What’s your Vimy Ridge?

The British had tried and failed. The French tried as well, and failed. In fact, the French had lost close to 100,000 men in their attempts. The situation seemed hopeless. Hopeless it was, if it weren’t for the Canadians. It was April 9, 1917. The location was France. The hill known as Vimy Ridge was a strategic location held by the Germans since the beginning of the war. Through their entrenchment on Vimy Ridge, the Germans maintained the upper hand in this region during the First World War. If the Germans were to be defeated, Vimy had to be taken by the allies.

Canada was a Dominion, part of the British Empire, and had previously fought as part of the British Expeditionary Forces. However, at Vimy, the Canadians fought together as part of the Canadian Expeditionary forces. The Canadians had already garnered a reputation of being ferocious fighters.

And now for the first time fighting together, and under Canadian command, we would fight for the prize of Vimy Ridge.

Sir Arthur Currie and his officers planned the battle extensively. If we were to be successful, we couldn’t use the same tactics with which the British or the French had failed. We had to be innovative. And innovative we were. The Canadians developed a tactic known as the “creeping barrage.”

Artillery fire was the key to the creeping barrage. That, and disciplined, committed and courageous ground troops. The ridge was bombarded by heavy artillery prior to the commencement of the attack in the early morning hours of April 9. As the Canadian troops pressed onward and upward, the artillery fire provided a creeping barrage preceding them up the hill.

The artillery paved the way for the troops to overwhelm the enemy and take Vimy. What our allies could not do in over a year, the Canadians did in a matter of hours. Most of Vimy was taken by the afternoon, with complete victory and full control taking place by April 12. The story is told of a messenger cycling into a nearby French town and bursting into a café shouting, “Vimy est tombe!” Vimy has fallen!, he declared. “C’nest pas possible!” was the response. It’s not possible! “Qui?” Who?, was the next logical question posed by a patron. “Les Canadiens!” replied the messenger. “Ah, c’est possible,” declared the patron. It's possible. It was a costly battle. More than 10,000 men were killed or wounded. But Vimy was the birthing of Canadian national pride in a way we had never experienced before.

Consistently ranked as one of the most important events in the shaping of our nation, Vimy is our most celebrated military victory. Our identity as a nation was formed in a unique that day 100 years ago.

So what’s your Vimy Ridge? What’s the mountain in your life, in your leadership, that you think is impossible to conquer? What’s that stronghold of opposition set against you that you may have lost hope in ever overcoming?

What can we learn from the courageous Canadians of the First World War that will equip and encourage us to win the battles in our lives right here and right now?

They were innovative. They planned meticulously. They were disciplined and committed and stuck to the plan in the midst of chaos. They were courageous in the face of fierce opposition.

The real key to their victory was innovation. They could have done what had been done by others before them and ended up fighting bravely and dying quickly — but that would not have led to victory. They thought outside of the box. They chose to see things differently. They chose to believe that what others thought was impossible, was not.

How can you look differently at the mountains in your life?

Start by believing that victory is possible, then look at things through a different lens. Change your perspective. Get the input of others. Innovation comes from looking through a lens you don’t normally look through. Learn from those with whom you may not typically associate. Think differently. You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it. What’s the Vimy Ridge in your life?