The Battle of Vimy Ridge was fought on the cold morning of April 9th, 1917. Vimy Ridge is located in northern France, about 10 kilometers north of the city of Arras. This battle is known to be Canada's defining moment. The Germans had held the Ridge for over two years, enabling them to strengthen their position to the point that they thought it was impregnable. The French had tried to take over Vimy Ridge with as much as twenty divisions, but were still unsuccessful. They launched 3 massive attacks and they had suffered thousands of casualties. After France's unsuccessful attempt, the British tried to do the same but they too were beaten back by the Germans and were unsuccessful. This being said, the Canadians faced a nearly impossible challenge. This would be the first time that all four divisions of the Canadian corps would fight together on the same battlefield, making it more difficult because they wouldn't be familiar fighting with each other. The Canadians were expected to achieve a nearly impossible task by taking the Ridge from the Germans and securing it. With only one hundred thousand soldiers, this was a fraction of what both the French and British had. Remarkably, the Canadians came out successful. The question is, how does a newly formed nation with a population of around eight million, succeed in a task where both the French and British were unsuccessful? By examining the Battle of Vimy Ridge, it will become evident that the Canadian victory at the battle of Vimy Ridge led to the formation of political independence of the Canadian nation.
Canada's success at Vimy Ridge earned them recognition all over the world because of their unbelievable achievement of taking over the Ridge. This was such an amazing task because they were the only allied force to be able to defeat the Germans at Vimy, and also because this was the first time all four divisions of the Canadian corps had fought together under Canadian demand on .
