Victory at Vimy

How training, timing, and new battle tactics helped Canada capture Vimy Ridge.

Written by Canada’s History

 — Posted March 23, 2017
Black and white photograph
Library and Archives Canada

Shock Troops

In late October of 1916, Canadian troops arrive at Vimy Ridge and immediately begin regular raids on enemy trenches, gaining crucial knowledge about German defences.

Black and white photograph
Canada's Great War Album

Training Matters

Throughout the winter, troops behind the front practice on a full- scale replica of the ridge, highlighting key objectives with coloured flags. Battle maps are shared with the troops to ensure that, should their officers be killed, the soldiers can continue attacking.

Black and white photograph
Library and Archives Canada

Unleashing Hell

On March 20, 1917, 983 pieces of artillery — from heavy guns and howitzers to field pieces — begin hammering the Germans who are dug into Vimy Ridge. The guns will fire more than one million shells before the actual assault begins on April 9.

Black and white photograph
Library and Archives Canada

Over the Top

The attack on Vimy Ridge begins at 5:30 a.m. on April 9. As the first wave of Canadian troops goes over the top, the artillery begins a “creeping barrage.” This innovative tactic sees troops closely follow a wall of shellfire as it advances across the battlefield. By the end of the first day, most objectives are achieved, but German machine guns exact heavy losses on the Canadians.

Black and white photograph
Department of National Defence

Bloody April 

High above the battlefield, the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) engages in dangerous reconnaissance flights in slow-moving observation planes. The RFC — which includes many Canadian pilots and observers — offers crucial intelligence to the ground forces and even helps Allied gunners target enemy strongpoints. But the planes have to fly at a low height, and many are shot down.

Library and Archives Canada

Victory

The Canadians capture almost all of Hill 145 — the highest point of Vimy Ridge — on April 9 and the lower slopes of the ridge on April 10. Two days later, they take another prominent height, nicknamed “the pimple.” The Germans retreat. The victory at Vimy Ridge marks the only significant Allied success of the spring offensive of 1917.

This article originally appeared in the April-May 2017 issue of Canada’s History. 

Themes associated with this article

Related to Military & War

By Every Means Possible

Despite receiving less recognition than the army, Canada's navy and air force were crucial to the success of the D-Day invasion.

Article

It's War. It's War. It's Russia

Russian defector Igor Gouzenko’s chilling warning of a Soviet spy ring in Ottawa sent shock waves through Canada and the West.

Article

WWI: The Great War of the Mind

Military historian Tim Cook explores the history of shell shock, also known as the "storm centre" of military medicine.

Podcast

The War to End All War

November 2018 marked the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War. A century later, the conflict continues to affect us — even if we don’t fully realize it.

Article