Canada comes of age
Earlier battles during the war had shown that in the heat of action it was very difficult for officers to effectively command more than a platoon (consisting of anywhere from 35 to 60 men and organized in four rifle sections). Moreover, the launching of wave after wave of closely packed soldiers against heavily defended enemy positions had resulted in causality rates which were unacceptably high, even by 1914-1918 standards. A further problem had been that the separation of riflemen from specialist soldiers, such as bombers and machine gunners, in an attack had made it impossible for proper support to be given to the attackers.
In preparing for Vimy, the Canadian Corps reorganized so that each platoon had rifle, rifle-grenade, bombing and Lewis gun (light machine gun) sections. These platoons were trained to move forward in loose formations, giving each other covering fire, rather than in massed ranks as before. This made it easier for the officers to command, and provide greater flexibility in responding to changing situations as the battle developed.
Vimy Ridge soldiers Preparing for battle
The Attack takes place
Follow up and fall out of the battle
Lest we forget
Lest we forget
