Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment

On the morning of April 9, 1917, troops of the Canadian Corps under General Julian Byng attacked the formidable German defences of Vimy Ridge. Since then, generations of Canadians have shared a deep emotional attachment to the battle, inspired partly by the spectacular memorial on the battlefield. Although the event is considered central in Canadian military history, most people know very little about what happened during that memorable Easter in northern France. Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment draws on the work of a new generation of scholars who explore the battle from three perspectives. The first assesses the Canadian Corps within the wider context of the Western Front in 1917. The second explores Canadian leadership, training, and preparations and details the story of each of the four Canadian divisions. The final section concentrates on the commemoration of Vimy Ridge, both for contemporaries and later generations of Canadians. This long-overdue collection, based on original research, replaces mythology with new perspectives, new details, and a new understanding of the men who fought and died for the remarkable achievement that was the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

About the Author :
Geoffrey Hayes is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Waterloo and is the associate director of the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research focuses on the First and Second World Wars and Canada's role in current international conflicts. Andres Iarocci's principal research interests include Canada's First World War military operations and postwar commemoration. His publications include Canadian Forces Base Petawawa: The First Century (2005). Mike Bechthold is a historian of the First and Second World Wars and an air power specialist. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, and an M.A. & Honours B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University. His most recent book is Flying to Victory: Raymond Collishaw and the Western Desert Campaign, 1940-1941 (2017).

Review :
"Clarifying what actually happened before, on, and after 9 April 1917 is overdue in a year when Canada's government has given orders to celebrate a ninety-year anniversary and when virtually none of the original participants will be alive to complicate the ceremonies with their own memories. I welcome [in Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment ] a number of innovative contributions, notably when the text sets Vimy in the context of the British Arras offensive, when it underlines the British contribution to the Canadian Corps operations, and explores the contributions and problems of specific branches of the service, such as artillery engineers and medical corps. Not only have the authors dissected the battle, they have contributed to an understanding of all those myriad but vital elements of victory that most historians ignore except for specialist audiences. This book restores a fuller historical context to the capture of Vimy Ridge without undermining, in any substantive way, the pride Canadians can take in their achievement." -- Desmond Morton, founding director, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada "The best book on this battle remains Geoffrey Hayes, Andrew Iarocci and Mike Bechthold (eds.), Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Assessment ." -- Major John R. Grodzinski, CD, MA, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario -- Canadian Military Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1 "The problem with any narrative that sees Canada maturing form colony to nation on the top of Vimy Ridge is that is misrepresents both the nature of the Canada Corps' victory and exaggerates its place in Canadian constitutional development. A scholarly `reassessment' of Canada's most heralded military achievement is thus long overdue and welcome....Geoffrey Hayes, Andrew Iarocci, and Mike Bechthold...have delivered a worthy addition to a body of literature that is disproportionately small in relation to the magnitude of Vimy's contribution to Canadian nationalism. The authors have managed to clarify some persistent misconceptions about the Canadian Corps and have clearly demonstrated the value of ongoing study of this monumental event." -- Jody Perrun, University of Manitoba -- H-Net Reviews