Battle of Vimy Ridge remembered after 100 years at Fort York

CTV Toronto: Vimy Ridge remembered A ceremony was held at Fort York on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Miranda Anthistle reports.

Hundreds gathered for a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge at Fort York National Historic Site this afternoon.

More than 10,000 Canadian troops were killed or wounded in the fight against the Germans in northern France. The victory, set against the backdrop of the First World War in April 1917, put Canadians on the map as a powerful force and set them apart from Britain.

"The pride I have in wearing the same uniform they wore and being a comrade, although a hundred years apart, makes me feel really good," Lieutenant-Colonel Ryan Smid told CTV News Toronto on Sunday.

Dana McKiel is a descendant of Vimy Ridge soldiers. His uncles’ names are etched in the memorial in France.

“They had to deal with a lot. They had to deal with the obstacles. They had to deal with not knowing if they were ever coming back,” he said.

The victory of Vimy Ridge was a “watershed moment,” according to Fort York program development officer Kevin Hebib.

“That was the first time that four Canadian divisions…had actually fought together as a group.”

“The reason we’re commemorating this of course is that Canadian innovation and Canadian planning under the direction of the British Army allowed a war that had slowed down and stopped to get mobile and push back a very, very well dug-in opponent.

War reenactor Craig Williams said he is able to better understand what soldiers went through during the First World War by putting on a uniform and walking “where they walked.”

“We actually go to a place where they have trenches dug. We live in trenches for 24 hours at a time. Once you get into that situation of experiential history you actually start to realize why they did things a certain way,” he said.

“You can read all you want, but you’re not going to get any kind of a feeling…And even then we’re only getting a very light feeling of what they went through.”

Unlike what many people think, Williams added, soldiers were not only young men.

“Yes, there were young men there, but there were also older men there. And so, I think it’s also important for people to know, these guys were soldiers, yes, but they were also teachers and bakers and truck drivers and just regular people who decided that this is what they needed to do.”

The Canadian Armed Forces led a military remembrance parade and commemorative service later Sunday afternoon. A Vimy oak tree was planted at the Garrison Common.

“Canadians have a great deal to be proud of,” said Hebib, “and also a great deal to reflect upon today on this national day of remembrance.”

Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne spoke at Fort York on Sunday as well.

“The four divisions of the Canadian core fighting together in formation for the very first time managed to capture more ground, prisoners, artillery than any other previous offensive of that great war,” Tory said.

Dignitaries from England and France were in attendance, calling the actions of Canada an "Easter gift to France."

"It was a gift in the sense they succeeded where we failed and also a gift because they gave their life for doing that,” said the Consul General of France, Marc Trouyet at a separate memorial near Old City Hall on Sunday afternoon.

McKiel urged Canadians to remember the soldiers who fought at Vimy Ridge.

"Don't forget the actions taken by Canadian Forces,” he said.