Trudeau leads 100th anniversary of Battle of Vimy Ridge

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country “was born here” as he led commemorations in France on Sunday for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

The battle, which started on April 9, 1917, was one of the defining moments of World War I and a founding moment in Canada’s history as Canadian troops fought under Canadian command for the first time.

Around 20,000 Canadians made the journey to their country’s memorial in northern France to mark the centenary, turning the former battlefield into a sea of the red and white of their country’s flag.

Speaking from the towering white structure, Trudeau spoke of the 3,598 Canadians – “most were men in their early twenties” – who were killed fighting to take control of the strategic eight- kilometer ridge.

Trudeau said one of the 80,000 Canadians in the battle, 20- year- old William Bell, had written home on April 7, 1917 to praise the cake his family had sent to the trenches. Within days, he was killed fighting at Vimy.

“It was through their sacrifice that Canada became an independent signatory of the Treaty of Versailles,” Trudeau said, referring to the most important of the treaties that brought World War I to an end.

“So in that way, Canada was born here.”

Trudeau was joined at the memorial by French President Francois Hollande and Britain’s Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry.

Charles, the heir to the throne, said the Canadians succeeded where other armies had failed in seizing the high ground at Vimy.

“Yet Canadians displayed a strength of character and commitment to one another that is still evident today... This was Canada at its best – the Canadians at Vimy embodied the ‘ True North, Strong and Free.’”

Hollande said the links built between France and Canada were evident today “when we condemn chemical massacres committed by a criminal regime” – a clear reference to the suspected chemical attack in rebel- held Syria this week.