Editing Battle of Vimy Ridge (section)

====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}}