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

by Theodore Barris, 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 achievement of the Canadians on those April days in 1917 has become one of our lasting myths. Based on first-hand accounts, including archival photographs and maps, it is the voices of the soldiers who experienced the battle that comprise the thrust of the book. Like Canadians at D-Day , Ted Barris paints a compelling and surprising human picture of what it was like to have stormed and taken Vimy Ridge.

Genres: History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is excellent!

It’s a very well-done examination of the battle of Vimy Ridge.

4.5/5

Happy Reading, everybody!

[Steve Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of this WW I battle and it's impact on soldiers and Canadians.

[Charlie Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read with clear explanation of the battle sequence and the young Canadian soldiers who served and lived and died during that battle. Recommended

[David Akin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've visited Vimy twice -- in 2005 and 2007 -- both times to cover a Canadian prime minister's official visit to that battlefield. The 2007 visit included the ceremony marking the battle's 90th anniversary and was one of the most moving moments of my life. So I can't get enough of Vimy histories. I bought Ted's book ahead of one of those visit but only had a chance at the time to read selected excerpts. Glad to have finally had the chance this April -- 106 years after the famous battle -- to carefully read this work.