Victory at Vimy : Canada comes of age, April 9-12, 1917 Cover Image

Book

Victory at Vimy : Canada comes of age, April 9-12, 1917 / Ted Barris.

Summary:

"At the height of the First World War, on Easter Monday April 9, 1917, in early morning sleet, sixteen battalions of the Canadian Corps rose along a six-kilometre line of trenches in northern France against the occupying Germans. All four Canadian divisions advanced in a line behind a well-rehearsed creeping barrage of artillery fire. By nightfall, the Germans had suffered a major setback. The Ridge, which other Allied troops had assaulted previously and failed to take, was firmly in Canadian hands. The Canadian Corps had achieved perhaps the greatest lightning strike in Canadian military history. One Paris newspaper called it "Canada's Easter gift to France." Of the 40,000 Canadians who fought at Vimy, nearly 10,000 became casualties. Many of their names are engraved on the famous monument that now stands on the ridge to commemorate the battle. It was the first time Canadians had fought as a distinct national army, and in many ways, it was a coming of age for the nation."--Publisher's description.

Record details

ISBN: 0887622534
ISBN: 9780887622533
Physical Description: xviii, 300 pages, [32] pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Publisher: Toronto : Thomas Allen Publishers, [2007]
Copyright: ©2007

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-284) and indexes.

Formatted Contents Note:

Acknowledgments -- List of Maps -- Snip a few epaulettes -- The six-foot bury -- Week of suffering -- Countdown to zero hour -- Out of the hands of Generals -- Artillery conquers, Infantry occupies -- "Chasing Huns towards the fatherland" -- The promised land -- "Dishing out some more Hell" -- A first full sense of nationhood -- Sacred trust - Notes -- Bibliography -- Photograph credits -- Index of formations, units, and corps -- General index.