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5. Vimy Ridge - Triumph of the Canadian Corps
From Canadian History Portal - HCO
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"The Canadians played a part of such distinction that thenceforward they were marked out as storm troops; for the remainder of the way they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another. Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst."
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Birth of a Nation
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Many historians view the true birthplace of Canadian nationalism as the battle that took place at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. It was there, under extremely difficulty conditions and after other nations proved incapable, that Canadians, from all parts of the Dominion, fighting side-by-side, were able to achieve Canada's greatest military triumph. Pierre Berton, the noted author of more than fifty books on Canadian history including one entitled "Vimy" argues convincingly that this battle was the true foundation of a proud Canadian identity. It is little wonder that Canada First World War Memorial, finished in 1936, lies at Vimy Ridge, on land ceded to Canada by the French government. The white marble pillars and and haunting sculptures stand as a memorial to the over 60,000 Canadians who gave their lives during the First World War. (Canadian author, Jane Urquhart, has penned a fascinating fictional account of its construction.)
Prior to the battle at Vimy Ridge, Canadian troops saw considerable action throughout 1916 all along the Western Front, which stretched from Belgium in the northwest to the Rhine River in the east. They were rapidly earning the reputation of a crack fighting force. Still, many Canadians felt a certain degree of resentment in that they were spread out over many different British regiments. Promotions were harder to get, and there were relatively few Canadian senior officers. Canadians were frustrated by the attitude of many British military men that their colonial cousins did not possess the necessary experience and expertise to lead troops in the heat of battle. However, by 1916, this was starting to change.
The Germans had dug themselves deeply into the limestone and chalk of Vimy Ridge. They had crafted a network of trenches and tunnels, with scores of machine gun emplacements, deep dugouts for cover, and concrete bunkers for their big guns. It was a fortress, and it appeared to be virtually unassailable. The Canadian Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng and Major-General Arthur Currie, were given the order to capture it. Veteran French General Robert-Georges Nivelle shook his head at the news, predicting ruefully that the attempt of the Canadian Corps would also end in disaster.
Battle Order
"In conjunction with the Third Army, the Canadian Corps will take Vimy Ridge." - British Command, Operation Order
Arthur Currie insisted that the assault force for the next attempt on Vimy Ridge be comprised entirely of Canadian troops. Byng backed up Currie, and the British acceded to his request. Further, Currie realized that ultimate victory depended on a number of factors - weather, planning, and training. He had studied French tactics at Verdun, and put them into motion, leaving nothing to chance. He organized mock-up replicas of Vimy Ridge and he meticulously instructed each unit of every regiment on their specific assignment within the overall plan. Each platoon member was trained to be a specialist machine-gunner, rifleman or grenade-thrower. Each learned to carry out all platoon responsiblities.
Gunners practised with the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in the ground. This feature made it easier to take out barbed wire. They also learned how to handle captured German artillery pieces, so that once they captured the Ridge, they could turn the enemy's guns on the retreating Germans.
Hour after hour, the Canadians drilled on maps carefully drawn from aerial photos, so that they knew the area by heart. They constantly probed the enemy defenses, and dug deep reinforced tunnels to bring men forward safely for the assault, instead of forcing them to advance in the open through a murderous hail of fire.
Byng and Currie also fostered a spirit of learning and innovation that made the Canadian artillery the best in the war. Colonel Andrew McNaughton[1], a 29-year-old officer from the 3rd (Montreal) Field Battery and a graduate in engineering from McGill University, was named counter-battery staff officer, to work on tactics to stifle the German artillery. Working with McNaughton were the "sound rangers", a group of scientists that included Professor Bull and Sir Lawrence Bragg, inventor of sound-ranging and winner (at age 25) of the 1915 Nobel Prize in physics. These men took fragile oscillographs out onto the reserve line to record the actual sound waves coming from the enemy guns. Armed with their slide rules, and aerial photographs, they were able to reckon a way to locate the big German artillery pieces precisely by their sound and flash. Thus, the Canadian gunners could take them out before the advance began.
"You Canadians take all the fun out of war."
A British officer to Andrew McNaughton
Armed with this knowledge, Byng and Currie perfected an innovative battle strategy called the creeping barrage. Rather than simply using their artillery to soften up the enemy as had been the norm up to that point, they combined accurately timed and aimed artillery barrages to destroy the enemy barbed wire and machine gun nests first, followed by rapidly staged troop advancement from underground tunnels.
The artillery would be carefully aimed just ahead of the troops so that they were given a cover just behind a moving wall of exploding shells. They would then rush through the holes in the enemy barbed wire and take out the enemy machine guns before the Germans could emerge from the cover of their deep dugouts. All winter the troops had practised what they called the "Vimy Glide", a measured pace designed to keep them close, but not too close, behind the falling shells.
"Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated.
Sir Julian "Bungo" Byng.
Timing was everything, and nothing was left to chance. Byng and Currie's planners spent months preparing for the battle, building supply tunnels, trenches, tramways and roads. The prelude to the assault began on April 2, 1917, as the Canadian gunners started pounding the German defences, with everything from small howitzers to huge naval guns, using a nearly limitless supply of ammunition. It was the largest artillery barrage in history up to that point, using over one million shells. The attack lasted for seven days, and was loud enough to be heard in London. Germans in the front line trenches later called it "the week of suffering."
The Attack
"Under the orders of your devoted officers in the coming battle you will advance or fall where you stand facing the enemy. To those who will fall I say 'You will not die, but step into immortality. Your mothers will not lament your fate, but will be proud to have borne such sons. Your name will be revered forever and ever by your grateful country, and God will take you unto Himself'."
Arthur Currie
Commander, Canadian Corps
Special Order before Vimy Ridge
Mar 27, 1917.
At dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, all four Canadian divisions, fighting side-by-side for the first time, swept up the Ridge in a driving storm of sleet and snow with Byng's British 5th Division. Canadian 'sappers' (soldiers who dug trenches and tunnels) ignited a huge explosion at the base of the Ridge. Then came the deadly accurate creeping barrage, with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive fire in eight minute intervals, followed quickly by 15,000 onrushing Canadian infantry.
The Germans were totally unprepared for the speed of the final assault. After less than two hours, three of the four Canadian divisions had overrun their objectives. The fourth division, however, ran into serious fire from the highest point of the Ridge known as Hill 145, where the Vimy monument now stands. The 87th Battalion had to make a frontal bayonet charge against machine gun nests, and suffered 50% casualties.
By nightfall, most of the Ridge was in Canadian hands. In one glorious day, Canadians had advanced farther than any other British offensive to date. That day, more ground, more prisoners (4,000), and more guns were taken than in the entire two and a half years of the war. By April 12, the Corps had secured Hill 145, and also the Pimple, a large hill on the northern end of Vimy Ridge.
Vimy not only relieved the French city of Arras from immediate threat of attack, it also proved a breakthrough - the war could be made to move once again, after years of stalemate. The Canadian victory thoroughly demoralized the Germans who had viewed the Ridge as one of their most impregnable strong points. The German Sixth Army, under General Ludwig von Falkenhausen, suffered over 20,000 casualties.
Canadian casualties were also high: 7,104 were wounded, and 3,598 killed. Despite these losses, the victory was hailed as the shining moment of Canadian achievement and nationhood. It was trumpeted as Canada's 'coming of age.'
Vimy Ridge was the first total 'Canadian' victory with Canadians from all parts of the country. In all, 48 Canadian infantry battalions saw action at Vimy, successfully fighting together and achieving their objective, all under Canadian command. Currie was knighted, and four Victoria Crosses given out: to Captain Thaine MacDowell, Private William Milne, Private John Pattison and Lance-Sergeant Ellis Sifton. The growing Canadian pride and sense of nationalism was almost palatable.
The capture of the strategic high ground of Vimy Ridge by the Canadian Corps was a major factor in turning the tide for the Allies. The triumph of these citizen soldiers, who came from Halifax to Victoria, earned Canada a place at the post-war peace peace table, a clear mark of the nation's independence from Britain. As Brigadier General A.E. Ross later wrote, "In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation."
After their astounding success at Vimy Ridge, the Canadians continued operations in the Arras area. On June 19, Currie was given complete command of the Canadian Corps, succeeding Julian Byng.
The Eastern Front and the Bolshevik Revolution
The year 1917 turned out to be a pivotal year in the Great War. A number of events took place that had a huge impact on the eventual outcome of the war. Perhaps one of most overlooked was the decision by Italy to suddenly change sides. Italy's support of the Triple Alliance had always been lukewarm at best. However, the combination of fairly heavy early losses and divisions within the Italian leadership led to the decision to switch allegiances.
Two other countries altered the fighting lineup of the Great War. First and most significantly was what occurred in Russia. The fighting along the Eastern front had been intense as well as disastrous for Russia. Early Russian victories against Austria soon were reversed when the better trained and equipped German troops entered the conflict. Russian losses quickly mounted and morale rapidly declined. Russian troops were ill equipped and poorly led as the Tsarist government headed by Nicholas II was incompetent and ineffective. Generals employed nineteenth century tactics while their men tried to fight in frigid conditions, often without boots or greatcoats. Morale declined even further when rumours circulated widely that corrupt officers were making minor fortunes by selling faulty equipment to the army.
People looked to the Tsar for leadership and direction. But they found none. Instead, they saw a weak, vacillating man beset by his personal family problems and more inclined to spend time on his yacht rather than attend to pressing matters of state. Resentment against Nicholas grew, especially when it was pointed out that his wife had been a German princess. Now she was held under the spell of a supposedly 'mad monk' named Rasputin who claimed that he could cure her son of his hemophilia. The opposition became so intense that by February, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of Alexander Kerensky and his Provisional Government.
Massive redirection of supplies led to severe shortages back home. As people were starving, they took to the streets and rioted against the government's mismanagement and indifference. Within this chaos, Germany saw that it could press its advantage. It provided a sealed train car to spirit Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Communist Party, from Switzerland into the Russia capital of St. Petersburg. Germany believed that Lenin could make good on his slogan of "Peace, Bread, and Land" and take Russia out of the war, thereby freeing up the Eastern Front.
Lenin was a highly charismatic leader who seized the opportunity to take power. Kerensky and the Provisional Government proved no more effective in bringing order and stability than had Nicholas. The situation was rife for a takeover. And Lenin was just the man to engineer it.
He promised first and foremost peace. He said that once the Communists seized power, he would negotiate a separate peace treaty with Germany, thereby removing Russia from the war. He also promised bread to the starving urban masses. And to the Russian peasants, he promised land. It was a heady combination.
After the storming of the Winter Palace in November 1917, the Communist Revolution was irrevocably underway. Within a matter of days, Lenin and the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government and seized power. One of the very first acts of the new Soviet Union government was to negotiate a separate peace treaty with Germany. The terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk were exceedingly harsh on the Soviet Union but Lenin was committed to pulling his nation out of the war and willing to pay almost any price to achieve it.
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