Editing Battle of Vimy Ridge (section)

==Battle==

===Belligerents===
{{see also|Battle of Vimy Ridge order of battle}}
[[File:Defender and Attackers - Vimy Ridge.jpg|thumb|upright|Position of the defending and attacking forces before the battle]]

German [[6th Army (German Empire)|6th Army]] commander General [[Ludwig von Falkenhausen]] was responsible for the Cambrai–Lille sector and commanded 20 divisions, plus reserves.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=246}} Vimy Ridge itself was principally defended by the ad hoc {{lang|de|Gruppe Vimy}} formation based under I Bavarian Reserve Corps commander {{lang|de|General der Infanterie}} [[Karl von Fasbender]].{{sfn|Williams|1983|p=149}} However, a division of {{lang|de|Gruppe Souchez}}, under VIII Reserve Corps General of the Infantry Georg Karl Wichura, was involved in the frontline defence along the northernmost portion of the ridge.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|pp=228–229}}

Three divisions were responsible for manning the frontline defences opposite the Canadian Corps. The [[16 Bavarian Division (German Empire)|16th Bavarian Division]] was located opposite the village of Souchez and responsible for the defence of the northernmost section of the ridge. The division had been created in January 1917 by amalgamating existing Bavarian formations and had so far only opposed the Canadian Corps.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=246}} The [[79th Reserve Division (German Empire)|79th Reserve Division]] was responsible for the defence of the vast central section, including the highest point of the ridge, Hill 145.{{sfn|Hopkins|1919|p=157}} The 79th Reserve Division had fought for two years on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] before being transferred to the Vimy sector at the end of February 1917. The [[1st Bavarian Reserve Division]] had been in the Arras area since October 1914 and held the villages of Thélus, Bailleul and the southern slope of the ridge.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=246}}

Byng commanded four attacking divisions, one division in reserve and numerous support units. He was supported to the north by the [[24th Division (United Kingdom)|24th Division]], I Corps, which advanced north of the Souchez River and by the XVII Corps to the south. The 4th Canadian Division was responsible for the northern portion of the advance that included the capture of the highest point of the ridge, followed by the elaborately fortified Pimple just west of the village of [[Givenchy-en-Gohelle]]. The [[3rd Canadian Division]] was responsible for the narrow central section of the ridge, including the capture of La Folie Farm. The [[2nd Canadian Division]], which later included a brigade from the 5th Division, was directly south of the 3rd Canadian Division and entrusted with the capture of the village of Thélus. The 1st Canadian Division was responsible for the broad southern sector of the corps advance and expected to cover the longest distance. Byng planned for a healthy reserve for contingencies that included the relief of forward troops, help in consolidating positions and aiding the 4th Canadian Division with the capture of the Pimple. As a result, the 9th Canadian Brigade and the British 15th and 95th Brigades were kept in corps reserve.{{sfn|Turner|2005|p=39}}
{{Clear}}

===Preliminary attack===

[[File:Naval gun firing over Vimy Ridge.jpg|thumb|6-inch (150 mm) gun of the Royal Garrison Artillery behind Canadian lines, firing over Vimy Ridge at night|alt=In the black and white photograph, a large artillery gun fires into the night. Personnel are clustered around the artillery, their silhouettes illuminated against the darkened sky. At the muzzle of the artillery, a brilliant white flash bursts forth and contrasts against the black night sky.]]
Foreign intelligence gathering by the Germans, big Allied trench raids and troop concentrations seen west of Arras, made it clear to the Germans that a spring offensive in the area was being prepared.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|pp=229–237}} In February 1917, a German-born Canadian soldier deserted and helped confirm many of the suspicions held by the Germans, providing them with a great deal of useful information.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|pp=229–237}} By March 1917, the 6th Army knew that an offensive was imminent and would include operations aimed at capturing Vimy Ridge.{{sfn|Hopkins|1919|pp=157–158}}{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=251}} General of Infantry Ernst August Marx von Bachmeister, commanding the German 79th Reserve Division, reported in late March that he believed the Canadian Corps was moving into an [[echelon formation]] and were preparing for a big attack.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|p=230}}{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=259}} The Germans quickly planned Operation Munich ({{lang|de|Unternehmen München}}), a spoiling attack to capture the northern section of the Zouave Valley, along the northernmost portion of the Canadian front. Munich was not undertaken because the extent of Canadian Corps artillery fire made it impracticable.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|pp=248–249, 263}}

The preliminary phase of the Canadian Corps artillery bombardment began on 20 March 1917, with a systematic two-week bombardment of German batteries, trenches and strong points.{{sfn|Barris|2007|p=58}} The Canadian Corps gunners paid particular attention to eliminating German barbed wire, a task made easier with the introduction of the No. 106 instantaneous fuse.{{sfn|Cook|2007|p=113}}{{sfn|Barris|2007|p=58}} Only half of the artillery fired at once and the intensity of the barrage was varied to confuse the Germans about Canadian intentions.{{sfn|Barris|2007|p=58}} Phase two lasted the week beginning 2 April 1917 and employed all of the guns supporting the Canadian Corps, massing the equivalent of a heavy gun for every {{cvt|20|yd|m|order=flip}} and a field gun for every {{cvt|10|yd|m|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=225}} The German soldiers came to refer to the week before the attack as "the week of suffering". In the German account, their trenches and defensive works were almost completely demolished.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=251}}{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=273}} The health and morale of the German troops suffered from the stress of remaining at the ready for eleven straight days under extremely heavy artillery bombardment.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|pp=270–272}} Compounding German difficulties was the inability of ration parties to bring food supplies to the front lines.{{sfn|Barris|2007|p=58}} On 3 April, General von Falkenhausen ordered his reserve divisions to prepare to relieve front line divisions over the course of a long drawn-out defensive battle in a manner similar to the Battle of the Somme and the divisions were kept {{cvt|15|mi|km|order=flip}} from the battlefield to avoid being shelled.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=267}}{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|p=231}}

===Main assault===

====9 April====
[[File:Smashing barbed wire with trench mortar shells.jpg|thumb|Artillery-fire on a field of barbed wire at Vimy Ridge|alt=In the monochrome photograph, a shell detonates amidst a field strewn with multiple layers of tangled strands of barbed wire.]]
The attack was to begin at 5:30{{spaces|thin}}am on [[Easter Monday]], 9 April 1917. The attack was originally planned for the morning of 8 April (Easter Sunday) but it was postponed for 24{{spaces}}hours at the request of the French.{{sfn|McGill|2007|p=261}} During the late hours of 8 April and early morning of 9 April the men of the leading and supporting wave of the attack were moved into their forward assembly positions. The weather was cold and later changed to sleet and snow.{{sfn|Turner|2005|p=52}} Although physically discomforting for everyone, the northwesterly storm provided some advantage to the assaulting troops by blowing snow in the faces of the defending troops.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=253}} Light Canadian and British artillery bombardments continued throughout the night but stopped in the few minutes before the attack, as the artillery recalibrated their guns in preparation for the synchronized barrage.{{sfn|Cook|2007|p=116}} At 5:30{{spaces|thin}}am, every artillery piece at the disposal of the Canadian Corps began firing. Thirty seconds later, engineers detonated the mine charges laid under no man's land and the German trench line, destroying a number of German strong points and creating secure communication trenches directly across no man's land.{{sfn|Rawling|2007|pp=131–133}}{{sfn|Hayes|2007|p=200}}

Field guns laid down a barrage that mostly advanced at a rate of {{cvt|91|m|yd|order=flip}} in three minutes while medium and heavy howitzers established a series of standing barrages further ahead against known defensive systems.{{sfn|Cook|2007|p=117}} During the early fighting, the German divisional artilleries, despite many losses, were able to maintain their defensive firing.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=298}} As the Canadian assault advanced, it overran many of the German guns because large numbers of their draught horses had been killed in the initial [[gas attack]].{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=299}} The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions reported reaching and capturing their first objective, the Black Line, by 6:25{{spaces|thin}}am.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=254}} The 4th Canadian Division encountered a great deal of trouble during its advance and was unable to complete its first objective until some hours later.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=254}} After a planned pause when the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions consolidated their positions, the advance resumed. Shortly after 7:00{{spaces}}am, the 1st Canadian Division captured the left half of its second objective, the Red Line and moved the 1st Canadian Brigade forward to mount an attack on the remainder.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=255}} The 2nd Canadian Division reported reaching the Red Line and capturing the village of Les Tilleuls at approximately the same time.{{sfn|Campbell|2007|pp=178–179}}

[[File:Canadian tank and soldiers Vimy 1917.jpg|thumb|2nd Canadian Division soldiers advance behind a tank|alt=In the monochrome photograph, soldiers traverse the battlefield, walking alongside and behind a Mark II tank proudly displaying the number 598 on its side. In the foreground, there are the remains of a fallen soldier, adorned in British equipment, including a helmet.]]
A mine explosion that killed many German troops of Reserve Infantry Regiment 262 manning the front line, preceded the advance of the 3rd Canadian Division. The remaining German troops could do no more than man temporary lines of resistance until later manning a full defence at the German third line.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=291}} As a result, the southern section of the 3rd Canadian Division was able to reach the Red Line at the western edge of the Bois de la Folie at around 7:30{{spaces}}am.{{sfn|Hayes|2007|p=200}} At 9:00{{spaces}}am the division learned of its exposed left flank, as the 4th Canadian Division had not yet captured Hill 145.{{sfn|Hayes|2007|pp=202–203}} The 3rd Canadian Division was thus called upon to establish a divisional defensive flank to its north.{{sfn|Hayes|2007|pp=202–203}} Although the German commanders were able to maintain open lines of communication and issue orders, even with swift staff work the tempo of the assault was such that the German decision cycle was unable to react decisively.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=252}}

The only portion of the Canadian assault that did not go as planned was the advance of the 4th Canadian Division, collapsing almost immediately after exiting their trenches.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|pp=217–218}} The commanding officer of one of the assaulting battalions requested that the artillery leave a portion of the German trench undamaged.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=259}} Machine gun nests in the undamaged sections of the German line pinned down, wounded, or killed much of the 4th Canadian Division's right flank. The progress on the left flank was eventually impeded by harassing fire from the Pimple that was made worse when the creeping barrage got too far ahead of the advancing troops.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|pp=259–260}}{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|p=222}} In view of the German defence, the 4th Canadian Division did not attempt a further frontal assault throughout the afternoon.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=297}}

[[File:Vimy Ridge - Canadian machine gun crews.jpeg|thumb|left|Machine gunners operating from craters on the plateau above the ridge|alt=Two groups of soldiers are positioned in shallow holes on the battlefield, each manning a machine gun.]]
Reserve units from the 4th Canadian Division came forward and once again attacked the German positions on the top of the ridge. Persistent attacks eventually forced the German troops holding the southwestern portion of Hill{{spaces}}145 to withdraw after they ran out of ammunition, mortar rounds, and grenades.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=309}}{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|p=220}}{{refn|Hill&nbsp;145 is the site of the present-day Vimy Memorial.|group="Note"}} Towards midday, the 79th Reserve Division was ordered to recapture the portions of its third line lost during the progression of the Canadian attack.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=308}} However, it was not until 6:00{{spaces}}pm that the force was able to organize and counterattack, clearing the Canadian Corps troops out of the ruined village of Vimy, but not recapturing the third line south of the village.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|pp=308–309}} By night time, the German forces holding the top of the ridge believed they had overcome the immediate crisis for the time being.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=311}} Additional German reinforcements began arriving and by late evening portions of the [[111th Infantry Division (German Empire)|111th Infantry Division]] occupied the third line near [[Acheville]] and [[Arleux]], with the remainder of the division arriving the following day.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=311}}

====10 April====
[[File:VimyDailMailFrontPage10April1917.jpg|thumb|upright|Front page of the ''Daily Mail'' on 10 April 1917|alt=front page of the Daily Mail newspaper. The text" Vimy Rdige Captured 5,816 Prisoners" consumes the entire page in bold text]]
The British moved three fresh [[brigade]]s up to the Red Line by 9:30{{spaces|thin}}am on 10 April to support the advance of the 1st and 2nd Canadian Division, whereupon they were to leapfrog existing units occupying the Red line and advance to the Blue Line.{{sfn|Campbell|2007|p=179}} Fresh units including two sections of tanks and the 13th British Brigade were called up from reserve to support the advance of the 2nd Canadian Division. By approximately 11:00{{spaces|thin}}am, the Blue Line, including Hill 135 and the village of Thélus, had been captured.{{sfn|Campbell|2007|pp=179–181}} To permit the troops time to consolidate the Blue Line, the advance halted and the barrage remained stationary for 90 minutes while machine guns were brought forward.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=257}} Shortly before 1:00{{spaces|thin}}pm, the advance recommenced with both the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions reporting their final objective.{{sfn|Campbell|2007|p=182}} The tank-supported advance via [[Farbus]] and directed at the rear of the 79th Reserve Division, was eventually halted by concentrated German fire short of the village.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=312}} The Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions were nonetheless able to secure the Brown Line by approximately 2:00{{spaces|thin}}pm.{{sfn|Campbell|2007|p=182}}

The 4th Canadian Division had made an attempt to capture the northern half of Hill 145 at around 3:15{{spaces|thin}}pm, briefly capturing the peak before a German counterattack retook the position.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|p=220}}{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=312}} The Germans occupying the small salient on the ridge soon found themselves being attacked along their flanks by continuously reinforced Canadian Corps troops.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=313}} When it became obvious that the position was completely outflanked and there was no prospect of reinforcement, the German troops pulled back.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=312}} The German forces were evacuated off the ridge with German artillery batteries moved west of the Vimy–Bailleul railway embankment or to the Oppy–Méricourt line.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=315}} By nightfall of 10 April, the only Canadian objective not yet achieved was the capture of the Pimple.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007a|p=220}}

====12 April====
The 4th Canadian Division faced difficulties at the start of the battle that forced it to delay its assault on the Pimple until 12 April.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=262}} The Pimple was initially defended by the 16th Bavarian Infantry Division but the Canadian Corps' preliminary artillery bombardment leading up to the assault on 9 April caused heavy casualties amongst its ranks. On 11 April, the [[4th Guards Infantry Division (German Empire)|4th Guards Infantry Division]] first reinforced and then relieved affected 16th Bavarian Infantry Division units.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=315}} The night before the attack, artillery harassed German positions while a gas section of Royal Engineers, employing [[Livens Projector]]s, fired more than 40 drums of gas directly into the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle to cause confusion.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=262}} The defending German troops managed to drive back the initial Canadian assaults at around 4:00{{spaces|thin}}am using small arms fire.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=317}} The 10th Canadian Brigade attacked once again at 5:00{{spaces|thin}}am, this time supported by a significant amount of artillery and the 24th Division of I Corps to the north.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=262}} The German defensive artillery fire was late and too light to cause the assaulting troops great difficulty, allowing the Canadian Corps to exploit wide gaps and break into the German positions.{{sfn|Sheldon|2008|p=317}} The 10th Canadian Brigade, assisted by snow and a westerly wind, fought hastily entrained German troops to capture the entire Pimple by 6:00{{spaces|thin}}pm.{{sfn|Nicholson|1962|p=263}}