Vimy, << VIHM ee or VEE mee, >> Ridge, Battle of, was fought between Canadian and German forces during World War I (1914-1918). The four-day battle began on April 9, 1917, with a Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge, a strategic hill held by the Germans near Arras, in northern France. The Canadian victory in the battle was an important morale booster after a string of bloody Allied failures. Made entirely by Canadian troops, the assault was also a defining moment in Canadian history.
The Canadian Corps was part of the British Army, and the battle was part of a major spring offensive. The British attacked east of Arras, and the Canadians attacked the ridge. The chief goal was to draw German troops away from a massive French attack along the Aisne River to the south. Of the 100,000 Canadians who took part in the battle, 3,598 were killed and 7,004 wounded. In 1936, a large marble memorial was built on the site in honor of the more than 60,000 Canadians killed in the war.
See also Arras, Battle of ; Currie, Sir Arthur ; World War I .
