There’s this woman I work with. She immigrated to Canada many years ago, when she was in (I think) high school. Anyway, we regularly talk books, and when I mentioned this one, she had no idea what the battle of Vimy Ridge was. This surprised and saddened me, as it’s such an important part of Canadian history. Anyway, since someone who lives in Canada doesn’t know about it, most of you people who aren’t Canadians reading my blog probably don’t know about it either.

So, in brief, the battle of Vimy Ridge was a part of the Battle of Arras in WWI. It took place over four days, starting on April 9, 1917. When the British and French could not take Vimy Ridge from the Germans, they decided the Canadians should give it a try. No one believed the Canadians could do it, but somehow they managed to – and of course surprised the rest of the world when they did so. Before this, the Canadian army was basically looked on as a joke – undisciplined, unruly, and unexperienced in war. But during those four days those who fought became a very important part of Canadian history, and helped to really form Canada as a nation, both in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of Canadians themselves:

What counts is that in the minds of Canadians Vimy took on a mythic quality … and Canada was short of myths. There is something a little desperate – a little wistful – in the commentaries of the twenties and the thirties and even later, in which Canadians assured one another over and over again that at Vimy, Canada had at last found its maturity.

So while the Canadians back home, as well as the Canadians involved in the battle (those that survived, that is), considered this a HUGE victory for the nation at home, it definitely wasn’t without sacrifices. Just on the Canadian side, there were over 3500 deaths in that specific battle. It’s unknown how many died on the German side. Plus all those who were wounded. And all those who died in preparation for this battle – over 9500 Canadians in the months preparing for the battle – from snipers, trench raids, etc.

So, that, in a nutshell, is the battle of Vimy Ridge. Of course, Berton goes much more in depth – including how the Canadians ended up with their own army (instead of becoming a part of the British army), all of the preparations for the April 9th battle, a large number of first-hand experiences from the people involved, the aftermath of the battle, and how it affected the Canadian nation.

There were parts of this book that made me cry and there were parts that made me sick to my stomach… it’s one thing to read a fictional account of the war, or to see a movie. It hits home a little more when you know you’re reading a non-fictional book, when it has facts and figures thrown in with accounts from real people who were actually there to see and experience it. There are a couple of visuals that will stay with me for a long time to come. It was very intense, and I found that I could not sit down and read a lot of this book at one point in time. Needed some time to breath in between.

But it was very good. I’ve never read any Berton before; I’m a little disappointed in myself in that respect, as he makes history so … readable. And I’ll definitely be reading more of his history books in the future, especially as I’ve only ever heard good things about his books. I’m so happy I started with this one though. Vimy still maintains this importance to me, and helps to define the Canadian identity. As Berton wrote,

Vimy stood for more than a battle won; it also stood for Canadian ingenuity, Canadian dash and daring, Canadian enterprise…

I hate traveling, but Vimy is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go. I long to see that place where such an important part of Canadian history took place. No doubt when I finally get around to going there, it will have so much more meaning to me now.

Bottom Line: Definitely not a dull or dry read, Vimy was so informative and made it so much more human than it could have been. It made a war that occurred almost a century ago come a little bit to life. I’d highly recommend this, especially to fellow Canucks who want to learn a little more about the history of their country.