Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Here in Canada we've been remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge, what it means to us as a country. One hundred years ago this week (April 9 - 12) Canadian and British soldiers purged the ridge of German forces. It was a bloody battle for both sides, with thousands of young men dying and thousands more injured.

Minutes ago I watched an hour-long program that analyzed the battle from a historical perspective: There is no denying that the battle won was a great tactical military victory, but, as is typical with celebrated military campaigns, what the score was in a strategic sense is open to debate.

One thing that is not open to debate is the loss of so many young men at Vimy Ridge; all those mothers' sons....


4 comments:

Tibor said...

I was fortunate enough to visit the memorial in France years ago. I beautiful monument and the surrounding countryside still was torn up by the relentless shelling. Still some danger of live shells out there....

Simon St. Laurent said...

Yeah, sheep are used as lawn mowers. They aren't heavy enough to detonate the buried explosives.

I should make a point to visit the memorial. It's a great work of art, over and above its raison d'etre.

Adele Menegon said...

I just finished reading an article on this topic and it impressed me deeply. My dad fought in this war but in Poland and when he emmigrated to Canada became one of the founding members of the Polish Veterans Association - still there in Hamilton with his name on the list of 3 founders.

Simon St. Laurent said...

Good stuff!