BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE ONE OF THE BIGGEST BATTLES IN THE WAR • The best organized and most strategic battle in World War 1 was fought in 1917 by Canadian and British divisions. It was called Battle of Vimy Ridge. JOINING ALL OF THE CANADIAN DIVISIONS • For the first time in World War 1 all four Canadian divisions fought as one. • All four divisions were from nine provinces of Canada from Vancouver to to Halifax. GENERALS IN THE BATTLE • In the battle of Vimy Ridge there were two Generals of Canadian and British troops. - Before the war teacher Arthur Currie was Major General leading the Canadian divisions. - British division were lead by General Julian Byng. FRENCH AND BRITISH ATTACKS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL • British and French troops in the past already tried to take Vimy. • Every time they attacked they would loose more then 200,000 men. GOALS OF VIMY RIDGE • The first goal of the battle was breakthrough in the German’s lines. • At Vimy Germans fortified the Hindenburg Line made a junction with many other trenches along the front. • The other goal was the importance of German factories that were producing military supplies for the war. • It was the Canadian task to take Vimy and two other important hills, where the Germans had strong defenses. WHY THE HILL WAS HARD TO ATTACK? • Vimy Ridge was very important to the Germans so they tried to make sure that it would be difficult to attack. • Vimy was a natural hill and a barren slope that provided little cover for attackers so it gave good advantage for fortified machine guns and for artillery. • The Germans had three 3 layers of trenches, barbed wire, tunnels into a hill and light railroad for military supplies. - On April 9th the big battle had began. PRACTICES : MOCK-UP OF THE HILL - Canadian troops made a complete copy of the hill. - on that hill they did training that let them know every inch of Vimy Ridge - This was not the only preparation for the battle. PRACTICES: LEARNING HOW TO USE GERMAN WEAPONS • Rather then dragging and reloading their own cannons, machine guns Canadians learned how to use German , so they could shoot Germans from their own weapons - On the picture is showing World War 1 German artillery piece. PRACTICES: PINPOINTING OF THE ENEMY • Other really useful training was pinpointing of the enemies. • Canadian colonel and former science professor from McGill University Andrew McNaughton, figured out how to pinpoint enemy guns by their flash and sound. - That training helped them to destroy main German position even before advance began. PRACTICES: FIRING AHEAD OF CANADIAN LINES • British troops were trained to shoot with their artillery just ahead of attacking Canadians that were moving forward. • Shooting ahead in previous battles was unsuccessful because in battle if you would run a little bit faster or slower, there is a pretty big chance that you would get killed by your own artillery. • The Canadians learned the Vimy glide, 100 yards in 3 min. THE BATTLE HAD BEGUN • On Easter Monday 1917 some people celebrated Easter with baskets full of food, some people celebrated with guns full of ammunition. WEATHER JUST FOR NORTH • On the day of battle weather was just for the northern Canadians so they went forward through strong wind, snow, and sleet. • At 5:30 troops started to cross No Man’s Land. • Photo: No Man’s Land. THE HILL IS NO LONGER GERMAN - April 2nd bombardment of Vimy Ridge to take down main forces of Germany had started and before the battle began more then one of shells were fired off by Canadians. - on April 9th , 20000 soldiers started moving onto Vimy. - With perfection and optimism the Canadians took Vimy at the end of day. VIMY SUCCESS • The Canadians had demonstrated that they were one of the most outstanding formations of the western front and masters of offensive warfare. - Previous British attacks never had the success of the Canadians. CANADA’S GREATEST VICTORY • It was Canada’s greatest victory, also it was called, “most perfectly organized and successful battle of the whole war”. • Also it was called Canada’s “nation-making moment” because it involved Canadians from every region of Canada. LOSES • From 20,000 that went over the top that day at Vimy 3,598 Canadian soldiers did not come home to their families and 7,104 soldiers were casualties. - Germans suffered 20,000 killed or wounded. - Photo: graves were made right on the battlefield. BATTLE FOR INDEPENDENCE • The battle of Vimy Ridge was one of the factors that proved that Canada is an independent nation. • It proved also that Canadians can make their decisions on their own and better then the British. THE END .