100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge Today

[DonLever]

PARIS—More than 20,000 people, most of them Canadians, attended a solemn ceremony Sunday to commemorate a First World War battle in northern France that remains indelibly etched on Canada’s national identity 100 years later.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of the British Royal Family were among the dignitaries who gathered at Vimy Ridge for the centenary of the day that Canadian troops succeeded in taking the strategic position from the Germans.

 

“They were, most of them, young men in their late teens, in their early 20s,” Trudeau said at the ceremony. “Going as far as sacrificing their lives, these men both ordinary and extraordinary of the British dominion fought for the first time as citizens of a single and same country . . . side by side here in Vimy.”

The battle left 3,600 Canadian soldiers dead and over 7,000 wounded during the four-day battle. Largely because of its military achievement in northern France, Canada was a separate signatory to the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War.

 

“In this sense, Canada was born there,” Trudeau said Sunday.

 

Canadian troops prepared carefully, learning from the mistakes made by British and French troops who had tried and failed to reclaim the ridge.

To protect soldiers from shelling, they built kilometres of tunnels, one of the war’s great engineering feats, allowing troops to pop up quickly into their positions.

The battle and victory have become an important part of Canada’s identity, symbolizing the shift from a former British colony to an independent nation. The site, which in 1922 became a piece of Canadian territory on French soil, is a revered national symbol.

Britain’s Prince Charles attended the commemoration with his sons, Princes William and Harry, who dropped boots symbolizing the dead soldiers and ceramic poppies at the grand war memorial that marks the site of the battle.

 

“Their sacrifice must inspire us to do everything to avoid that senseless losses happen again,” Charles said of the long-ago Canadians who lost their lives in France. “Let’s renew our commitment to remember their heroism in the face of suffering and fear.”

French President François Hollande said Vimy’s soldiers “are still speaking to us.”

“They are telling us peace is the most precious gift and it’s the greatest merit of Europe to have realized that dream . . . . Yes, Vimy’s soldiers are telling us nationalism only leads to war and fundamentalism to destruction. They are telling us the future of our countries is to be united.”

 

Sunday’s ceremony, hosted by the federal government, included official speeches, recitations of stories from soldiers and eyewitnesses to the battle, and performances by artists such as singer Loreena McKennitt.

Earlier Sunday, Trudeau and Hollande unveiled a separate “Poppy of Peace” monument in the town of Arras, a few kilometres from Vimy. The monument consists of a red metallic base with sculptures of soldiers’ feet.

On Monday, Trudeau will visit the Second World War sites in the Normandy region. He will go to Juno Beach, where the Normandy landings took place, and then visit the Canadian War Cemetery in Bény-sur-Mer.

[nuckin_futz]

Just 50 years after becoming a country.

 

One of the proudest moments in our nation's history.

[Ghostsof1915]

 

[Nuxfanabroad]

My Grandfather spent yrs in Vimy. Apparently got shot through both legs. Lived to the ripe age of 83..was said he was a pretty tough hombre.

 

His 1st wife had died young from Spanish Flu(they had 3 kids), so he re-married upon returning from Vimy(my GM, half Micmac descent) & they would have 8 more. My Mother was second youngest, born when Gramps was about 49(sans Viagra!)

 

It's very difficult when a family falls apart(as my kin did). Divorces, suicides, addictions & even wealth creating divisions/epic-animosity, would all contribute. It broke my heart. I left the country, & tried to keep on, keepin' on.

 

I don't believe in war, any more. But I'm very proud of this man.

[Ryan Strome]

Those that took part are true heroes along with all our troops, their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

 

 

[Bill Sikes]

10 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

My Grandfather spent yrs in Vimy. Apparently got shot through both legs. Lived to the ripe age of 83..was said he was a pretty tough hombre.

 

His 1st wife had died young from Spanish Flu(they had 3 kids), so he re-married upon returning from Vimy(my GM, half Micmac descent) & they would have 8 more. My Mother was second youngest, born when Gramps was about 49(sans Viagra!)

 

It's very difficult when a family falls apart(as my kin did). Divorces, suicides, addictions & even wealth creating divisions/epic-animosity, would all contribute. It broke my heart. I left the country, & tried to keep on, keepin' on.

 

I don't believe in war, any more. But I'm very proud of this man.

Three members of my family were there, my Grandmothers cousin was killed there, her Uncle survived that battle but was lost at Passchendaele, my Grandfathers brother survived the Great War (wounded twice, once at Cambrai and again at the Canal du Nord)

[Nuxfanabroad]

1 hour ago, Bill Sikes said:

Three members of my family were there, my Grandmothers cousin was killed there, her Uncle survived that battle but was lost at Passchendaele, my Grandfathers brother survived the Great War (wounded twice, once at Cambrai and again at the Canal du Nord)

So hard for us today, to know what these people endured. +1

[Ryan Strome]

30 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

So hard for us today, to know what these people endured. +1

In my opinion we never will. 

[Nuxfanabroad]

2 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

In my opinion we never will. 

Almost 30 yrs back, remember reading Vimy Ridge, by Cdn Historian, Pierre Berton. Left some pretty powerful imagery. Recommended, to anyone interested in the period.

[Ryan Strome]

Just now, Nuxfanabroad said:

Almost 30 yrs back, remember reading Vimy Ridge, by Cdn Historian, Pierre Berton. Left some pretty powerful imagery. Recommended, to anyone interested in the period.

I have watched and read a lot of stuff on both World Wars lots of family members served in ww2. 

 

Everybody loves and respects the Canadian heroism and sacrifices at Vimy ridge, and I mean everyone.

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/news/2007/04/07/how_hitler_spared_vimy_ridge.html

 

[Ghostsof1915]

 

[Lancaster]

The moment that the Canadian identity was born.  

 

I always find it a tad disappointing that Canadians don't celebrate Vimy Ridge as much as they should.  

[Gurn]

17 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

The moment that the Canadian identity was born.  

 

I always find it a tad disappointing that Canadians don't celebrate Vimy Ridge as much as they should.  

I am not surprised, why celebrate death and destruction, even if victorious? Remembering is one thing celebrating is different.

[Lancaster]

Just now, gurn said:

I am not surprised, why celebrate death and destruction, even if victorious? Remembering is one thing celebrating is different.

I don't mean celebrating as in partying out and pulling out the beer kegs.  

 

Just compare how much the public cherishes the 72 Summit Series where it's just a number of hockey games.... than Vimy, where men and boys laid down their lives to protect King, Empire and eventually hardening the foundation of Canada.