The Digital Man
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- Nov 21, 2014
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Happy belated birthday DP, hope it was a good day sir.
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Welcome Back to Digital Pinball Fans - please read this first
Historical Fact Of The Day
- Thread starter Dedpop
- Start date
Happy belated birthday DP, hope it was a good day sir.
Kolchak357
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- May 31, 2012
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Happy bday DP! Hope you had a great one.
Silverball67
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- Jan 1, 2015
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Hope you had a great day, dear Sir Dedpop!
ZREXMike
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- Jul 30, 2015
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The Battle of Vimy Ridge 9-12 April 1917
The Battle
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded. This is a high and tragic number, but it must be compared with the 200,000 Canadian, British, French and German dead who lie buried on the ridge from earlier, unsuccessful attacks. And the Canadians alone lost 24,000 killed or wounded on the Somme the previous year.
This Battle is by far the most important military event in my countries short history, a time when Canada came of age and from under the arms of mother England. This weekend tens of thousands of people from many nations will descend upon Vimy Ridge to remember those young men that made the ultimate sacrifice in the War to End All Wars.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
To capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and new maps crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the front. Despite this training and preparation, the key to victory would be a devastating artillery barrage that would not only isolate enemy trenches, but provide a moving wall of high explosives and shrapnel to force the Germans to stay in their deep dugouts and away from their machine-guns. "Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated," warned Canadian Corps commander Sir Julian Byng.
"In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation."
BGen A.E. Ross
In the week leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery pounded the enemy positions on the ridge, killing and tormenting defenders. New artillery tactics allowed the gunners to first target, then destroy enemy positions. A nearly limitless supply of artillery shells and the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in ground, facilitated the destruction of hardened defences and barbed wire. The Canadian infantry would be well supported when it went into battle with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive fire.
Attacking together for the first time, the four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans all along the front. Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the infantry to continue moving forward under heavy fire, even when their officers were killed.
There were countless acts of sacrifice, as Canadians single-handedly charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. Hill 145, the highest and most important feature of the Ridge, and where the Vimy monument now stands, was captured in a frontal bayonet charge against machine-gun positions. Three more days of costly battle delivered final victory. The Canadian operation was an important success, even if the larger British and French offensive, of which it had been a part, had failed. But it was victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded.
The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time all four Canadian divisions attacked together: men from all regions of Canada were present at the battle. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation."
Vimy became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. In 1922, the French government ceded to Canada in perpetuity Vimy Ridge, and the land surrounding it. The gleaming white marble and haunting sculptures of the Vimy Memorial, unveiled in 1936, stand as a terrible and poignant reminder of the more than sixty thousand Canadians who died serving their country during the First World War.
The Memorial
The Memorial's two towering pylons and twice life-sized figures are built and carved from limestone brought from a quarry in Yugoslavia. It took eleven years to build the memorial and carve the figures in situ, individual "studios" being constructed around the stone blocks which were to form each group. The Memorial's designer was the Canadian sculptor and architect, Walter Seymour Allward. Standing on Hill 145, the highest point of the the 14 kilometre-long Vimy Ridge, the Memorial overlooks the battlefield to the West, still pock-marked by countless shell-holes and mine-craters. The battlefield is still a dangerous place, and there are many signs warning visitors not to stray from the marked paths - there is still a very real danger from unexploded munitions under the ground.
Carved on the walls of the Memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadians missing in France from the Great War, and who have no known graves. (There are a further 6,994 names of Missing Canadians in Belgium, carved on the walls of the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, in Ypres, Belgium.) Within a 16-kilometre radius of the Memorial, over 7,000 Canadians are buried in 30 War Cemeteries. In all, 66,665 Canadians died in the Great War, either in battle or, later, dying of wounds received.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hitler Ordered SS to protect and preserve Vimy Monument in WWII
When Hitler's armies were advancing across France in 1940, the Canadian government put out a story that German troops were damaging the memorial at Vimy Ridge.
Walter Allward's soaring monument had been unveiled only a short time before, in 1936, the only official ceremony (except for abdication) in the short reign of Edward VIII. A popular postage stamp was widely in circulation, so Canadians were thoroughly familiar with Vimy Ridge, and they were outraged. There was someone else who was outraged by this story; his name was Adolf Hitler.
The monument at Vimy Ridge was Hitler's favourite memorial from World War I, because it is a monument to peace, not a celebration of war. There are no carved guns at Vimy Ridge, no helmeted soldiers, no stacks of cannonballs. Instead, the figures are of Canada grieving for her lost sons.
Hitler went to Vimy Ridge on June 2, 1940, called in the world's press as best he could and insisted they take his picture on the unscathed steps. He then assigned special troops from the Waffen-SS to guard Vimy Ridge.
The SS had a vicious reputation – they were Hitler's personal army, they guarded him. And it was also their job to protect Vimy Ridge, not only from Allied armies but also from regular Wehrmacht soldiers who, rather understandably, might want to deface it. No one would defy the SS.
Hitler's plan was a great success. All the Australian war graves in France from World War I were destroyed in World War II. But the cemetery beside Vimy Ridge and the memorial itself remained untouched because the Waffen-SS did its job.
The Vimy memorial stands there today, ready for this week's ceremonies, mainly because the government of Canada has invested a great deal of money in repairing it.
But the Vimy memorial is there at all because it was saved by its most infamous fan, Adolf Hitler.
The Battle
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded. This is a high and tragic number, but it must be compared with the 200,000 Canadian, British, French and German dead who lie buried on the ridge from earlier, unsuccessful attacks. And the Canadians alone lost 24,000 killed or wounded on the Somme the previous year.
This Battle is by far the most important military event in my countries short history, a time when Canada came of age and from under the arms of mother England. This weekend tens of thousands of people from many nations will descend upon Vimy Ridge to remember those young men that made the ultimate sacrifice in the War to End All Wars.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
To capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and new maps crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the front. Despite this training and preparation, the key to victory would be a devastating artillery barrage that would not only isolate enemy trenches, but provide a moving wall of high explosives and shrapnel to force the Germans to stay in their deep dugouts and away from their machine-guns. "Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated," warned Canadian Corps commander Sir Julian Byng.
"In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation."
BGen A.E. Ross
In the week leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery pounded the enemy positions on the ridge, killing and tormenting defenders. New artillery tactics allowed the gunners to first target, then destroy enemy positions. A nearly limitless supply of artillery shells and the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in ground, facilitated the destruction of hardened defences and barbed wire. The Canadian infantry would be well supported when it went into battle with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive fire.
Attacking together for the first time, the four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans all along the front. Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the infantry to continue moving forward under heavy fire, even when their officers were killed.
There were countless acts of sacrifice, as Canadians single-handedly charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. Hill 145, the highest and most important feature of the Ridge, and where the Vimy monument now stands, was captured in a frontal bayonet charge against machine-gun positions. Three more days of costly battle delivered final victory. The Canadian operation was an important success, even if the larger British and French offensive, of which it had been a part, had failed. But it was victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded.
The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time all four Canadian divisions attacked together: men from all regions of Canada were present at the battle. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation."
Vimy became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. In 1922, the French government ceded to Canada in perpetuity Vimy Ridge, and the land surrounding it. The gleaming white marble and haunting sculptures of the Vimy Memorial, unveiled in 1936, stand as a terrible and poignant reminder of the more than sixty thousand Canadians who died serving their country during the First World War.
The Memorial
The Memorial's two towering pylons and twice life-sized figures are built and carved from limestone brought from a quarry in Yugoslavia. It took eleven years to build the memorial and carve the figures in situ, individual "studios" being constructed around the stone blocks which were to form each group. The Memorial's designer was the Canadian sculptor and architect, Walter Seymour Allward. Standing on Hill 145, the highest point of the the 14 kilometre-long Vimy Ridge, the Memorial overlooks the battlefield to the West, still pock-marked by countless shell-holes and mine-craters. The battlefield is still a dangerous place, and there are many signs warning visitors not to stray from the marked paths - there is still a very real danger from unexploded munitions under the ground.
Carved on the walls of the Memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadians missing in France from the Great War, and who have no known graves. (There are a further 6,994 names of Missing Canadians in Belgium, carved on the walls of the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, in Ypres, Belgium.) Within a 16-kilometre radius of the Memorial, over 7,000 Canadians are buried in 30 War Cemeteries. In all, 66,665 Canadians died in the Great War, either in battle or, later, dying of wounds received.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hitler Ordered SS to protect and preserve Vimy Monument in WWII
When Hitler's armies were advancing across France in 1940, the Canadian government put out a story that German troops were damaging the memorial at Vimy Ridge.
Walter Allward's soaring monument had been unveiled only a short time before, in 1936, the only official ceremony (except for abdication) in the short reign of Edward VIII. A popular postage stamp was widely in circulation, so Canadians were thoroughly familiar with Vimy Ridge, and they were outraged. There was someone else who was outraged by this story; his name was Adolf Hitler.
The monument at Vimy Ridge was Hitler's favourite memorial from World War I, because it is a monument to peace, not a celebration of war. There are no carved guns at Vimy Ridge, no helmeted soldiers, no stacks of cannonballs. Instead, the figures are of Canada grieving for her lost sons.
Hitler went to Vimy Ridge on June 2, 1940, called in the world's press as best he could and insisted they take his picture on the unscathed steps. He then assigned special troops from the Waffen-SS to guard Vimy Ridge.
The SS had a vicious reputation – they were Hitler's personal army, they guarded him. And it was also their job to protect Vimy Ridge, not only from Allied armies but also from regular Wehrmacht soldiers who, rather understandably, might want to deface it. No one would defy the SS.
Hitler's plan was a great success. All the Australian war graves in France from World War I were destroyed in World War II. But the cemetery beside Vimy Ridge and the memorial itself remained untouched because the Waffen-SS did its job.
The Vimy memorial stands there today, ready for this week's ceremonies, mainly because the government of Canada has invested a great deal of money in repairing it.
But the Vimy memorial is there at all because it was saved by its most infamous fan, Adolf Hitler.
Naildriver74
Active member
- Aug 2, 2013
- 2,189
- 0
Today Bob Dylan turns 75. What a gift we all were given.