Remembering Vimy Ridge

In case you didn't know, I'm Canadian. And though I got this strange desire to look up the "I Am Canadian" commercials earlier today (check out Shatner's version), I am not going to go on a rant.

Rather, I mention it because there was an event 90 years ago that a lot of people look at as a key moment in defining Canada as a country -- both to the global community and to ourselves. It happened Easter Monday in 1917, in Northern France, at a place called Vimy Ridge. A strategic vantage point held by the Germans in WWI - one that seemed inassailable, based on the failure of both the French and British to recapture it earlier in the war. However, on that day 90 years ago, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps, fighting as one single force for the first time, captured Vimy Ridge. This was a key milestone for Canada, but also for WWI, because the vantage point provided by the ridge was extremely important in repelling German attacks in the area throughout 1918.

I am certainly not reciting this from memory, though we obviously learned it in Canadian history. I decided to research it when I had the embarassing realization that the 90th anniversary was being celebrated just north of me, and I remembered next to nothing about what took place there. And while I have been planning a trip to the beaches of Normandy, I had completely ignored the history of Vimy. Needless to say, I will be visiting the newly restored monument while I'm in France, and doing a better job of remembering the sacrifices made by our countrymen.

-The Vimy Memorial