Mitchieville Remembers Vimy Ridge – Part II

In May 2005 I went on a three week battlefield tour of North-West Europe (and England\Wales) with an old friend from the high school days. We saved Vimy Ridge to the end of our trip as we knew it would be one of the higlights. Today is the 90th Anniversary of the battle. Canadians know the monument but most have never seen the battlefield. I found a few pics to try and show what the field looks like. The picture to the right is the Vimy marker at the Bourlon Woods monument.

Driving up to Vimy Ridge the one thing that struck both of us was how commanding the hill was. The area is flat so you can see the ridge and the monument itself from miles away. Once you're on Vimy Ridge in the monument area you see for tens of miles around.


The first picture explains itself.






I took this picture from the Canadian trench line. The sign you can see is about 100 feet away and marks the front of the German trench line. Note the craters the Canadians would have had to charge through.






The next two pictures are of the Canadian trench system. The first pic shows a trench line that has been allowed to grow back over the years. The second picture shows the maintained portion of the Canadian trench system.







For me the higlight of the day was standing in the underground assault tunnels that hid our soldiers is the weeks before the assault. When visiting the other battlefields the feeling isn't the same. Here, in this tunnel, is where the men who made history stood, ate, slept and prepared for battle. It's damn dark down there and my pictures didn't turn out. If you ever get a chance to visit Vimy Ridge this is a must.


As the monument was closed for renovations (hence the buildings surounding the monument) this was as close as I could get. The way I see it this gives me an excuse to go back again and I will - the 100th anniversary is in 2017.




The Torch has a great write up on the battle itself.


Posted by Reg