Canada in the First World War and the Road to Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Always seeking the elusive breakthrough, the Allies planned to launch another massive offensive, which would take place early in 1917. A sweeping French attack would be launched in the south between Reims and Soissons, matched by an assault by the British First and Third Armies around Arras. While the Third Army advanced eastward along the Scarpe River, the Canadian Corps—with all four of its divisions together for the first time, and assisted by units of the First Army— would simultaneously deliver an attack against Vimy Ridge.

Vimy Ridge was a key to the German defence system. Rising 6l metres above the Douai Plain, it protected an area of occupied France in which mines and factories were in full production for Germany. It was a linchpin covering the junction of the main Hindenburg Line and the defence systems running north to the coast of the English Channel. Since capturing the Ridge in October 1914, the Germans had been building fortifications to add to its natural strength and dominance.

The slopes of Vimy Ridge favoured the defenders. Because the incline on the west was gradual, many of the Canadians would have to attack over open ground, where they would be prime targets for artillery, machine-gun and rifle fire. They would face three main defensive lines, consisting of a maze of trenches, concrete machine-gun strong points that had hedges of barbed wire woven around them, and deep dug-outs, all linked by communication trenches and connecting tunnels. As well, there were vast underground chambers, some capable of sheltering entire German battalions from Allied shells.

The Commander of the Canadian Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, planned an assault on a front of seven kilometres by all four of his divisions abreast. To reach their final objectives on the far side of the Ridge, the Canadians would have to capture the commanding heights of Hill 135 and Hill 145, which formed its crest.

The operation would be conducted in four stages, dictated by the German zones of defence. At planned intervals, fresh troops from each division would take over the advance. The assault on "the Pimple," a German stronghold at the northern tip of Vimy Ridge, overlooking the Souchez valley, would begin 24 hours after the main attack.