Pace on Earth

The Battle Of Evermore

Today is the 90th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of Vimy Ridge which is widely considered to be Canada's finest military hour and also the symbolic birth of the nation. Up to that point in the war Canadian regiments were spread throughout the larger British Expeditionary Force fighting alongside the rest of the Commonwealth's armies. But at Vimy the Canadian Forces were consolidated and fought as one. And where the British and French forces had failed, they succeeded, taking the ridge. Newspapers in the UK and US trumpeted the victory and actually gave rise to the sentiment that this 4 day battle success signified Canada's arrival as an independant nation. The importance in that respect should not be understated. But the importance of the battle on the whole should not be overstated.

I read an interesting article in Saturday's Globe about exactly that fact. While Vimy was a famous victory for the Canadians it was actually a part of the larger Battle of Arras, which was not considered an Allied victory at all - "No strategic breakthroughs were achieved". After the war when the decision was made to build a memorial to commemorate the Canadian contribution the choice of Vimy as the site was by no means universal. Many army officers felt that Amiens or Passchendaele were more strategic victories and would be better locations. But even that soon after the war the legend of Vimy was strong and it became the site. And what a sight it became. The Vimy Memorial was designed by sculptor Walter Seymour Allward and is truly a work of art. The most poignant fact about the memorial is summed up here: "There are no signs of victory there at all...It expresses our obligation to the dead, and the grief of the living--sentiments of sacrifice that you do not see in war memorials until this time". In my mind that statement mutes the limited strategic victory argument and affirms Vimy as the proper place as Canada's primary First World War Memorial because it was where we first fought as one.

Most importantly, when we did fight as one, soldiers hailing from sea to sea, we earned a reputation from the Germans as the most elite, professional and tough fighting force they had faced. And from civilian to soldier this should still instill pride.

Pace out

PS - I like history

PPS - Years later the date April 9th was important in Canada for another reason - Happy Birthday Sarah!

posted by Vitamin S @ 7:23 p.m.