The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military offensive of World War I by the Canadian Corps against elements of the German Sixth Army along the Western Front in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, from 9 April 1917 to 12 April 1917. The Canadian Corps attack on Vimy Ridge, an escarpment at the western edge of the Douai plain, was part of the opening phase of the Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. The objective of the Canadian Corps was to take control of the German-held high ground at the northernmost end of the advance to permit the southern flank of the Arras offensive to advance without suffering enfilade fire.Nicholson 245

Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured the majority of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The town of Thélus and, after overcoming considerable German resistance, the crest of the ridge fell during the second day. The final objective, a fortified knoll (the Pimple) outside the town of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadian Corps on 12 April after which point the German forces retreated to the Oppy-Méricourt line.

The success of the Canadian Corps in capturing the ridge is attributed to a mixture of technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support, and extensive training as well as the failure of the German Sixth Army to apply the defensive doctrine of elastic defence. Noted as the first occasion where all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in an action as a composite formation, the battle quickly became a Canadian nationalistic symbol of achievement and sacrifice. A portion of the former battleground now serves as a preserved memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.