Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917 by Theodore Barris

by Ted Barris

At the height of the First World War, on Easter Monday April 9, 1917, in early morning sleet, sixteen battalions of the Canadian Corps rose along a six-kilometre line of trenches in northern France against the occupying Germans. All four Canadian divisions advanced in a line behind a well-rehearsed creeping barrage of artillery fire. By nightfall, the Germans had suffered a major setback. The Ridge, which other Allied troops had assaulted previously and failed to take, was firmly in Canadian hands. The Canadian Corps had achieved perhaps the greatest lightning strike in Canadian military history. One Paris newspaper called it ?Canada's Easter gift to France.? Of the 40,000 Canadians who fought at Vimy, nearly 10,000 became casualties. Many of their names are engraved on the famous monument that now stands on the ridge to commemorate the battle. It was the first time Canadians had fought as a distinct national army, and in many ways, it was a coming of age for the nation. The a

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, World War I, Military Fiction

Hardcover

First published February 10, 2007

About the author

Ted Barris is an accomplished author, journalist and broadcaster. As well as hosting stints on CBC Radio and regular contributions to The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and various national magazines, he is a full-time professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto. Barris has authored seventeen non-fiction books, including the national bestsellers Victory at Vimy and Juno.

Reviews

[Vicky Earle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a thought-provoking, well-researched and detailed account of the Canadians' courage in their unified planned attack to take Vimy Ridge. Ted Barris brings the soldiers' experiences vividly to life using a variety of sources to provide the reader with explicit descriptions. Those young men became real to me, and I better understand their sacrifice as a result of reading this book. It inspired me to find out more about my maternal grandfather. I was amazed to discover that, although my mother (and I) was born in England, my grandfather lived in BC for some time beforehand, and joined the battalion known as the "BC Bantams". I had known that he was badly burned and blinded (temporarily) by mustard gas in France, but if I hadn't read this book, I wouldn't have dug deeper. This is a great book and pays tribute to those who fought so valiantly for Canadians.

[William Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If one wants to know what fighting in the trenches in World War I was like, this is an excellent source but this book is much more than a story about the First World War. This is a narrative about how Canada gained its sense of nationhood! The war changed how Canadians felt about their country and how they saw Canada's place in the world. As told through the experiences of many soldiers of the Canadian Corps of the British Army the attack and capture of Vimy Ridge is personal and expressive. Author Ted Barris provides the strategic and tactical context but the Canadian soldiers illuminate the conditions and combat. Previously both the British and French had attacked the Vimy Ridge and failed with the cost of numerous causalities. The Canadian Corps was given the mission to attack and capture the Ridge. Lieutenant General Julian Byng, commander of the Canadian Corps, insisted on a very thorough and well rehearsed plan of attack. The most innovative portion of Byng's attack plan was the counter-battery plan. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew McNaughton was given the task of creating the counter-battery plan. He expanded on a previous method of locating a gun by spotting the flash from several different locations at once and another by using an oscillograph that recorded sound vibrations to locate a gun similar to sight identification. McNaughton created a team of two physicists, his adjutant and an air intelligence officer. First though his team improved the creeping barrage which was used to protect attacking infantry by forcing the enemy to remain covered until the attackers were on top of their trenches. Next he established a series of forward observation posts to spot enemy gun flashes and record their bearings. They were reported to a central command post where the locations were plotted and counter-battery fire directed. The process used careful mathematical calculations to be accurate. It was very innovative. Next Lieutenant General Byng had to construct an underground network of supply lines. and progress them close to the enemy trenches. Lastly he had the attacking forces rehearse their assault on a realistic training area of recreated German trenches and landmarks. Not only officers and non-commissioned officers but all soldiers were given the training so that they could completely understand their mission. Byng's planning was successful although not without some problems. The counter-battery plan pretty much negated German artillery reaction to the Canadian attack. The supply network allowed the attacking forces to get closer to the enemy without detection and the training allowed the soldiers to carry on without constant direction if leaders were wounded or killed. The individual soldier clearly understood his mission. The Canadian assault of Vimy ridge accomplished in three days what both British and French senior leaders thought was impossible. Both Britain and France had lost many soldiers in previous failures to capture the ridge. More importantly though was the effect on the pride and developing sense of nationality that the Canadians achieved.
This was the first battle where the Canadian Corps had fought together. The Canadian 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions and sundry support organizations and Corps headquarters was composed of about 100,000 soldiers. They came from all over Canada. Montreal, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Western Ontario, Toronto, Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Alberta, Edmonton, Cameron, Port Arthur, Brantford, Manitoba, Ottawa, Regina and Moose Jaw were all represented. Loggers, bankers, lawyers, cowboys, farmers, Native Indigenous Canadians, businessmen, mechanics, wealthy and poor all served proudly. The detail of the fighting is excellent as it is told through the soldiers involved but the sense of pride in accomplishment and unifying feeling of Canada's success is what shines through in this book. In 1936 when the Canadian monument on Vimy Ridge was unveiled, 6,200 came from Canada to witness the event. As the subtitle of the book states Canada Comes of Age!

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Vimy Ridge as told via the letters/journals of those Canadians who experienced the battle first hand. Mr. Barris has put together a very well research and documented book on one of Canada's most defining moments as a nation. This is an absolute must for those wishing to add to their Canadian War/Canadian History collection.

[Michaela Delich · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am enjoying it very much

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. A great book if someone wants a good read about the Canadians at Vimy.

[Dan Buchanan]

This was one of four books I used to compile a presentation for our Remembrance Event at Brighton in November 2017. Of course, the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge dictated the topic, and Victory at Vimy by Ted Barris was a great source for details about the preparations for the battle as well as the conflicts of attitude, tactics and strategy that finally resolved into the Canadian Corp taking responsibility, using much more collaborative and practical methods, and bringing brand new technology into the mix. The success in battle at Vimy was very much based on the planning.
Ted Barris provides a objective and clear-eyed view of the people, events and circumstances that we often see in emotional and nationalistic terms.