History Channel - For King and Empire Canadas Soldiers in the Great War (2001) Part 3 Storming the Ridge The Canadians at Vimy - 1917

With military historian Norm Christie as our guide, we explore the battlefields, cemeteries and monuments of the First World War. The men who fought tell their stories, and we discover how the naive, amateur soldiers of 1914 became, by 1918, perhaps the most feared, efficient and deadly Allied fighting machine on the Western Front the “Canadian Corps.” FOR KING AND EMPIRE tells the stories of ordinary Canadians who fought extraordinary battles during the First World War. Six episodes represent a turning point in the Great War Ypres, the Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele, the Battles of the Last Hundred Days, and the Legacy of the War. By depicting walking tours of each battleground, For King and Empire explores the significance of the battle and what was at risk, the initial strategies and what actually transpired. In six harrowing hours rife with veteran testimonies and battlescarred films, Canadian historian Norm Christie tours WWI battlefields on foot, including Ypres, The Somme and the once blood-soaked Vimy Ridge to relive the horrors of what was known as The Great War. Canadian regiments played key roles in pivotal moments, and this well-researched series functions both to record the memories of the living and, perhaps, raise the ghosts of some of the ten million souls lost in the terrible trenches. Based on the series of books “For King and Empire” by Norm Christie.

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Part 3 Storming the Ridge The Canadians at Vimy - 1917

Moving north after the charnel house of the Somme, the Canadians plan for their most difficult operation of the war to date; the attack on the German fortress position of Vimy Ridge. Thought to be impregnible, the Canadians would have to plan and execute to perfection to snatch this vital position from the Germans. Nobody thought they could do it. In 1917, Vimy was a barren fortress of the German army. Many thought it would never be taken and the Germans never dislodged. All 4 Canadian divisions arrived in late 1916 after the bloodbath they faced at the Somme. In holding the ridge, it is estimated that the Germans suffered 140,000 casualties. Fighting was not expected until the spring but the men knew what was to come. The opposing forces were no more than 100 yards apart and the attack is planned for Easter 1917. Following a two week artillery barrage 300,000 men attacked, with Canadian troops numbered 8,000 in that initial offensive. It is one of the most brilliantly planned attacks of the war. Sweeping to victory, and consolidating their gains, the Canadians establish their reputation as elite troops; but at a cost of 21,000 dead, wounded, and missing.

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