vimy ridge canada’s impossible mission. new weapons of world war 1 machine gun accounted for most...
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Vimy RidgeCanada’s Impossible Mission
New Weapons of World War 1
Machine Gun• Accounted for most
casualties in WW1• Steadily refined and
improved• Hundreds of rounds per
minute
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
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
New Weapons of World War 1
Aircraft• Used for
reconnaissance (information gathering)
• Later armed with machine guns for attack
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
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
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
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Canadian Front Lines
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Allied Trench fortifications facing Vimy Ridge
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Protection for our snipers …
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
A view of the terrain at Vimy (but, in 1917, this was muddy and filled with hazardous materials)
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance
Photos
German trenches at the top of the ridge … with a view DOWN onto the battlefield
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
A German machinegun pillbox (the Ridge is littered with these)
Vimy Ridge – Reconnaissance Photos
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!
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