Vimy Ridge Day 2013
- Thread starter BadgerDog
- Start date
No different than the Battle of The Somme, it is hardly mentioned and overshadowed by Canada Day. A few years ago, they had a ceremony for Vimy Ridge Day in my town. Was not too pleased. Too much "look at how much better Canadians were than the Brits, French, and Germans!" Rather disrespectful to all the boys that died on both sides.
You made me realize something about my post "Unfathomable success after repeated British and French failures." My point was to draw attention to the "insurmountable deed" of Canadians, reinforced by the fact the Brits and French thought it so impossible that no one was ready to followup on the Canadian success and push ahead.
It was not in any way to diminish the sacrifices of any one participant. Honor is honor regardless the warrior's colors.
The father of our museum's curator was there, with the 23rd. Northumberland Fusiliers, before the Canadians came. He stated in his diary that in some places, the enemy trenches were only a few yards from theirs. He also says that there were French bones and equipment lying about everywhere.
I don't think there's any disrespect in expressing a sense of pride for the work done by our ancestors in that particular battle. It was indeed a gargantuan feat.
But, it is also important to maintain a balanced history of the events. Our ancestors took that hill by being more ruthless than anyone else on that field. They had that reputation.
I'm not sure I agree with the concept of honour in this case. The entire conflict was over imperial honour. The history proves that by this point of the war the Canadian Corps had shed all pretense of fighting for the Empire. I personally believe they were fierce fighters because they truly believed they were already dead. They were simply going to take as many "Bosche" with them as possible. Those men who did return home were tormented the rest of their lives due to the extent they allowed their humanity to lapse. That's what it takes to win a great war. Horrifying.
