Winning the ridge : the Canadians at Vimy Ridge, 1917

©Norm Christie 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, without the prior written permission of the author. "Access to History; The Canadian History series: Number 3" Winning the Ridge: The Canadians at Vimy Ridge, 1917 ISBN 1-896979-10-6 Published by:

CEFBOOKS P.O. 29123 3500 Fallowfield Road Nepean, Ontario, K214A9.

Editor-in-Chief: R.B. McClean

Access to History; The Canadian History Series Number 1

Gas Attack! The Canadians at Ypres, 1915

Number 2

Futility & Sacrifice: The Canadians on the Somme, 1916

Number 4

Slaughter in the Mud: The Canadians at Passchendaele, 1917

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command branches for the support that made this book possible.

This book is dedicated to the memory of the Canadians who willingly gave their lives in the defence of freedom in the Twentieth Century. Lest We Forget. Maps by Constable Enterprises, Stittsville, Ontario. Graphics and Layout by Imagenes Graphic Arts, Ottawa, Ontario. Front cover: "Canadians Soldiers Go Over the Top". (PAC C46606). Back cover: "Vimy Ridge" by William Longstaff (CWM 91361). Printed in Canada

April 18th, 1917. Dear Mrs. Pegram;It is with the deepest regret that I have to inform you of the death of your son, 129733 Corporal H.A.F. Pegram. He was killed in action during the course of an advance against the Enemy's trenches on April 9th, 1917. Your son was one of the first men to join the Battalion in Vancouve1; and his work right up to the time of his death was of an exceedingly high order. Lately he had specialized as a Scout, and in this capacity had done valuable work for me. He had that priceless gift of always being cheerful and seemed to delight in helping his comrades. I cannot tell you how much we all miss him. It may be some comfort to you to know that your son suffered no pain, as he was killed instantly. I trust that you will accept the sincere sympathy of myself and all ranks of this Battalion in the great loss which you have sustained. Yours sincerely, I. Allan Lieutenant Colonel

iii

EUROPE 1914-1918 o

NORWAY ;-

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DENMARK (Neutral)

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MEDITERRANEAN

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Allied Powers

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Central Powers

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction

vii

Components of the Canadian Corps

x

Historical Overview

1

Enter the Canadians

3

Vimy Ridge

5

The German Defences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Battle of Arras, 1917

7

The Plan

10

The Attack: Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917

14

The Attack Continues: Tuesday, April 10th, 1917

21

The Pimples:Thursday, April 12, 1917

22

The Aftermath

24

Pilgrimage to Vimy, 1936

27

Mining Warfare

33

Suggested reading

36

Coblenzo

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Amiens

PARIS

F

R

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GENERAL TRENCH-LINE ON THE WESTERN FRONT 1914-1918 5

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1?L-0_ _ 29 0 km ---J

vi

;- _.J'---, SWITZERLAND -

INTRODUCTION he capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 is considered one of the major building blocks of the modern Canadian nation. It is one of the few battles of the First World War which retains a place in Canada's consciousness.

T

On April 9th, 1917, for the first time in the war, all four Canadian Infantry Divisions attacked side by side. Their capture of the "impregnable" German bastion of Vimy Ridge brought instantaneous, world-wide recognition. For the first time in the war, the Allies had won something tangible. The French, who suffered heavy losses during a failed attempt to take Vimy Ridge in 1915, were ecstatic. With Vimy in Canadian hands, the "martyred" French city of Arras was finally free from the constant threat of German attack. The remarkable Canadian performance at Vimy was celebrated throughout the Allied countries. But the cost for Canada was great. More than 3,600 Canadian soldiers were killed between April 9th and 12th while sweeping the Germans from the strategic Ridge. Over the entire month of April, 5,008 Canadians died. For Canada, it was the deadliest month of the war, but the impossible triumph at Vimy seemed worth the cost. The capture of Vimy Ridge in 1917 was as much a propaganda victory as a military one. The year had started with great promise for the Allies, but had quickly deteriorated into the bleakest year of a long and exhausting war and had finally ended in the dismal morass of Passchendaele. And so the victories of the Canadians at Vimy Ridge and Arleux in April, Fresnoy in May, Hill 70 in August and Passchendaele in November assumed significant proportions well beyond the realities of the gains. With the capture of Vimy Ridge, the reputation of the Canadian Corps as the most effective fighting machine on the Western Front, and of Canada itself, was sealed. Overnight, Canada had emerged as a player on the international stage and had earned a voice of its own. After Vimy, the efficiency and prowess of the Canadian Corps continued to evolve. In 1918, the Canadians spearheaded the Allied victory during the last hundred days of the war with stunning successes at Amiens, Arras and Cambrai. But the legacy was born at Vimy Ridge.

vii

Today, the Canadian National Memorial to the Great War stands astride Hill 145, the highest point on the Ridge. It is surrounded by a park comprising of 100 hectares of the Vimy battlefield. Forever it will be a piece of Canada in the heart of northern France. To the veterans of the First World War, memories of Vimy were always mingled with their pride in being Canadian. The legacy surrounding those momentous few days in Canadian history was carefully passed to the sons of the men of Vimy. In a Second World War Canadian War Cemetery at Bayeux, Normandy, lies the grave of Gunner John V. Mugford of the Royal Canadian Artillery. He was killed July 14, 1944, near Caen. He was 21. His middle initial stands for Vimy.

PUTTING THE TIN HAT ON IT

The Canadian Way By Strube

viii

THE MAKE-UP OF AN ARMY The Army - The British Forces on the Western Front were divided into four or five Armies. The British Army in the field was commanded by Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig. Throughout the war the British Army varied in strength, but usually employed 4,000,000 (1917) soldiers in the field. The Canadian Corps belonged to the 1st British Army, but had stints with the 4th Army as well. The Army Corps - An Army Corps consisted of a number of Infantry Divisions, depending on its needs. The Corps was commanded by a Lieutenant-General. Its numeric strength varied, but could put as many as 120,000 men in the field. The Canadian Corps was made-up of four Divisions, all Canadian, but often had British Divisions attached for special attacks or battles. The Division - The Infantry Division was composed of three Infantry Brigades and had 20,000 soldiers. It was commanded by a Major-General. The make-up of the 20,000 soldiers included 12,000 infantry, 3,500 artillerymen, 750 in a medical section, and 2,000 engineers and pioneers. The Brigade - The Infantry Brigade was commanded by a BrigadierGeneral and consisted of four Battalions (4,000 infantrymen). Each Brigade had engineers, signals, a field ambulance, trench mortar unit and machine gun unit. The Battalion - The Infantry Battalion consisted of 1,000 men. This was the theoretical strength of the unit, after headquarters staff, illness, wounded, etc. were deducted, a Battalion would normally put 650 rifles into the line. It was commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel. Each Battalion was ~ade-up of four companies (200 men), commanded by a Major or Captain. In turn, the company was broken into four platoons commanded by a Lieutenant and each platoon into four sections commanded by a Sergeant.

ix

COMPONENTS OF THE CANADIAN CORPS Vimy 1917 1ST CANADIAN DIVISION 1ST INFANTRY BRIGADE

2ND INFANTRY BRIGADE

3RDINFANTRY BRIGADE

1ST BATTALION

5TH BATTALION

13TH BATTALION

(WESTERN ONTARIO)

(SASKATCHEWAN)

(BLACK WATCH OF MONTREAL)

2ND BATTALION

7TH BATTALION

14TH BATTALION

(EASTERN ONTARIO)

(BRITISH COLUMBIA)

(ROYAL MONTREAL REGIMENT)

3RD BATTALION

8TH BATTALION

15TH BATTALION

(TORONTO REGIMENT)

(90TH RIFLES OF WINNIPEG)

(48TH HIGHLANDERS WINNIPEG)

4TH BATTALION

10TH BATTALION

16TH BATTALION

(CENTRAL ONTARIO)

(ALBERTA)

(CANADIAN SCOTTISH)

2ND CANADIAN DIVISION

4TH INFANTRY

5TH INFANTRY

BRIGADE

BRIGADE

6TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

18TH BATTALION

22ND BATTALION

27TH BATTALION

(WESTERN ONTARIO)

(CANADIEN-FRANCAIS)

(CITY OF WINNIPEG)

24TH BATTALION

28TH BATTALION

(CENTRAL ONTARIO)

(VICTORIA RIFLES OF MONTREAL)

(SASKATCHEWAN)

20TH BATTALION

25TH BATTALION

29TH BATTALION

(CENTRAL ONTARIO)

(NOVA SCOTIA)

(BRITISH COLUMBIA)

21ST BATTALION

26TH BATTALION

31ST BATTALION

(EASTERN ONTARIO)

(NEW BRUNSWICK)

(ALBERTA)

19TH BATTALION

3RD CANADIAN DIVISION

7TH INFANTRY

8TH INFANTRY

BRIGADE

BRIGADE

ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT

1ST CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES

(NOVA SCOTIA)

(SASKATCHEWAN)

PRINCESS PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY

2ND CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES

9TH INFANTRY BRIGADE 43RD BATTALION (CAMERON HIGHLANDERS OF WINNIPEG)

52ND BATTALION (NEW ONTARIO)

(BRITISH COLUMBIA)

(EASTERN ONTARIO)

42ND BATTALION (BLACK WATCH OF MONTREAL)

49TH BATTALION (ALBERTA)

4TH CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES (CENTRAL ONTARIO)

5TH CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES

58TH BATTALION (CENTRAL ONTARIO)

60TH BATTALION (QUEBEC)

(QUEBEC)

4TH CANADIAN DIVISION 10TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

11TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

12TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

44TH BATTALION

54TH BATTALION

38TH BATTALION

(MANITOBA)

(BRITISH COLUMBIA)

(EASTERN ONTARIO)

46TH BATTALION

75TH BATTALION

72ND BATTALION

(SASKATCHEWAN)

(MISSISSAUGA HORSE)

(SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS OF VANCOUVER)

47TH BATTALION

87TH BATTALION

78TH BATTALION

(BRITISH COLUMBIA)

(GRENADIER GUARDS OF MONTREAL)

(WINNIPEG GRENADIERS)

50TH BATTALlaN

102ND BATTALION

73RD BATTALION

(ALBERTA)

(NORTH BRITISH COLUMBIA)

(BLACK WATCH OF MONTREAL)

85TH BATTALlaN (NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS)

xi

"Vimy Ridge from Souchez Valley" by A.Y. Jackson (CWM 8189)

The Battle of Vimy Ridge: April 1917

he Vimy and Notre-Dame de Lorette Ridges are located at the northern approaches to the strategic city of Arras in the Pas-deCalais region of Northern France. The Ridges first came into prominence in September 1914, after the German invasion of France was stopped just short o~ Paris at the critical Battle of the Marne. The Germans rapidly retreated northwards with the French and British armies in pursuit, the two sides attempting to outflank each other all the way to the Belgian coast. This "Race to the Sea" involved major and minor battles along a 200 kilometres front and included fighting north and east of Arras.

T

At the end of September 1914, the French and German armies met head on in the vicinity of Arras. In successive attacks, the Germans captured Souchez and Neuville-St. Vaast, villages north of Arras, drove along the Notre-Dame de Lorette Ridge and came dangerously close to cutting off Arras from the north. The fighting continued until the end of 1914, when the front stabilized with the Germans in control of the eastern part of Notre-Dame de Lorette Ridge and the whole of Vimy Ridge. With the Germans in such a powerful position, Arras was continuously in danger. In the spring of 1915, the French High Command decided to remove this threat. On May 9th, 1915, the 10th French Army attacked the German positions on a front extending from the Lorette Ridge to NeuvilleSt. Vaast at the base of Vimy Ridge. At first, the French attack was extremely successful. Moroccan troops smashed through the German positions between Neuville-St. Vaast and Souchez and reached the summit of Vimy Ridge. On the left of the

'fIlE C!J\.tDUNS .rf l'Dn RIDGE, 1917 Moroccans, the French 77th Division likewise broke through the German lines. Elsewhere, success was limited, and heavy fighting followed along the line of the attack, especially in The Labyrinthe, a maze of German trenches south of Neuville-St. Vaast. Unfortunately, timely German counterattacks drove the French off the crest of Vimy Ridge. Although the French had improved their positions during the intense fighting, the Germans still had the advantage of controlling the heights. Notre-Dame de Lorette Ridge finally fell to the French at the end of May and the villages of Souchez, Ablain-St. Nazaire and Carency to the south were recaptured. Fighting against fierce German opposition, the French then stormed the village of Neuville-St. Vaast and overran the intricate Labyrinthe positions south of the village. In the end, the French offensive had pushed the Germans off the important Notre-Dame de Lorette Ridge but, overall, had not achieved the expected results. On June 19th, they called it off. The six weeks of bloody fighting had cost the French more than 100,000 casualties. The bodies of the fallen lay scattered in No Man's Land, in trenches and in shell holes. The stench of decomposing flesh filled the spring air.

"We drag ourselves to the spot. They are drowned men. Their arms and heads are submerged. On the surface of the plastery liquid appear their backs and the straps of their accoutrements. Their blue cloth trousers are inflated, with the feet attached askew upon the ballooning legs, like the black wooden feet on the shapeless legs of marionettes." Henri Barbusse, French Army The British and French renewed the attack in the Arras region on September 25th, 1915 as part of a larger offensive. Their objectives were the German positions opposite Souchez and on the heights of Vimy Ridge. Amid fierce fighting, the French advanced up the slopes of the Ridge and, after three days, seized the Pimple, a strategic high point overlooking the village of Givenchy. Further south, the French also captured La Folie Farm near the crest of Vimy Ridge. This time the Germans were better prepared than they had been during the French attacks in May. Their counterattacks drove back the French and severe fighting continued for a few weeks. At the end of September, the Germans remained firmly astride the heights of Vimy Ridge. However, the French had established positions along the western slope of the Ridge which would become essential to the success of the Canadian attack of April 1917.

WINNIM; THE IUDG.~ --------------------.---

The main offensives were over, but Vimy was not quiet yet. The fighting went underground and throughout 1916 and 1917 exploding mines were a continuous threat to both sides (the large craters blown out of the earth that are visible today throughout Vimy Park attest to the extent of this insidious form of warfare). In March 1916, at a time when the mining campaign was not proceeding well, British troops relieved the French in the Vimy sector. The British mining strategy quickly changed the balance in the underground war in favour of the Allies. On May 21st, 1916, the Germans launched a limited attack on the British forces located opposite Hill 145, the highest point on the Ridge. The assault was designed to push back the British and to nullify their recent gains in the mining war. The British counterattacked and regained some lost territory, but were unable to reach their original lines and lost 200 to 500 metres of valuable high ground on Vimy Ridge. The French were none-too-pleased with the British for losing their hard-won territory.

ENTER TIlE CANADIANS

I

n October 1916, the Canadian Corps consisted of three Canadian Infantry Divisions. During September and October, they had fought together in the Battle of the Somme and the Corps had suffered 24,000 killed, wounded or missing out of the 60,000 men involved in the terrible fighting. To be removed from the Somme battles must have been a great relief to the Canadians, but the feeling was tainted with fear when they realized that their new sector was to be Vimy Ridge. Its dreaded reputation was well known to all the soldiers. The conditions of the old battlefield only added to the legend. Long dead French and German soldiers lay everywhere. Their rotted bodies added a stench to the lunar landscape of water-filled shell holes and destroyed trenches. From the heights overlooking the disfigured terrain, the Germans could detect all daytime movement and pin-point targets to shell at will. For· the newlyarrived Canadians, it was a grim foreboding. .

"We have just received orders for our future movements. We go into a piece of the line which is quite new to us. From accounts sent to us, it does not sound very inviting. We are on the low part of a slope, well over-looked by the Germans. No movement is permitted during the day. Reliefwill have to be made at night. The line is a long one. The immediate danger is mining." Agar Adamson, PP.C.L.I.

Canadian Artillery in Action (PAC PA1177)

- - - WINNING TIlE RIDGE - - - - - - - - - -

The three Divisions were quickly put into the front lines along the slopes of Vimy Ridge. At the end of November, the 4th Canadian Infantry Division joined its sister Divisions at Vimy. The men of the 4th Division had arrived in France in August and had spent the first months of the war attached to British units. For the first time in the war, all four Canadian Divisions were serving together. The formidable fighting force that they became would have its beginning on the rough slopes of Vimy Ridge. "In one cave leading into the trench, the Germans refused to come out and shot a French officer who went down, shouting out 'you will not be killed if you give yourselves up '. They then put smoke bombs down the shaft and suffocated them all. 280 of them. They are still huddled together as they died. It is a dreadful and unsavoury sight with thousands of rats. I am having the shaft closed and sealed up with cement." Agar Adamson, P.P. C.L.I.

VIMY RIDGE imy Ridge has been the centre of wars since Roman times. Over the centuries, its strategic position north-east of the city of Arras has warranted the attention of British, French, and Spanish armies. The Ridge forms a barrier 15 kilometres long, running north-west from the valley of the Scarpe River. It commands the Douai . Plain and protects the industrial centre of Lille and the coal mines of Lens. The "humped-backed" Ridge rises gently from the Scarpe River valley, almost imperceptibly, and gradually reaches its peak of 145 metres. The northern part is steep and drops abruptly into the valley of the Souchez River. In the south, the Canadian front was some distance from the gradually rising height, but the Canadian lines ran up Vimy Ridge, until in the north, they were only 100 metres from the crest.

V

The sub-soil in the area of Vimy Ridge is chalk and easily lends itself to entrenchment and mining warfare. After the collapse of the French offensives of 1915, the front line had stabilized and the war had gone underground making full use of the strong, chalk subsoil. When the Canadians arrived at the end of 1916, the Ridge was riven with tunnels utilized for the safe transport of war material and for reaching enemy positions which were then blown to smithereens. As a result of the mining

- - - - - - - - - - - - - TilE CAN.~DUNS .tT VUll RIDGE, 1917

warfare, the battlefield was scarred with large to huge craters, which often delineated "No Man's Land," and separated the opposing forces by only 50 metres.

THE GERMAN DEFENCES he German positions on Vimy Ridge were formidable. The Ridge itself was a bastion. Its ominous shape dominated the surrounding region. Taking full advantage of its strategic position, the Germans had dug in and developed a defensive network to complement the natural geography of the Ridge. Their trenches were deep, built to withstand the heaviest bombardments and protected by belts of barbed wire. Each trench line was followed with a second trench; the first sets of trenches were in turn supported by another deeply-dug and wellprotected trench system. The trenches themselves were complex, with deep dugouts, supplied with electricity and water wells, giving their German garrison great protection and a certain comfort in the front lines. The scars of earlier fighting, destroyed trenches, shell holes and mine craters, only added to the maze of German defences.

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The two most strategic positions on Vimy Ridge were the two most heavily defended. Hill 145, the high crest, and The Pimple, at the northern edge of the Ridge, were bristling with machine-gun emplacements which were woven into a warren of trenches. Attackers would have to perform with the utmost efficiency and courage to stand any chance of success against the massive German fortifications. The Germans were so convinced of the "invincibility" of Vimy that it became the keystone of their defences in Northern France. By 1917, Vimy had become the hinge linking the German "Hindenburg" line in the south to the main German defensive system in the north. For this reason, it was clear to the Generals on both sides that Vimy Ridge would be defended to the last.

- - - - - - - WINNING TilE RIDGE - - - - - - - -

THE BATTLE OF ARRAS,

1917

he Allied plans for 1917 were ambitious. They planned a major two-pronged attack on the German lines. The British would move forward on a front stretching from Croisilles, south of Arras, to Givenchy at the northern tip of Vimy Ridge. The British would have 500,000 soldiers to fight in the battle. The French, a week later, would face the enemy at the Chemin-Des-Dames, 200 kilometres east of Paris. The idea was to put an end to the German occupation of Northern France and finish the war.

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The Canadians were charged with the responsibility of protecting the northern flank of the British attack. To accomplish this, they would have to capture Vimy Ridge. Unlike previous battles, particularly the haphazard attacks on the Somme, the Canadians rehearsed repeatedly. They probed the German lines and raided their trenches regularly to gain intelligence and to keep the Germans wary. Although these raids throughout the winter of 1916-1917 were successful, they resulted in the loss of many experienced officers and men. On March 1st, 1917, the 4th Division launched the largest of all the Canadian raids against the German trench lines between The Pimple and Hill 145. It was a catastrophe. Six hundred and eighty-seven Canadians were lost, including the commanding officers of the 54th (Kootenay, British Columbia) and the 75th (Mississauga Horse) Battalions. Unfortunately, the 4th Division would pay for this loss of experienced soldiers on April 9th. The rehearsals also included walking over scale models of the German positions, so that every soldier knew his job. Maps were issued by the scores to the troops. Everyone was briefed. This detail in the planning of the attack was unique for the First World War. Prior to the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge, the practice had been to give very few of the attackers details about the planned assault and to rely on the leadership of the officers to direct the men as the battle unfolded. However, if the officers were killed, the assault troops often lost direction and the attack floundered. It had been a lesson learned at great cost in the Battle of the Somme.

TilE C.t~ADlANS ItT tUfY RmGE, 1917

LENS SotLc1,,,e~ Contours indicated by layer tints: 100, 120, 140 metres

°Cite des Petits Bois

° Fresnoy

° Arleux

Gavrelle °

° Roeux

Guemappe ° Wancourt ° ~.

Heninel

.) ua~

oCherisy

° Fontaine les Croisilles

t

THE BATTLE OF ARRAS: BEFORE THE BATTLE 8 APRIL 1917

°

Bullecourt

t Queant

°

-------------

lVlNNI~G

TilE RIDGE - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For months the Canadians worked on the plans for the great attack on Vimy Ridge. The long list of careful preparations included improvements to the supply routes and the communication system. More than 40 kilometres of approach roads were built, including some made of planks, and a light railway network was constructed for the endless movement of shells to the guns. To ensure that the progress of the battle could be constantly monitored, 4,000 kilometres of communication cable were buried and strung. In addition, trenches were improved, new dugouts were excavated and four kilometres of new tunnels were burrowed through the chalk.

A direct hit on a German gun emplacement in Vimy Village, April 1917. (PAC PA-1076)

Artillery preparation for the attack was also thorough and efficient. Thousands of.Canadian, British and South African guns of all calibres were ranged and had registered their targets in advance of the big day. The Canadian artillerymen had developed a sound-ranging system by which they could locate the positions of the German guns. In the weeks preceding the battle, these locations were identified. On the day of the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge, not only would the German trenches suffer massive shelling, but most of the artillery positions that were critical to the German defence were quickly neutralized. Vimy was a magnificent victory for the guns. More than 800,000 shells would be fired at the enemy and so effective was the shooting that in many places the infantry advanced at ease.

The preliminary bombardment of the German lines lasted two weeks and inflicted huge physical and psychological damage on the German soldiers in the trenches. They could hardly move for fear of sudden death. Increasing the torture was the knowledge that when the shelling stopped, the Canadians would be coming. For the dangling Germans soldiers, it was an incredible two weeks of suffering. Once the battle started, the combined artillery had to adhere to a tight schedule to keep the German advanced positions subdued by a rolling barrage. This would enable the infantry, following the specific timetable, to advance across No Man's Land.

THE PLA he Canadian attack was to take place on a front of 6.1 kilometres from the point where the trenches crossed the ArrasLens road to Givenchy in the north. The 1st Division would attack from their position west of the Arras-Lens road and capture the main German trenches in front of the village of Thelus. For this, they would employ 4,800 soldiers divided among six battalions in the main attack. From south to north, they would be the 5th (Saskatchewan), 7th (British Columbia), 10th (Alberta), 15th (48th Highlanders of Toronto), 14th (Royal Montreal Regiment) and 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalions. The six battalions would attack on a front of 1.8 kilometres.

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For the second phase, three battalions were to carry through the attack to capture German positions south of Thelus and push east. The men given this task were the 1st (Western Ontario), 3rd (Toronto Regiment) and 4th (Central Ontario) Battalions. To complete their objectives, they would have to advance 3.8 kilometres. They had the furthest to go. However, in this region, the slope of the Ridge is gentle an'd, unlike the 3rd and 4th Division sectors, had not been heavily fought over. It was to be a straightforward advance, but not an easy one. North of the 1st Division, the men of the 2nd Division would assault the German lines opposite Thelus along ·a 1.3kilometre front. Their objectives were similar to the 1st Division's; that is, to seize the main German trench positions in front of Thelus. To do so, they would employ the 18th (Western Ontario), 19th (Central Ontario), 24th (Victoria Rifles of Montreal) and 26th (New Brunswick) Battalions. Once established in the main German trench, known as 10

WJ~NING

TilE RIDGE

Zwischen Stellung, the 21st (Eastern Ontario) and 25th (Nova Scotia) Battalions would continue the attack toward Thelus. The 31 st (Alberta) would be part of the final push to capture the village of Thelus, while the 28th (Saskatchewan) and 29th (British Columbia) would secure the trenches north of the village. The 29th and 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalions would then push on to Farbus village and link up with the 1st Division. The challenge to the 2nd Division was similar to that of the 1st Division. Here the distance was great, but the defences straight forward and the slope gentle. The 3rd Division was to move forward on a front of 1.2 kilometres opposite La Folie Wood, a large wood south of Hill 145. Their objective was to reach the eastern slope of Vimy Ridge, a distance of roughly one kilometre. The terrain here had been cut up badly during the fighting of 1915. It was riven with shell holes, mine craters, old and new trenches and

A machine gun emplacement on the crest of Vimy Ridge and the men who drove the Huns from it. April 1917. (PACPA-IIOl)

lent itself to defence. The 3rd Division would attack with six battalions. South to north, they were the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (Saskatchewan), the 2nd CMR (British Columbia), the 4th CMR (Central Ontario), the Royal Canadian Regiment, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the 42nd (Black Watch of Montreal) Battalion. The 4th Division was to attack a 1.8 kilometre section of the German front-lines from Broadmarsh Crater to Givenchy. Their objectives were to II

TilE CANADIANS AT fun RIDGE, 1917

THE ATTACK ON VIMYRIDGE 9 APRIL 1917

Contours indicated by layer tints: 40,80, 100, 120, 140 metres

12

. _ - WINNING TilE RIDGE

capture Hill 145, the highest point on Vimy Ridge, and then to secure the eastern slopes of the Ridge. In all, the soldiers of the 4th Division would have to advance ,only 1.2 kilometres. However short the distance, they were against the most heavily defended part of the Ridge and their northern flank was open to enfilade fire from the strong German position on The Pimple. In addition, Vimy Ridge is very steep in this area and the severe fighting of 1915 had left the ground like a lunar landscape. It was expected that the Germans would utilize all their military cunning to prevent Hill 145 from falling into Canadian hands. The assault battalions of the 4th Division were the 54th and 102nd (both British Columbia), 87th (Grenadier Guards of Montreal) and the 38th (Eastern Ontario). The 72nd (Seaforth Highlanders of Vancouver) and 73rd (Black Watch of Montreal) Battalions would protect the northern flank. The 78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion would carry the advance toward Givenchy village. The 4th Division held the 44th (Manitoba), 46th (Saskatchewan), 47th (British Columbia) and the 50th (Alberta) Battalions in reserve to capture The Pimple on the second day of the offensive.

Herds of Germans surrendering to the Canadians, April 1917. (PAC PA-1128)

For the attack, the Canadian Corps of 97,184 was augmented by a British Division and 30,000 men of the British Artillery. With a total of 170,000 men prepared and the artillery ready, the Canadian Corps was set for a battle that would challenge their courage and abilities to the fullest. The Canadians were confident, but few among the British High Command thought that the Colonials could possibly succeed in winning the impregnable" Vimy Ridge.

- - . - - - - . - . - - - - - TilE C;'N:\DUj~S :t1' run RIDGE, 1917 - - - - - - - - -

TilE ATTACK: EASTER MONDAY, APRIL 9TII, 1917 t 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, in blowing sleet, the battle commenced. The artillery lit the sky with the flashes of 1,000 guns and the roar of shell fire mixed with the staccato of the rattling machine guns. Amidst the din, the soldiers slowly climbed out of their protective trenches and moved onwards, toward the German lines.

A

"The shell-fire this morning was simply indescribable. The bombardment which had been going on all night gradually died down about 5 o'clock.... For a time almost complete silence reigned over the battlefield. All along the German lines star-shells and rocket lights were looping through the darkness....Precisely at the moment that all the British guns roared out their first salvo of the battle, the skies opened and the rain fell in torrents. The ground seemed to be one mass of bursting shells. Further back, where the guns were firing, the hot flames flashing from . thousands of muzzles gave the impression of a long ribbon of incandescent light." Billy Bishop, Royal Flying Corps "A few minutes before the hour I issued rum to the men and then we waited. Right on the dot, pandemonium broke out. Our artillery opened up as one gun. The noise was deafening. The shrieking of shells mingled with their explosions and machine-gun fire, trench mortars, etc., was something indescribable. On our flank great drums of oil were projected on enemy

German prisioners and Canadian Red Cross men assist in dispatching of wounded on a light railway, Vimy Ridge, April 1917. (PAC PA-I035)

14

- - - - - - - - - - WINNING TIlE IUDGE - - - - - - - - - -

strong points.... When we reached the German lines we hardly recognized them. What had been trenches were only mere sunken lines. There was not a point in them that had not been touched. The ground between the trenches was so pitted with shell-holes that it resembled a honeycomb. Dug-out entrances were mere holes about a foot square. The only works left standing were massive concrete machine-gun emplacements." Gordon Chisholm, 15th (48th Highlanders) Battalion. The 1st Division's plan went well. Crossing the shell-torn No Man's Land, the Canadians passed through gaps in the barbed wire and leapt into the enemy's trenches. The German front-line fell quickly, but resistance stiffened as the Canadians reached the second trench line. As the men advanced, they by-passed many positions, leaving them for others to mopup. The "moppers-up" had a very important job. Many Germans, who were trapped by the advance, used the interconnected, underground subways, to pop-up behind the Canadians and inflict many casualties. The men of the 1st Division followed the artillery barrage as closely as possible and moved quickly to attack the second line. It was important to stay near the rolling barrage; if they fell too far behind, the Germans could catch them in the open. At 10:00 a.m., the sky suddenly opened and the sun shone on the advancing Canadians. German prisoners were pouring toward the Canadian lines, passing the crumpled bodies strewn along No Man's Land. For the 1st Division, the offensive was going well. "From here the fighting was heavier, as Fritz had still machine-gun emplacements, and a murderous fire was poured out, one by one they were put out of action, and the crews, in a great many cases killed.... We took the Hun so much by surprise that some of them had no trousers on." Cyril Jones, 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion Despite these heavy casualties, they pressed forward. Individual actions overcame difficult obstacles, particularly those caused by the large number of German machine-guns. Private William Milne of the 16th Battalion showed individual courage and initiative in eliminating German machine gun opposition and for his bravery was awarded the Victoria Cross. Unfortunately, Milne was killed later in the attack. The second phase of the 1st Division's attack was equally successful and, by the end of the day, the soldiers of the 1st had achieved their objectives. However, the rapid advance had been costly. In the 1st Division, each of the· attacking battalions suffered between 80 and 100 men killed. This meant one in eight of the advancing soldiers died.

15

"The Taking of Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday, 1917" by Richard Jack (CWM 8178)

---.------------------.-- "INNING TIlE RIDG.~ -.-------.-----------

"The waves of attacking infantry as they came out of their trenches and trudged forward behind the curtain of shells laid down by the artillery, were an amazing sight. The men seemed to wander across No Man's Land, and into the enemy trenches, as if the battle was a great bore to them. ... That is the way with clock-work warfare. These troops had been timed over and over again in marching a certain distance, and from this timing the "creeping" or rolling barrage which moved in front of them had been mathematically worked out. ... And the battle, so calmly entered into, was one of the tensest, bitterest of the entire world l'val:" Billy Bishop, Royal Flying Corps The 2nd Division's attack went according to plan and resistance was similar to that encountered by the 1st Division. In a remarkable achievement, Private Ellis Sifton of the 18th Battalion single-handedly eliminated German opposition and was awarded the Victoria Cross, although posthumously. Phase Two of the 2nd Division's advance on Thelus and the positions north of the village also went smoothly. The rapid forward momentum of the 2nd so surprised the Germans that dugouts were captured without a fight. By nightfall, the 2nd Division had reached all its objectives and had suffered the least number of casualties of any of the attacking divisions. Although the Germans were aware of the planned Canadian offensive, they believed their positions on Vimy Ridge were impregnable and took a rather smug approach to the upcoming battle. The best example of their complacent attitude occurred during the 31st (Alberta) Battalion's capture of Thelus. They seized a large dugout complete with officers' bar, five uniformed waiters and a table laid for lunch! The German officers never had the opportunity to enjoy their meal. The dugout was 1.3 kilometres behind the front-line. The speed at which large sections of their intricate defensive network had fallen to the Canadians shocked the Germans. ;However, the high end of Vimy Ridge was still in their hands and it offered the opportunity to rain murderous fire down on the advancing troops. The struggle for Vimy Ridge was not over. The 3rd Division attack also unfolded as planned. The Canadian Mounted Rifle battalions overcame all resistance, captured La Folie Farm (in the Woods) and drove to the eastern edge of La Folie Wood. The three attacking battalions then pushed through the Wood and captured important positions south of Hill 145. German opposition was stiff and sniping, a

17

THE CANADIANS AT VIMl RIDGE, 1917

particular German strength, resulted in many deaths. Although they had achieved their objectives, the situation was still dangerous. The Germans were still in possession of Hill 145, and from there, they were machinegunning the flanks of the 3rd Division. Something was wrong. Where was the 4th Division? The attack by the 4th Division, adjoining the 3rd, had started well. The 102nd and 54th Battalions had pushed quickly across the German lines. The northern attack by the 73rd, 72nd and 38th Battalions had also advanced satisfactorily and the battle was proceeding according to plan. However, the attack in the centre was a disaster. The artillery bombardment had failed to destroy the German front-line trenches, and immediately after the shelling stopped, the Germans emerged from their underground positions and poured machine-gun fire into the waves of Canadian infantry. The first attackers were killed instantly and the soldiers following them were caught in the open. The survivors were pinned down and were forced to take cover as they could. The 75th Battalion, which was to support the assault by the 87th Battalion, was unaware of the failure. Advancing on schedule, they were trapped by a maelstrom of bullets. The attack on the centre had failed and No Man's Land was strewn with dead and wounded Canadians. The losses of the 87th and 75th were huge. The 87th suffered 299 casualties, including 155 dead, along a front of only 500 metres. The Germans kept up the pressure on the helpless Canadians and were gradually annihilating the survivors.

the outposts... can discern dense Canadian Columns seeking assiduously step by step to cross the pappy waste between their trenches and the German lines...hand grenades crash into the massed attackers as they advance shoulder to shoulder. .. the Canadian attack against the centre...peters out in the remains of the entanglements covering the German line, where corpses lie piled in khaki heaps." Official German account of the 87th attack. (C • • •

To make matters worse, the collapse of the Canadian advance in the centre allowed the German defenders to take their focus off the failed attack and to turn their machine-guns on the Canadian flanks. For these Canadians, who had been so successful earlier in the morning, the heavy casualties inflicted by the redirected German machine-gun fire must have been a bitter disappointment. The 102nd and 54th Battalions managed to 18

TliE CANADlAJ~S

.~rr

vnn RmGE, J9J7

put up a protective flank and continue their advance to the area south of Hill 145. The northern prong of the 4th Division's attack now faced more problems. Both its flanks were exposed to heavy machine-gun fire from The Pimple on one side and Hill 145 on the other. The 38th Battalion was suffering severely and was slowly being forced back from its hard-won gains. At this critical juncture in the battle, Captain Thain MacDowell and a small group of men snaked through the trenches and skilfully destroyed two machine-gun positions that were causing havoc in the Canadian lines. MacDowel~ continued his advance and entered a major subterranean complex and captured 77 German soldiers. His heroics continued for the next five days, during which his small group secured the Canadian gains and aggressively pushed forward through the warren of German trenches. There can be no doubt MacDowell's actions greatly contributed to the successful outcome of the 4th Division's stalled attack. His courageous actions saved the northern flank and the men of the 72nd and 78th Battalions. For his bravery, Thain MacDowell was awarded the Victoria Cross. By the afternoon, groups of the 87th Battalion had started to move forward again, but were still a long way from capturing Hill 145. By controlling the high ground of Hill 145, the Germans still held the most powerful defensive position on Vimy Ridge and it was becoming late. Once darkness fell, the Canadian attack would have to stop and the enemy could safely move up reinforcements and secure their toehold on the Ridge. They could also counter-attack from Hill 145. For the Canadians, it was crucial that Hill 145 fall before darkness. Otherwise, the hard-won gains of the day were precarious. The Canadian Command did not have the extra men to put into the attack and they were still a long way from the crest. The huge losses incurred by the 4th Division had not been factored into the plan. In a move of desperation, the 4th Division ordered the inexperienced 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) to capture Hill 145. The 85th had only been in France for a month and had seen little action. They were used mainly for digging trenches and building roads. About 6:00 p.m., without any artillery preparation and with little knowledge of the position they were attacking, the men from Nova Scotia moved through the shell-tom trenches to where they could see the Germans astride Hill 145. Then they literally walked to

20

~--~-_.~--------~------

W~~~TH~WOOE -~~---~---~--~.~~~

the enemy's lines and in a brief and bloody fight overran Hill 145. Their audacity surprised the Germans and their success can only be considered miraculous. German trenches east of the crest were still causing trouble, but, for the most part, the fighting of April 9th was over. The losses for the 4th Division were shocking. One in four of the attacking soldiers was dead. Their bodies littered the battlefield, lying in shell-holes and hanging from the barbed wire.

THE ArrrrACK CONTINUES: TUESDAY, APRIL 18TH,

191,

n April 10th, the 50th and 44th Battalions of the 4th Division attacked the remaining German positions on Vimy Ridge just east of Hill 145 and quickly captured them~ The fight was short and bloody. Courageous individual acts were always a trademark of the Canadians and here there was to be no exception. When the 50th Battalion's momentum was slowed, 42-year-old John Pattison singlehandedly attacked a German machine-gun position holding up the Canadian advance. He crossed open ground and threw grenades at the emplacement. Pattison killed or captured the entire crew. For his bravery, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Regretfully, he was killed two months later.

O

"We had fought our way to the crest of the Ridge, and now the Bavarians fought like animals at bay to drive us back up the eastern slope. Our men, as were theirs, were being impaled like grotesque scarecrows on rusty concertina wire...." Victor Wheeler, 50th (Alberta) Battalion. "It was about 6 o'clock in the evening when I reached our.final objective, which was just below the edge of the hill. There our men were digging themselves in. It was no pleasant task, because the wind was cold and it was beginning to snow. The prospect of spending a night there was not an attractive one, and every man was anxious to make the best home for himself he could in the ground. It was wonderful to look over the valley. I saw the villages.... They looked so peaceful in the green plain which had not been disturbed as yet by shells." Chaplain F. G. Scott, 1st Canadian Division. 21

rfllE CANADIANS Art' VIMY RIDGE, 1917

All through the day, the Canadians on Vimy Ridge entrenched, built machine-gun positions, replenished their ammunition, and secured replacements for the men who were killed or wounded. They anxiously waited for the Germans to counter-attack. Patrols cautiously watched out for any signs of German regrouping. Snipers from both sides increased their tally of victims; most soldiers were unaware of their exposed position and presented easy targets. Throughout April 10th and 11 th, fierce and continuous exchanges occurred, but none of the anticipated German counter-attacks materialized. The Germans had conceded Vimy Ridge. All of Vimy Ridge, with the exception of the most northerly position, The Pimple, was solidly in Canadian hands. "In the twilight just before darkness, we stood and looked down over the Ridge on the enemy side. The first flares were rising in scattered places. We could not distinguish the lines. The air was damp and chilling, causing an uneart~ly feeling to predominate. The dead men, the solitary flares, the captured ground, gave us a sense of ghosts about, and hurried us over to a semblance of a trench leading down the slope." Will Bird, 42nd (The Black Watch) Battalion.

THE PIMPLE: THURSDAY, APRIL 12TH,

191,

ecuring The Pimple, the second most heavily defended German position after Hill 145, had always been treated as a separate operation from the capture of the rest of Vimy Ridge. It had originally been planned for April 10th, but the set-back at Hill 145 had delayed the assault. However, the Canadian successes of the preceding days now made The Pimple vulnerable to attack.

S

"Suddenly over the top of our parapets a thin line of infantry crawled up and commenced to stroll casually toward the enemy. To me it seemed that they must soon wake up and run; that they were altogether too slow; that they could not realize the great danger they were in. Here and there a shell would burst as the line advanced or halted for a moment. Three or four men near the burst would topple over like so many tin soldiers. Two or three other men would then come running up to the spot from the rear with a stretcher, pick up the wounded and the dying, and slowly walk back with 22

WINNING TilE n.IDGE

Contours indicated by layer tints: 100, 120, 140 metres

o Fresnoy

o Arleux

.I'LI'1.. Front line, April 8th • \

'.'1

_

_ •_

Front line, April 9th Front line, April 24th

~'----~

GaVrelle 0

"( Guemappe o Wancourt

0 ~.

I r;" . THE BATTLE OF ARRAS: THE LINES AFTER THE BATTLE 8 - 24 APRIL 1917

J

oCherisy

o Fontaine les Croisilles

o Bullecourt

Queant o

23

them. I could not get the idea out of my head that it was just a game they were playing at; it all seemed so unreal....It seemed that I was in an entirely different world, looking down from another sphere on this strange, uncanny puppet-show." Billy Bishop, Royal Flying Corps. The task of taking The Pimple was assigned to three battalions of the 4th Division - the 50th, 46th and 47th. At 5:00 a.m. on April 12th, taking advantage of poor visibility, they moved against their objective. In a short and furious battle amid blowing snow, The Pimple fell and the victorious Canadians pushed toward the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle. The vicious fighting continued throughout the day and night, but in the morning all was suspiciously quiet. Were the Germans preparing for a big counter-attack? Canadian patrols reconnoitred the German defences and found them gone. The entirety of Vimy Ridge, the most powerful and invincible German position on the Western Front, had fallen to the upstart Canadians. "Harry Waller was blasted into the mouth of the shaft. He was so badly torn that we had an awful time getting him out...He was in great pain, his back twisted all out of shape. His left arm and right leg were broken, and his shin bone was sticking through his flesh. Pieces of shrapnel stuck out of his head. His eyes filmed and shut out the past - and present...Art Waller knelt over the prostrate body of his brother Harry and wept bitterly...." Victor Wheeler, 50th (Alberta) Battalion.

THE AFTERMATH he Battle of Arras continued until mid-May, 1917. The initial offensive on April 9th had shown such promise. On that day, the Allies had achieved remarkable success right across the Arras front, with the greatest victory being provided by the Canadians at Vimy. But the weeks that followed were a disaster, with loss after loss, as thousands perished for few gains in the chalky mud. The Germans had reacted quickly to the Allied strategy and had blunted or defeated almost all of the attacks after April 9th; 1917. In the later battles it was once again the Canadians who provided the victories. On April 28th, 1917, a major British attack was launched. The only success was the Canadian capture of Arleux

T

-------------------- WINNIN(j TilE RlDGE

village. Similarly on May 3rd, '1917, the Canadians took Fresnoy village, the day's sole victory. The final tally for the Battle of Arras was more than 159,000 British Empire dead, wounded and missing. Among those numbers were 21,000 Canadians, of whom more than 6,500 were killed. April 9th alone accounted for 7,700 Canadian casualties including 3,000 dead. But the capture of Vimy was no empty victory and of all the successes in the Battle of Arras, only Vimy mattered. It became the crucial hinge of the Allied defences in the north and when Germany came close to winning the war in 1918, it was Vimy that broke the great German offensive. "Working parties had gone the length and breadth of the Ridge shovelling great quantities of quicklime in and over enemy dugouts as a means of burning up and destroying the unburied bodies, that drew rats and flies and created an intolerable health hazard to the whole countryside. Bodies were also quick-limed atop the ground wherever Hell's fury had struck them in groups or in machine-gun nests....Hundreds of once brave soldaten of the Vaterland, piled like cordwood, were being cremated, and nauseating smoke rose from the funeral pyres with only the wind to scatter the ashes." Victor Wheeler, 50th (Alberta) Battalion.

For the Canadian Corps, the capture of Vimy Ridge was their greatest source of pride. It was a battle of planning and execution, and went, by First World War standards as smoothly as could be. It was a tribute to the strategy and execution of the the Canadians. The soldiers from the young Dominion had succeeded where few of their European allies thought they could. The victory brought confidence and changed the Corps itself. Now the French and British Generals came to the Canadians to see how it was done. Using the methods tried and proven at Vimy, the Canadian Corps set a standard for efficiency, success and courage unsurpassed by any for the balance of the war. Vimy and the First World War also marked a distinctive change in the attitudes of the soldiers who fought for Canada. Many were not Canadianborn, or if born in Canada, saw themselves more as British than Canadian. This was not so by the end of the war. These men went to war British and came home Canadian. In a sense, they were the first Canadians and there can be no doubt their nationalism was born at Vimy, Passchendaele and in 25

TJlE CANADIANS A11 VIlIY RIDGE, 1917

the great battles of 1918. But there had been a cost. More than 6,800 Canadians died in April and May 1917. The 5,000 killed in April marked the worst month in the entire war for Canadian casualties. Homes across Canada knew the name of Vimy, not by the newspapers, but by the telegrams and condolence letters received noting their husband or brother or father or son had fallen nobly in action at Vimy Ridge. To us, the casualties are just numbers, but behind each one was a tragedy, a painful message from which many never recovered. "In that spirit, in a spirit of thankfulness for their example, of reverence for their devotion and ofpride in their comradeship, I unveil this memorial to Canada's dead." Edward VIII, at the Unveiling of the Vimy Memorial.

Perhaps the greatest indication of the importance of Vimy to Canada is how Canada chose to raise its National Monument on Hill 145. The unique design by Walter Allward of Toronto took 14 years to complete. In 1936, more 7,700 Canadians made the Pilgrimage for the unveiling. For many returning veterans, the trip was a necessity, a final chance to say good-bye to their fallen comrades. In a moving ceremony attended by 100,000 people, King Edward VIII unsheathed the statue of the Spirit of Canada atop the monument and Vimy was once again the focus of Canadian attention. The Memorial is one of the most beautiful in France and it sits, as a bastion overlooking the treasured Douai Plain, marking the place where Canada stood so tall. A brief inscription states so classically the feeling of Canadians toward the thousands of sacrifices made by Canadian men and women in the Great War: TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA

26

- - - - - - - - - WINNING THE RlDGE - - - - - - - - -

PILGRIMAGE TO VIMY,

1936

ineteen years after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, more than 6,000 Canadian pilgrims set sail for Europe. They joined a crowd of an estimated 100,000 people gathered in northern France to witness the dramatic unveiling of the Canadian National Memorial on July 26th, 1936. This was the day Canada would remember her dead. It was one of the first large reunions since The Great War. For several years after the war ended, few surviving veterans indulged in reminiscence. The occasional soldier, widow and mother returned to northern France to search for the graves of their fallen loved ones, but the event was too recent to allow 'any feelings of nostalgia. Mourning faded by the end of the 1920s, however, and dozens of books about the war were published and sold to the seemingly insatiable public.

N

The first great Canadian Corps Reunion was held in Toronto in 1934. Former combatants, many now in their forties, began to experience a need to reaffirm their loyalty to their comrades. Although these were the Depression years, the camaraderie of those who served in the Canadian Corps brought together more than 50,000 veterans for the three-day celebration, the services and the banquets. Memories were shared; reminiscences retold. A French village, complete with manure pile, was constructed in the west wing of the Coliseum. And a tattoo was performed in honour of the famous leader of the Canadian Corps, Sir Arthur Currie, who had died the previous year. It was the Canadian Legion that conceived the Vimy pilgrimage to the battlefields of the First World War to coincide with the unveiling of Canada's National Memorial on Vimy Ridge, scheduled for completion in 1936. The response from the Legion's membership was phenomenal. More than 7,500 people enrolled on the pilgrimage. The cost for the trip from Montreal to Vimy was $160 and included a beret, armband and guide. On July 16th, 1936, 6,200 Canadian pilgrims boarded five ocean liners and set off across the Atlantic. The Canadian Legion had organized an itinerary for each ship and had arranged hotels, port visits, and meals. Another 1,500 Canc;ldian veterans, living in the United Kingdom, joined up with the pilgrimage in France. Everyone would meet at Vimy on July 26th, 1936. 27

TIlEY KEPT THE FAITH

This Sun Life of Canada advertisement in The Vimy Pilgrimage Guide 1936 captures the National feeling towards the Pilgrimage.

28

\VI~NI~G

TilE RIDGE

Unlike that cold, wet and miserable Easter Monday so many years ago, the unveiling ceremony took place under sunny skies. There were some 100,000 people gathered at the Canadian Memorial. Lines of French soldiers, mounted Moroccan Saphis, and flights of aircraft created a sense of drama to the event. Dignitaries such as Vincent Massey, the Canadian High Commissioner for London, were there as well as two of his underlings, George Vanier and Lester Pearson. Also in attendance were former generals of the Canadian Corps, Turner VC, MacDonnell, and Burstall and the widows of the two successful commanders of the Corps, Lady Currie and Lady Byng. The government of France was also represented by many dignitaries. It was a grand occasion .. The crowd cheered the arrival of King Edward VIII. During the war, he had often accompanied the Canadians at the front and he was immensely popular with them. The King's appearance was the signal for the band to start up the national anthem, which was then "God Save the King", followed by "0 Canada." He then inspected the Guards of Honour, including the Veterans Guard composed of ex-CEF soldiers. Before taking his place opposite the sheathed statue of the Spirit of Canada, the King mingled with the veterans and the war widows who were given a place of honour at the front of the Canadian pilgrims. Honorary Lieut.-Colonel, the Rev. C. C. Owen of Vancouver opened the service. "...Memories crowd back as we tread the ground again and we think of the lessons learned, or which should have been learned - by a war-weary world," he said. After the memorial services given by the padres, the King spoke to the hushed crowd. He spoke of the sacrifice of the Canadian Corps and of the French gesture of giving Vimy Ridge to Canada. "The laws of France have decreed that Canada shall stand forever." He finished his speech on a note of thanks. "In that spirit, in a spirit of thankfulness for their example, of reverence for their devotion and of pride in their comradeship, I unveil this memorial to Canada's dead." The folds of the Union Jack enveloping the Spirit of Canada fell away and the "Last Post" sounded, followed by two minutes of silence and then, "Reveille". French President Lebrun spoke next. He affirmed the sacrifice and Canada's place in history. 29

"The masterpiece which rises before our eyes," said Lebrun, "by its grandiose dimen'sions, its proud and pure symbolism, is one of the most remarkable among the many which commemorate on the field of battle the valour and abnegation of warriors." He continued, "May this monument henceforth dominate with its imposing mass the immense plain which lies before us." ".. .It will recall to them that here several hundred thousand men, from a faraway land, spilled their blood to defend their hearth; that they were willing to sacrifice their lives not for the satisfaction of material interests but for the beauty of an ideal and the mobility of a memory; that many of them, faithful to the call of blood, recalling the Champlains, the Maisonneuves and the Cavaliers de la Salle, de Montcalm, returned to their ancient motherland to defend and revivify it by mingling with it again. "It is a noble and great example," Lebrun told the crowd. "May this magnificent self-sacrifice not be lost for the lessons of the future. May this memorial, a vigilant sentinel in the centre of the fields still echoing with human grief, teach us that more powerful and more profound than community of race and blood there exists a higher solidarity which should always guide the actions of men." As President Lebrun finished, so the ceremony closed. The pilgrims scattered the ashes from wooden crosses and Shields of David which had originally marked the graves of Canadians in France and Flanders.. They then swarmed over the memorial in search of the names of lost comrades and family among the 12,000 listed on the stone base. As one Canadian pilgrim stated, "Without us, their vision fades." The 6,000 or so pilgrims then visited Ypres in Belgium before embarking for England where further emotional receptions and ceremonies were held at Westminster and the cenotaph at Whitehall. On August 1st, 5,000 Canadians crossed again to France. For many, this was the most memorable part of the trip. The hospitality and genuine affection shown by their French hosts deeply impressed the Canadians. After a ceremony of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and a few more days of touring, the Canadians returned home. For many of the pilgrims, the opportunity to revisit the battlefields and to assure their fallen comrades that they were "unforgotten dead" relieved some of the sadness left by the war. For mothers who lost sons and the 30

Fly past at the unveiling of the Vimy Memorial, July 26th, 1936. (PAC PA-148872)

ffJlE CtN,tDUNS rr ~UU RlDfm, 1917

many widows who came to see the graves of their lost husbands for the one and only time, the pilgrimage alleviated some of the pain. Sadly, Vimy claimed another victim that year. Mrs. R. A. Kemp of Calgary fell ill during the pilgrimage and died. One of her last acts was to place a wreath on her husband's grave at Vimy. The importance of this Pilgrimage to the men and women who made the trip cannot be understated. The financial sacrifice for most during the Depression years indicated the "need" many had to make the journey. The Vimy Pilgrimage was probably the greatest highlight of my grandfather's life. He saved every document, postcard and souvenir from his special "Vimy Passport" to food coupons and a 1935 London Underground schedule. It was his one and only chance to revisit "that" past and it stayed with him forever.

H.M. King Edward VIII unveiling the figure of Canada, July 26, 1936. (PAC PA14880)

32

WINNING TilE IUIlGE --------------------

MINING WARFARE ining warfare was not a new tactic in the First World War. Tunnelling under an enemy's position and detonating large explosive charges was a tactic employed during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and in the Russo-Japanese War (19041905). This type of warfare was always used against a heavily entrenched, defensive position and never carried a guarantee of success.

M

The First World War provided entrenched, defensive positions like no other and it was ~ot surprising that mining warfare became a significant method of waging war. After the "Race to the Sea" in 1914, the front lines stabilized and both sides, particularly the Germans, constructed deep, fortified trenches underground with dugouts and galleries often 30 metres or more in depth to defend the territory won in 1914. In 1915, the opposing armies were tunnelling furiously all along the Western Front. Near Ypres and at Armentieres, Vimy, the Chemin de Dames and the Champagne, French and German tunnellers commenced the underground war. Nowhere on the Western Front was mining more active than on Vimy Ridge. In the First World War, thousands of mines were exploded by the belligerents, but more than 200 mines were blown at Vimy alone. Today, in Vimy Park, the massive craters are evidence of the severity of the mining. Few craters survive outside the park. The Ridge between Givenchy and Souchez villages was once riven with craters; all have been filled in. When mining started in 1915, the armies looked for men with mining experience: miners; engineers and geologists. Within a few months, full staffs were planning and digging to wrest the underground advantage from the Germans. In general, a mine shaft would be sunk close behind the front lines. It would gradually decline to a level of 15 to 25 metres, at which point galleries would be pushed out under a German position. In the meantime, the Germans would also be extending galleries. Each mine would be constructed at a predetermined level and was designed to utilize a specific

33

11HE CANADIANS AT fillY RIDGE, 1917

size of explosive char~e. Usually the explosion of the mine would correspond with an infantry assault that could be either a major attack or localized action. Mines were employed offensively and defensively. Offensively, they were employed to eliminate a strong point, a cement bunker or a weapons emplacement. They were also used less dramatically, for instance, to obtain a better observation post or field of fire. Defensive mining involved trying to undo what your opponents were doing. Vigilance was the key and soldiers were trained to listen to enemy activity both from the surface and from within the gallery. The "geophone" was the most precise and accurate listening device. Preferably at night, the men would listen for the dragging of bags filled with earth or boxes containing explosives, the knocking out of timber supports, signals or any form of activity which might indicate a possible explosion. The Germans would often have two pick men build a chamber in which to place the explosives. On the surface, the men would watch for new chalk mounds, fresh earth, sandbags of a different colour, new trenches, mining spoil and anything that could indicate the shaft of a possible mine. The defensive objective was to eliminate the enemy shafts by the use of camouflets. Camouflets were mine charges designed to collapse the enemy's galleries. A mine barrage comprising a series of mines exploding simultaneously could collapse a network of parallel galleries and chambers. Whether the mining was offensive or defensive, many factors had to be taken into consideration. Of vital importance were the nature and contour of the ground, the distance to the enemy position (mines were rarely used to attack positions more than 100 metres away), the nature of the strata (chalk or clay) and the water level. The shafts were usually sunk from the support trenches. At Vimy, the galleries were usually 20 to 50 metres deep. The gallery would run to the required position underneath the target. A series of chambers would be dug to hold the explosive charges of, usually, ammonal. The explosive chambers would be tamped; that is, the ends of the gallery would be blocked with sandbags, interspersed with spaces. The tamping would protect the gallery and the rest of the mine and ensure the full force of the explosion was vertical.

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- - - - - - - - - WINNING TilE RIDGE - - - - - - - - -

The complexity of this warfare is hard to grasp. Underneath the crater line at the "preserved trenches" on Vimy Ridge, there are at least seven galleries around the Duffield Craters alone! Life for the miners must have been hard and the hazards were great. On more than one occasion, British galleries opened into German galleries and hand-to-hand fighting ensued. But the worst fear must have been felt by the infantry at the strong posts or weapons emplacements in the front lines who were aware that mining activity was going on below them. To avoid creating alarm among the infantry, the miners were not allowed to discuss the situation. When a "blow" was anticipated, the Mining Officer would inform the Infantry Officer, who would then withdraw his troops from the exposed positions. No doubt some men would have to remain in these important positions, anticipating the .moment they could be blown to smithereens. The optimum time for a "blow" was at "stand-to" at dawn or dusk when the maximum number of enemy troops was in the front line. The Germans dominated the underground war on Vimy Ridge until a concerted effort by the Royal Engineers altered the balance. The 172nd Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, fired as many as four mines a night in mid-1916. This so severely affected the Germans that in May 1916, they launched a localized attack to seize the British mine shafts. DIAGRA/Yf Or Tlte ACTION OrA COMMON MIA/E.

r-----r-----1

rhe Ideal CI~lkJ' Lllle of least resIstance Radius of
35

(A-O)

tAB) (On)

(AI) (01) tAC) (Ii)

TilE C;\NADUNS lT viln IUor~~~, 1917 -.--.-.-..- .----.--------.-.Mining warfare continued throughout 1917. The largest one-time use of mines occurred in the Battle of Messines during June 1917. Nineteen huge mines devastated the German positions from Messines to Hill 60 near Ypres. Mining warfare petered out after that and the miners were reassigned to other duties.

Theoretical M i'ne galler)l systenl,s

BIBLIOGRAPIIY - SUGGESTED READING Vimy by P. Berton: McClelland and Stewart, 1986. Vimy Ridge by A. McKee: Souvenir Press, 1966. The Shadow of Vimy Ridge by K. Macksey: The Ryerson Press, 1965. Vimy! by H. F. Wood: MacMillan of Canada, 1967. Cheerful Sacrifice by G. Nicols: Leo Cooper, 1990. The Canadians at Vimy, April 1917by Norm Christie: CEF Books, 1996. Ghosts Have Warm Hands by Will R. Bird: CEF Books 1997. Letters ofAgar Adamson ed. N. M. Christie: CEF Books 1997

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