9-12 April 1917

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

“This is the battlefield that will go down in history as the magnificent achievement of the Canadian Corps.”

In late autumn 1916, the four infantry divisions of Canadian Corps left the attritional warfare of the Somme front and took winter positions further north in the Arras sector. They rested, absorbed reinforcements, trained, and prepared for the upcoming spring offensives. The British, Canadians included, would strike around Arras; the French would follow this with a massive assault between Reims and Soissons, along the Chemin des Dames escarpment. The Canadians’ objective would be the capture of Vimy Ridge, an exceptionally difficult challenge.

Located just north of the town of Arras, the dominating heights of the seven-kilometre-long ridge shot up from the otherwise flat or rolling Douai Plain. The Germans had captured the site in October 1914 and since then had transformed it into a heavily fortified defensive position. The southern portion of the ridge was more gradual, obliging attackers to advance over open ground. The ridge steepened dramatically towards the northwest where assaulting forces would face a thoroughly entrenched enemy taking advantage of the high ground. Failed French attempts to recapture Vimy Ridge in 1914 and 1915 had cost them more than 100,000 casualties.

A patched together, black and white, aerial photo of the Vimy area. Some elements of the landscape are discernible. — Vimy From the Air

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This aerial view of Vimy, taken 7 April 1917, shows a portion of the 4th Canadian Division Front.
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PREPARING FOR BATTLE

Vimy Ridge appeared impregnable. The Germans had built three main defensive lines of trenches protected by thickly strung barbed wire and honeycombed with numerous concrete bunkers housing machine guns. The trenches led to deep underground shelters and tunnels where the Germans could be protected from artillery bombardments and emerge to repel attacks. The Canadian Corps was commanded by British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, whose plan called for an assault of the entire ridge with the four Canadian infantry divisions attacking at the same time, the only time during the war that this occurred. There were several stages to the operation, corresponding to the various objectives assigned to each division. After each objective was captured, fresh forces would follow through to take over the lead of the advance on to the next objective. Finally, a dominating feature just to the north of Vimy, nicknamed “the Pimple” would be assaulted the following day, with the British 24th Division in support immediately to the northwest.

Byng prepared the Corps down to the smallest detail. A massive replica of the intended battle area was built behind Canadian lines where the troops practiced their advances. To guide their advance, the men were fully briefed on the many topographical features and enemy defences that they would encounter as the swept forward to the crest of the ridge and, for the first time, they were given accurate maps showing their routes. Prior to their attack, the Canadians were sheltered in deep underground “subways” and holding chambers linked by tunnels through which the men could arrive at their assembly and jumping-off points in relative safety. These subways had electric lighting and telephone lines and they were also used to house headquarters, move supplies forward, and evacuate the wounded. Behind the Canadian lines, existing roads were carefully maintained and new ones built to accommodate the need for rapid resupply and casualty evacuation; 30 kilometres of light railway tracks were laid for the same purpose; and more than 30 kilometres of signal cable and 100 kilometres of telephone wire were installed. The preparations were unprecedented for the Canadian Corps.

For two weeks prior to the assault, Canadian and British artillery bombarded the German positions on and behind the ridge without respite. Vimy Ridge was pulverized and cratered by nearly 1,100 guns of all calibres firing more than one million shells onto the enemy positions. The Germans referred to this as “the week of suffering.” The Canadians proved especially effective in neutralizing the German artillery prior to and during the assault, locating and destroying up to 80 percent of German artillery in range of the battlefield.

A long, panorama-style sketch of Vimy Ridge. Key features are labelled, trench lines, trees, and variations in elevation are visible. Distance is hard to determine. — Panorama Sketch of Vimy Ridge

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This panorama sketch gives an impression of how vast the battlefield was, and yet how close the front lines were. Key elements of the landscape are marked (and listed below), including German and Canadian trenches, mine craters, roads, and wire entanglements. Sketch by Walter M. Draycott.
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A topographic map of Vimy Ridge shows the division of Canadian fronts, using coloured emblems to distinguish the different units. — Plan of Attack

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This map illustrates the Vimy plan of attack, as of 9 April 1917. It shows how the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Canadian Divisions were divided, and how the various brigades within them were distributed.
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OVER THE TOP

The first wave of thousands of Canadians attacked Vimy Ridge at 5:30 am on Easter Monday, 9 April 1917, protected by a finely timed creeping artillery barrage. Thousands more would follow, moving forward in wind-lashed sleet and sometimes wet snow while under enemy fire. They crossed a treacherous landscape of frozen mud, shattered enemy trenches, tangled barbed wire, mounds of upheaved earth, and thousands of deep shell holes. The Canadians brushed aside German resistance in the badly battered first two defensive lines but encountered very stiff resistance from the hardened third line defences. The German machine guns and gunners in concrete bunkers had mainly survived the shelling and exacted a terrible price in Canadian lives.

The fighting was ferocious and desperate, often hand-to-hand. Canadians earned four Victoria Crosses during operations at Vimy, three of them being awarded to men who gallantly attacked and neutralized the crews of deadly German machine guns; two, Private William Milne of the 16th Battalion and Lance-Sergeant Ellis Sifton of the 18th Battalion, died doing so. Private John Pattison of the 50th Battalion survived Vimy but was killed two months later. The fourth recipient, Captain Thain MacDowell of the 38th Battalion, won his Victoria Cross at Hill 145 when he courageously entered an enemy dug-out and boldly tricked the 77 Prussian Guards there into surrendering by making them believe that he was at the head of a much larger force. Thain had only two men with him.

Black and white photograph. Two large holes in the ground. In each one, 3-4 men in military gear arm and aim a machine gun. The ground is muddy and the air is filled with smoke. Several men walk behind them. — Canadian Machine Guns at Vimy Ridge

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Black and white photograph. In the foreground, on muddy ground, 4 men lay pre-assembled rail tracks. A 5th man, dressed in civilian clothing, watches. — Railways at Vimy

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Black and white photograph. A large number of men walk, spaced out, through a misty day on very muddy and broken ground. Several carry large guns on their shoulders. — Advancing Into No Man's Land

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Black and white photograph. A muddy battlefield. Four men in military uniforms and helmets carry a man on a stretcher on their shoulders. Three men follow behind them, the man in the centre supported by the other two. Debris litters the ground. — Bringing in the Wounded

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Black and white photograph. A photo of a large, muddy field with a Y shaped trench. Men, distant from the camera, walk through the trenches and look into dugouts. Beyond the trenches, men are visible in silhouette walking across the landscape. — Searching for the Enemy

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Black and white photograph. 6 men in military overcoats ride mules along a rough road. They pull a wooden cart of ammunition behind them. — Mule Team

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Before noon, three of the four Canadian infantry divisions had reached their objectives. Almost everything had gone according to plan, a rarity during the First World War and a testament to Byng’s careful planning. The 4th Division had to storm the steepest part of the ridge, including its highest and most dominating point, the heavily defended Hill 145. To add to the difficulties, the men of the 4th Division suffered sustained enemy fire from the nearby “Pimple,” which had not yet been assaulted. They needed the next day to accomplish their mission, when fresh troops finally cleared Hill 145 of the enemy after brutal and costly fighting. Vimy Ridge was finally in Canadian hands. On 12 April the Canadians captured “the Pimple.” The Germans retreated to new positions about three kilometres away. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was over. The victors had come from every part of Canada and every walk of life – when they took the ridge, the nation as a whole took the ridge.

Black and white photograph. Canadian soldiers face the camera; they are all seated on the back of the truck, one soldier is just about to climb on. They appear happy and are waving. Another truck is visible in the distance, similarly loaded with soldiers. — Victory!

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Victorious Canadians after the battle at Vimy Ridge, May 1917.
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Hand-drawn cartoon, black and white. A soldier leans one knee into a rise in the ground, standing mostly upright. He holds his gun in his left hand by a strap. His helmet is tilted casually and his right hand holds a cigarette in his mouth. — Next, Please!

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This cartoon (circa May 1917) by Bruce Bairnsfather, the most famous British cartoonist of the war, celebrates the Canadian victory. The text states rather cheekily, *"Vimy! And the next thing please."* The triumphant Canadians are ready for more battles.
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Black and white photograph. A trench in a bare field. Currie, with a riding crop in hand, stands and motions. Approximately two dozen men sit on the trench edge beside him and across from him, faces turned upward listening to what he is saying. — Currie Tells the Story

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General Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the famed Canadian Corps, explaining to Canadian journalists how Vimy Ridge was taken, July 1918.
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Black and white photograph. Men in military dress and sitting on horses look down over a pile of guns mounted on wheels for easy movement. There are piles of large pieces of wood on the ground, and a village visible in the distance behind them. — Captured Guns

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Canadian officers inspect German guns captured in Folie Woods during the battle of Vimy Ridge, circa 1917.
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A typed transcript of a letter. — A Letter From Vimy

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While Percy Willmot did not take part in the assault at Vimy, he was present at the Ridge and was deeply moved by what he saw. He reflects on the battle and how it would impact Canadian morale in letters he wrote home. The typed excerpts are transcribed below.
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The Canadians’ brilliant execution of a superb plan was the only lasting bright spot of the broader British offensive at Arras, which failed. On 10 April, the Ottawa Citizen screamed the headline: “Canadian Troops Have Carried the Famous Vimy Ridge” and the Vancouver Daily Province proudly announced that “Germans are Swept from Vimy Ridge, Canadians in Complete Control of Heights.” But the cost had been fearsome. The Canadians suffered 3,598 men killed and another 7,004 wounded during operations at or around Vimy, nearly 75 percent of them on the first day of the battle. The overwhelming majority had served in the infantry. This makes 9 April 1917 the costliest day in Canadian military history. Just as Canadians from coast to coast felt pride and jubilation at the news of Vimy, so too did a wave of anguish and bereavement sweep the nation.