The greatest victory ever won by Canadian arms
handed in all his personal belongings. Your loving son, Gordon.”
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was not only a significant World War I Allied victory but was also a defining moment in Canadian history. As former Prime Minister Stephen Harper once expressed it, “That day our young country came of age as an independent nation.”
The Ridge at Vimy, about 200km northeast of Paris, was the bestdefended German position on the Western Front. Earlier efforts by both the French and the British to dislodge the Germans from the Ridge had been in vain and had resulted in terrible losses. Then, in late January 1917, the task was given to the Canadian Corps under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng.
Weeks of meticulous preparation and training followed. By early April, the Canadians were considered to be the best-trained and best-equipped troops on the Allied side.
The battle began at 5:30 a.m., April 9, 1917, along a 6.4 km front. The Canadians’ opening bombardment, with almost 1,000 artillery pieces and 150 machine guns all firing simultaneously, created an incredible explosion of sound virtually unmatched in human history. Then, in the teeth of a blizzard, the first wave of 100,000 Canadian soldiers surged forward. By day’s end, they were virtual masters of the Ridge. It was a magnificent victory for the four divisions of the Canadian Corps, which for the first time had fought together. Casualties from the 9th to the 12th when the battle officially ended amounted to 10,602, including 3,598 killed.
What was it like to actually be a part of that historic battle? Dick Kearney of Niagara Falls provided an answer in a letter he wrote to The Review
On April 15, 1917, from “somewhere in France.” With some minor editing, this is part of that letter: “I thank God I am alive after the battle. I went through it without a scratch, although all through the struggle, I was wet to the hips from mud and snow, yet cheerful.
“We gained our objective with but few casualties and delivered a death-blow to the Kaiser. We walked all night before the battle through mud and water and at the first glimpse of daylight the storm broke and over the top we went. The sight was awful but I had no fear; all I wanted was to get out of the mud to the hill where the Germans were. On we went, just Canadians; some were falling but more Germans were falling and biting the mud. I fought to live. At one time I stooped down in a shell hole while our barrage was shelling the Germans’ supports, and looking back at our front, all I could see was one sheet of flame from our guns. You could not hear your own rifle going off when you fired. Then, up again from a call or sign from our Sergeant to advance and we would fight again for a few minutes. Germans would then come to us with arms outstretched, begging for mercy. They were surrendering in hundreds, handing us souvenirs, anything, but not to kill them. By that time I was quite hardened from seeing blood and dead Germans and to kill them was nothing but force of habit. It’s hard taking them prisoners after seeing them doing their best to try and get you.
“The night was awful to put in, sitting one minute to rest and fighting the next. The earth was all shell-shocked and kept caving in so it kept us busy digging one another out till morning. By that time, although the battle still raged, it was further away and other divisions had gone over our heads. We had done our bit and were resting.
“Corp. McKenzie then came around with dry socks and gave us all a good drink of rum that warmed us up. We then ran around, shook hands and gave three cheers for Canada. We were strong yet and full of fight.”
Along with Private Powley, at least five other Niagara Falls boys were killed on that fateful April 9th one hundred years ago. A number were also wounded. As The Review commented, “Friends of the fallen men can have the comfort of knowing that their brave boys fell in the moment of the greatest victory ever won by Canadian arms.”
My children are literally saving my life. The happiness they bring to my wife, my family and me are daily gifts that will last forever.
My wife is currently being treated for stage 4 cancer. Whatever the outcome, she and I are facing this threat with strength and determination because of our kids.
Otherwise, I would be suicidal and she would be despondent. In my opinion, the biggest rewards of having children come not when they are babies, but after they become adults.
Having the conversation about children before marriage is vital. When someone says they don’t want children, or they aren’t sure, believe them. People do change their minds, but it sounds like this man was pretty upfront prior to marriage.
Trying to convince or trap him into it after you are married is just wrong.
I would recommend this woman really have a discussion with her husband and if he still says no, then don’t get pregnant.
She should decide if she wants to stay in this marriage, and if it is good enough to just be with him without children.