Vimy Ridge : a Canadian reassessment / edited by Geoffrey Hayes, Andrew Iarocci, Mike Bechthold.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hayes, Geoffrey, 1961-

Bechthold, Michael, 1968-

Iarocci, Andrew, 1976-

Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vimy Ridge, Battle of, France, 1917.

World War, 1914-1918--Canada.

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--France.

Monument commémoratif du Canada à Vimy (Pas-de-Calais, France).

Canada. Canadian Army. Canadian Corps--History.

Canada.

Canada. Canadian Army--History--World War, 1914-1918.

Physical Description:

xiv, 353 p. : ill., maps, ports.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Waterloo, Ont. : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, c2007.

Summary:

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. Co-published with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: The Strategic Background

1. Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Arras: A British Perspective

2. The End of the Beginning: The Canadian Corps in 1917

3. Vimy Ridge: The Battlefield before the Canadians, 1914-1916

Part II: The Battle for Vimy Ridge, 9-12 April 1917

4. "Old Wine in New Bottles": A Comparison of British and Canadian Preparations for the Battle of Arras

5. Julian Byng and Leadership in the Canadian Corps

6. The Gunners at Vimy: "We are Hammering Fritz to Pieces

7. The Sappers of Vimy: Specialized Support for the Assault of 9 April 1917

8. The Canadian Army Medical Corps at Vimy Ridge

9. The 1st Canadian Division: An Operational Mosaic

10. The 2nd Canadian Division: A "Most Spectacular Battle

11. The 3rd Canadian Division: Forgotten Victory

12. The 4th Canadian Division: "Trenches Should Never be Saved

13. The German Army at Vimy Ridge

14. In the Shadow of Vimy Ridge: The Canadian Corps in April and May 1917

Part III: Aftermath and Memory

15. Battle Verse: Poetry and Nationalism after Vimy Ridge

16. "After the Agony in Stony Places": The Meaning and Significance of the Vimy Monument

17. Safeguarding Sanctity: Canada and the Vimy Memorial during the Second World War

18. Afterthoughts

Appendices

1. Order of Battle - Vimy Ridge

2. Lest We Forget: The Men of Vimy Ridge

Selected Bibliography

Contributors

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z.

Notes:

"Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies"--Cover, p. [4].

Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-337) and index.

ISBN:

1-55458-697-6

OCLC:

646788720