Battle of Vimy RidgeEssay Preview: Battle of Vimy RidgeReport this essayVimy Ridge was a historical battle for the entire world. The outcome of the battle changed the situation of the whole war, which led to the eventual victory for the allies. More than that, it proved to Canada and the rest of the world that Canada is a major power, and boosted the morale of Canadians for years to come. The battle started on April 9th, 1917 and ended on April 12th. More than 3000 Canadians were killed and more than 7000 were injured but is considered minimal when you look at how over 20000 Germans were killed in the battle. The Canadian corps were praised throughout the war for their strategic planning and advanced technological attacks. Throughout this project, we shall be discussing several key aspects of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. This will include, a detailed analysis of Vimy Ridge, previous battles at Vimy Ridge, strategic planning before the battle, report on the battle, the aftermath of Vimy Ridge, and Vimy Ridges influence on Canada. The battle of Vimy Ridge truly was a historic event that changed Canada and its peoples lives forever. To truly understand this, please keep reading.
Vimy Ridge is an escarpment (which is a kind of steep slope or cliff caused by erosion) and is 8 kilometres northeast of Arras (a small city in France. The ridge gradually rises on its western side dropping more quickly on the eastern side. It is 7 kilometres in length and at an elevation of 145-60m. The advantage of this ridge is that is located in the Douai Plains, which gives anyone on the ridge an unobstructed view of the surroundings for up to tens of kilometres.
The ridge fell under German control in October 1914 as the Allies and the Germans fought to obtain territory in north east France. The French Tenth Army attempted to reclaim the ridge during the Second Battle of Artois in May 1915 by attacking their positions at Vimy Ridge and Notre Dame de Lorette. The French 1st Moroccan Division managed to briefly capture parts of the ridge but due to lack of reinforcements were thrown off again. The French made another attempt during the Third Battle of Artois in September 1915, but once again failed. The French suffered approximately 150,000 casualties in their attempts to gain control of Vimy Ridge and surrounding territory.
in February 1916, the British XVII Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, took over the Vimy Ridge area of Northern France from the French Tenth Army. The British soon discovered that German tunnelling companies had taken advantage of the cease fire on the surface to build a network of tunnels and mines from which they would attack by setting off explosive charges underneath their trenches. The British immediately deployed specialist tunnelling companies along the front to combat the German mining operations. To counter the British mining, German artillery and mortar fire intensified in early May 1916. On 21 May 1916, the German infantry also attacked the British lines
The Allied War Department continued to work with the British, French, and German Corps under the guise of combating the enemy at the front. At a later date, The Artillery Museum and the Division of Strategic Information, headed by Colonel George S. Williams, set up a “Surgical Brigade” to handle the military tasks of the Artillery. The division was led by Colonel Frank W. Dardenneck, who worked with the British War Department in order to train a number of artillery specialists, thereby establishing the division’s unique training plan for combat. For several months the artillery, mortar, and artillery specialists provided a number of services to the infantry forces of the Army and the Corps of Operations, as well as to the German infantry force that was to follow the U.S. Army into the field. The “Surgical Brigade” eventually produced a final report on a single front that resulted in a total infantry force of 100,000, an army that was able to withstand a combined attack from the U.S.A., the German infantry forces, and both the German and British armies. In early August 1916, The Artillery Museum established the “Combat Engineers” division, the “Combat Engineers” included the “Combat Engineer” personnel under General George S. Gough.[29]
In September 1916, General Hennett’s Infantry Division had been established in the French trenches.
At an early point of July, 1915, the American Army reported that the Japanese troops had been successfully conquering the eastern part of the Somme, and in advance had launched two major attacks. The most recent, which it had conducted in July of 1915, was the attack on the German trenches and fortifications near Hainan, near the western end of France and an attack on the city of Düsseldorf. It was an attack that had been designed by General Ulsber for the purpose of crushing the Japanese in their trenches and at the very last resort was designed to destroy an American battalion of five divisions. The “Operation in the Alps” had been the focus of the operation in Düsseldorf since April 1916.[30] Between September 1 and 9, 1915, the American Air Force conducted another major attack in the Alps, this one aimed at the southern part of the Hainan (Moltengarten), the battlements on the island of Vattenau, and on the surrounding fields. These attacks were designed to destroy the German artillery positions at the “Nymphet” and Nissen fields, so the Germans could advance on the beaches of the island. With the German infantry, the Army and Reserve and Allied forces in action, both sides could no longer afford to surrender to the Japanese by force. The Allied War Department remained in the position until about