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Battle for Vimy Ridge, 100th Anniversary


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The battle lasted several days, from 9th till 11th/12th April 1917. This weekend were the special celebrations for this occasion at the scene, before the vast Canadian memorial on the Hill 145

A rather long ceremony, with many guests including H.R.H. Prince Charles.

Visited here 1967 and 1968. Facing the Canadian Divisions were primarily Reserve-Infanterie-Regiments 261, 262 and 263

 

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Some of the scenes and the masses of people I found not quite befitting to the occasion.

The "boots" have no connection with the soldiers of those days. Less "re-enactment" and theatre would be more in keeping with the dignity of the past,

which could otherwise turn into a farce.

 

The official Canadian statement here:

Canada|100 Years Later, Battle of Vimy Ridge Remains Key Symbol for Canada
Another source states (NY times):

Historians differ on their view of Vimy. Next to Dr. Cook’s book in some Canadian bookstores is “The Vimy Trap: Or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War” by the historian Ian McKay and the writer Jamie Swift, who dismiss as “romantic militarism” the widely held view that modern Canada was formed by the heroic action of its soldiers at Vimy. In the magazine Canadian Issues, Mr. Swift wrote that the now-standard assessment of the battle “replaces history with patriotic fantasy.”

While Dr. Cook acknowledged that myth has come to surround the battle and its role in history, he said that did not mean it was not an important national symbol. “Nations use battles to tell their stories,” he said shortly before flying off to the celebration in France. “Vimy matters because it matters.”

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  • 5 years later...

German prisoners captured by Canadians at Vimy, WW1 (Photos Prints,  Framed,...) #7218473

German soldiers captured at Vimy march toward a prisoner-of-war camp. – All  About Canadian History

File:German prisoners captured during Battle of Vimy Ridge.jpg - Wikimedia  Commons

Captured at Vimy Ridge

Maps & more – Darrell Duthie | Author of the Malcolm MacPhail WW1 novels

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Plan_of_Attack_Vimy_Ridge.jpg

ARTOIS - Vimy Ridge

The Ridge today

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