The Great War is now a century away, but the anniversaries continue to roll on, from the outbreak of hostilities through to the battles on land and sea and those event on the Home Front that marked the growing transformation of a country engaged in “total war.”
And it is easy to become absorbed in the British dimension ignoring the experiences of our allies and even our enemies.
Verdun after all was truly a tragedy for many who had sons fighting in German field grey or under the French tricolour and while we quite rightly remember the sacrifice of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Gallipoli Campaign there were huge losses sustained by the Ottoman Empire.
So with all that in mind I want today to remember the Battle of Vimy Ridge which took place between April 9 and 12 in 1917 and was fought by the four divisions of the Canadian Corps against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The corps suffered 10,602 casualties with 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded.
The German Sixth Army suffered an unknown number of casualties with approximately 4,000 men becoming prisoners of war.
To mark that event and in particular to honour those Canadian’s who were sent from Britain as child migrants, this month’s edition of British Home Children is devoted to their story.*
You can read it by following this link
Location France, Canada Britain
Picture; cover of The Battle of Vimy Ridge, British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association
* British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association, http://www.britishhomechildren.com/
**The Battle of Vimy Ridge, British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association, http://media.wix.com/ugd/186d15_50edaeee745d400f94ade0a159ed6890.pdf
Verdun after all was truly a tragedy for many who had sons fighting in German field grey or under the French tricolour and while we quite rightly remember the sacrifice of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Gallipoli Campaign there were huge losses sustained by the Ottoman Empire.
So with all that in mind I want today to remember the Battle of Vimy Ridge which took place between April 9 and 12 in 1917 and was fought by the four divisions of the Canadian Corps against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The corps suffered 10,602 casualties with 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded.
The German Sixth Army suffered an unknown number of casualties with approximately 4,000 men becoming prisoners of war.
To mark that event and in particular to honour those Canadian’s who were sent from Britain as child migrants, this month’s edition of British Home Children is devoted to their story.*
You can read it by following this link
Location France, Canada Britain
Picture; cover of The Battle of Vimy Ridge, British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association
* British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association, http://www.britishhomechildren.com/
**The Battle of Vimy Ridge, British Home Children, Advocacy & Research Association, http://media.wix.com/ugd/186d15_50edaeee745d400f94ade0a159ed6890.pdf
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