WWI: How a Map Defeated the Germans at Vimy Ridge
In this video, we go over the strategy, tactics, and outcome of the famous World War One battle fought in 1917 at Vimy Ridge in France by the Canadian Corps. The battle was an outstanding example of using complex artillery barrage tactics in coordination with soldier training to successfully take over a German position in trench warfare. The Canadians won the day, although not without much loss of life and major complications, and the victory at Vimy Ridge stands as one of the few cases of territory gained in the attrition of World War One.
This video focuses on the role of the Barrage Map, a map that was used in the planning and execution of the battle, and which outlined the "Rolling Barrage" or "Creeping Barrage", a tactic that saw precise artillery use at the same time as infantry movements to sweep over trenches in quick timelines. The map contains a lot of interesting information on how the battle progressed, the speed of the maneuvers, the training required, and even the layout of the battlefield. It serves as a window into the reality of the battle and the way the men were trained and carried out their deadly work.
This video is made to honour those who served, fought, and died in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other battles in World War One, as part of Remembrance Day in Canada, November 11. This is an important battle in the history of Canada as a nation, and has served as an important part of every Canadian child's education for decades. We take these pieces of the past and look at them carefully, lest we forget.
My goal with this series is to explore the amazing maps that humanity has created over the span of human history, and to use these as ways to connect with our ancestors. I hope you enjoy going on this journey with me, and please let me know if you like this format and if you want to see more videos.
A huge thanks to everyone that helped to contribute to this video and whose works are featured here, including:
Images and Art
Canadian Archives (https://recherche-collection-search.b...)
NFB footage (watermarked)
• Vimy Ridge Canadian War Memorial (Vim...
Alex Colville
Barrage Map (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...)
And many more.
Audio
Legionnaire by Scott Buckley (https://breakingcopyright.com/song/sc..., at Breaking Copyright
Debussy, Claire de Lune ( • Claude Debussy - Clair de Lune | Roya... ) and La fille aux cheveux du lin (https://musopen.org/music/4509-prelud...)
I Love You Canada ( • I Love You Canada - Canadian Patrioti... )
Frederick Wheeler, Keep the Home Fires Burning
Frederick Wheeler, We'll Never Let the Old Flag Fall
Realistic WW1 battle sounds ( • Realistic WW1 battle sounds (creeping... )
Research
Correspondence with Nathan Kehler (Canadian Research and Mapping Association)
Tim Cook, Vimy: The Battle and the Legend
Pierre Burton, Vimy
Vimy Ridge timelines (https://bartlettr.github.io/VimyRidge/)
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_..., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage..., etc)
And many more.
A nod to Great Art Explained ( / @greatartexplained ) for helping me come up with the idea for this series.
And of course, thanks to all the many hands along the course of history that created and shared such works, so we can all learn more from the past.
Love,
Victor
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All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
00:00 - 00:47 The Roaring Barrage
00:48 - 02:00 The Barrage Map
02:01 - 03:05 The State of the War in 1917
03:06 - 04:08 Vimy Ridge and The Canadian Corps
04:09 - 04:55 The German Defenses
04:56 - 07:32 Planning Vimy Ridge
07:33 - 08:55 The Creeping Barrage Explained
08:56 - 12:15 Training for Zero Hour
12:16 - 16:40 Analyzing the Barrage Map
16:41 - 18:43 The Week of Suffering
18:44 - 24:35 The Battle of Vimy Ridge
24:36 - 27:07 The Legacy of Vimy Ridge
#war #map #canada #wwi #guns #history
