Editing Battle of Vimy Ridge (section)

==Aftermath==
[[File:German prisoners captured during Battle of Vimy Ridge.jpg|thumb|German soldiers captured during the battle.|alt=a large crowd of German soldiers walking along a small road under the supervision of soldiers wearing British equipment on horseback. Multiple houses can be seen in the background.]]
By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadian Corps was in firm control of the ridge, having suffered 10,602 casualties; 3,598 men had been killed and 7,004 wounded.{{sfn|Moran|2007|p=139}} The 6th Army casualties were not known at first in the disorganisation after the defeat. Later sources state around 20,000 casualties, German historians credit the high number of German casualties to Canadian and British artillery. Approximately 4,000 men were taken [[prisoners of war|prisoner]].<ref name="Gibbs">{{Citation |title=All of Vimy Ridge Cleared of Germans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/04/11/archives/all-of-vimy-ridge-cleared-of-germans-canadians-took-3000-prisoners.html |first=Philip |last=Gibbs |location=New York |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 April 1917 |access-date=2 February 2009 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213957/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/04/11/archives/all-of-vimy-ridge-cleared-of-germans-canadians-took-3000-prisoners.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The German Historical Service estimated that the 6th Army suffered 79,418 casualties during April and May 1917, 22,792 were classified as missing. Crown Prince Rupprecht estimated 85,000 casualties for the 6th Army, with 3,404 men taken prisoner at Vimy Ridge.{{sfn|Falls|1992|pp=341, 556–557}} Losses of the 79th Reserve Division from 1 to 11 April were 3,473 and in the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division 3,133. Casualties from the bombardment amongst reinforcements and {{lang|de|Eingreif}} divisions are additional.{{sfn|Falls|1992|p=341}}

Following the defeat, the chief of the [[German General Staff]], Field Marshal [[Paul von Hindenburg]], ordered {{lang|de|[[Oberste Heeresleitung]]}} (OHL, Supreme Army Command) to conduct a court of enquiry into the defensive collapse of the Arras sector. The court concluded that the 6th Army headquarters had disregarded reports from commanders in the front line noting a possible imminent attack and reserve units were too distant to counter-attack before the Canadians could consolidate. The court concluded that 6th Army commander General Ludwig von Falkenhausen failed to apply an [[elastic defence]] according to German defensive doctrine. Instead, the defensive system comprised strong points and lines of resistance, which the Allied artillery had isolated and destroyed. Hindenburg removed Falkenhausen from his command and transferred him to Belgium, where he served the remainder of the war as governor-general.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|pp=229–234}}

[[File:Byng inspects captured trench mortars at Vimy Ridge May 1917 LAC 3213518 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Lt.-Gen. Sir Julian Byng views equipment captured during the battle. The mortar in foreground is a [[24 cm schwerer LadungsWerfer Ehrhardt|24 cm LadungsWerfer Ehrhardt]].]]
The Germans did not see the capture of Vimy Ridge by the Canadian Corps as a loss. Contemporary German sources viewed the action, at worst, as a draw, given that no breakthrough occurred following the attack.{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|pp=233–234}} The Germans did not attempt to recapture the ridge, even during the [[German spring offensive|Spring Offensive]], and it remained under British control until the end of the war. The loss of Vimy Ridge forced the Germans to reassess their defensive strategy in the area. Instead of mounting a counterattack, they pursued a [[scorched earth]] policy and retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line.{{sfn|Bechthold|2007|p=240}} The failure of the French [[Nivelle Offensive]] in the week after the Arras Offensive placed pressure on Field Marshal [[Douglas Haig]] to keep the Germans occupied in the Arras sector to minimize French losses.{{sfn|Bechthold|2007|p=240}} The Canadian Corps participated in several of these actions including the [[Battle of Arleux]] and the Third Battle of the Scarpe in late April and early May 1917.{{sfn|Bechthold|2007|pp=239–264}} After the end of the war, Byng was raised to the [[peerage]] as Baron Byng of Vimy, of Thorpe-le-Soken in the County of Essex, on 7 October 1919.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31610|date=21 October 1919|page=12890}}</ref> The next month, he retired from the military.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31640|date=11 November 1919|page=13768|supp=y}}</ref>

===Awards===
====Victoria Cross====
Four members of the Canadian Corps received the [[Victoria Cross]], highest military award of the [[British honours system]] for their actions during the battle:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vimy-ridge/ |title=The Battle of Vimy Ridge |last=Foot |first=Richard |date=4 June 2017 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423093158/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vimy-ridge/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Private [[William Johnstone Milne]], [[16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish), CEF|16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion]]
* Lance-Sergeant [[Ellis Wellwood Sifton]], [[18th Battalion, CEF|18th (Western Ontario) Battalion]]
* Private [[John George Pattison]], [[50th Battalion, CEF|50th (Calgary) Battalion]]
* Captain [[Thain Wendell MacDowell]], [[38th Battalion, CEF|38th (Ottawa) Battalion]]

====Pour le Mérite====
At least two Orders [[Pour le Mérite]], the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]'s highest military order, were awarded to German commanders for their actions during the battle.
* [[Oberstleutnant]] Wilhelm von Goerne, commander of the 261st Prussian Reserve Infantry Regiment, of the [[79th Reserve Division (German Empire)|79th Reserve Division]].{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|p=233}}
* General of the Infantry Georg Karl Wichura commander of the [[VIII Reserve Corps (German Empire)|VIII Reserve Corps]] ({{lang|de|Gruppe Souchez}}).{{sfn|Godefroy|2007b|p=233}}