1. Vimy Ridge Canada’s Impossible Mission

2. New Weapons of World War 1
Machine Gun
Accounted for most casualties in WW1
Steadily refined and improved
Hundreds of rounds per minute

3. New Weapons of World War 1
Tanks
Developed by Britain
Used to crush barbed wire and cross No-Man’s-Land
Protect troops
Underpowered and hard to turn
Often stuck in the mud

4. New Weapons of World War 1
Artillery and Field Guns
Fired shells filled with explosives and shrapnel (metal balls or fragments)
“Big Bertha”
Could fire at targets 120km away
Mounted on railcars

5. New Weapons of World War 1
Aircraft
Used for reconnaissance (information gathering)
Later armed with machine guns for attack

6. New Weapons of World War 1
Poison Gas
Used by both sides by 1917
Chlorine Gas
Burns lungs and eyes
Mustard Gas
Creates huge skin blisters
Phosgene Gas
Invisible – causes suffocation

7. Vimy Ridge What we know so far …
The ridge was a strong point of German defenses in Northern Europe
Provided an unrestricted view of Allied positions
Considered impregnable
Strong fortifications along the ridge
Underground chambers inside the ridge
212 artillery positions behind the ridge

8. Vimy Ridge What we know so far …
Between 1914 – 1916, the French and English launched three unsuccessful attacks
Cost 150,000 Allied troops
Artillery failure
Troops in underground shelters
No Man’s Land was more treacherous
Poison gas failure
Tank failure
Mechanical problems, lots of mud in No Man’s Land

9. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Canadian Front Lines

10. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Allied Trench fortifications facing Vimy Ridge

11. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Protection for our snipers …

12. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
A view of the terrain at Vimy (but, in 1917, this was muddy and filled with hazardous materials)

13. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos

14. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
German trenches at the top of the ridge … with a view DOWN onto the battlefield

15. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
A German machinegun pillbox (the Ridge is littered with these)

16. Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos

17. Operation: Take that Ridge
Working alongside Canadian General Arthur Currie, you and your squad are to plan for the successful destruction or the German fortifications of Vimy Ridge …
You are to plan your attack based on our reconnaissance of the German defenses and the terrain.
Remember, the British and French failed on three different occasions. Let’s show the world what Canadians can do!