The Battle of Vimy Ridge
Canada marks ‘valour of their countrymen’
Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian assault on German positions at Vimy Ridge, which began on Monday, April 9, 1917.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge lasted four days, ending with an impressive Canadian victory. Of the more than 10,600 Canadian casualties at Vimy Ridge, some 3,600 soldiers lost their lives.
Four Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadian soldiers for their bravery.
It was the first action in which all four divisions of the Canadian Corps — representing every region of the country — fought together side-by-side on the same battlefield.
In 1922, the French government ceded a tract of land around the ridge to Canada.
Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward was commissioned to design and build the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. It took 11 years to finish.
The monument bears the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were killed in France and whose final resting place was then unknown.
At the base of the memorial, in English and French, is an inscription: “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.”
On Sunday thousands of Canadians will make a pilgrimage to commemorate the iconic battle.
Among them are 12,000 students who will stand in the shadows of the memorial when the country stops to reflect and remember this weekend.
The Canadian government estimates there will be 25,000 Canadians attending the ceremony, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Gov.-Gen. David Johnston, French President François Hollande, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.
The event will be broadcast live on CBC and CTV starting at 9 a.m.