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Remembering Vimy Ridge 90 Years Later By
Arnie Greenberg (The memorial at Vimy, above) This coming month, April 9, to be exact, marks the anniversary of the allied battle of Vimy Ridge in northwestern France (April 9, 1917). It is a time to remember. I traveled to this sacred killing ground some years ago to see first hand a battle site I had learned about in school. It was peaceful, treed and beautiful. The large memorial put up in 1936 looked down over the peaceful Douai Plain. Of course, it was not like that during the battle that took place there 90 years ago. On the monument were the names of over 11,000 soldiers who died in France during that terrible war and yet their remains were never found.
(Shells fall at Vimy Ridge) The gun placements that had been set up atop Vimy gave the Germans a perfect vantage point from which to bombard any advancing army. The French and British had tried to take the ridge. It seemed an impossible task. Finally, the job was given to the Canadians, who built 5 Km of tunnels to move equipment forward. Over time, they used modern mathematical projections to pinpoint 80% of the enemy's guns and trained their own cannon on them. Then, one morning at 5:30 a.m. with freezing rain pelting down, they began a creeping assault and a gigantic artillery barrage, as 1,100 cannons provided a screen and the troops moved forward. The guns pounded the enemy with 2,500 tons a day.
(Some of the Canadian soldiers at Vimy)
In four days Vimy Ridge was taken. It was the first major success of the war. There were approximately 3,600 dead and 7,000 wounded. Today, a few of the trenches are there to see. They are neatly kept and of interest to viewers. But during the battle they were caked with mud and bodies. The heroism of those few days is almost impossible to imagine. As we walked over the terrain, we were warned that there were still unexploded bombs beneath the soil. The impressive memorial and park is dedicated to Canada, as it should be.
(A trench is still seen at Vimy) There were many battle sites made famous by courageous men. Arras, Amiens, Passchendale, Ypres are a few that come to mind. But there is no greater memory of bravery than the memory of the thousands of men who attacked uphill in the face of the enemy at Vimy Ridge. Today, busloads of tourists visit the site daily. It's part of the heritage that our ancestors left behind. It is historical and something we should all do. There are fields of neatly-kept white tombstones marking the final resting place of those who gave their lives for freedom. LEST WE FORGET
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