the names of some 11000+ troops who are known to have died in France during WWI, and as a memorial to the over 60000 troops who gave their lives in the whole of WWI.
An excellent photo gallery of the battle can be found here. I think it's very important to reflect upon these events, not only to remember the great deeds of our forefathers, but in the hope that such deeds never need to be achieved again.
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