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Vimy Ridge

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Vimy Ridge: From Colony to Nation

One of the many brave and selfless Canadian soldiers who fought in the historical battle of Vimy Ridge perfectly stated, “[t]hey fought as Canadians and those who returned brought back with them a pride of nationhood that they had not known before.” War does not only change a single, individual person, but a country as a whole. The battle of Vimy Ridge changed Canada from a colony to a nation in many important ways, allowing Canada’s reputation around the world to become more independent, strong, and connected as a country. When Canada defeated the Germans at the battle of Vimy Ridge, the world saw us as a more independent country. The battle showed that we did not need Britain, and surprisingly, we ended up “emerging from the shadow.” For many years and through many battles, we depended on Britain and their guidance; however, Vimy was different. We came up with our own plan of action. We gathered strong, Canadian troops and generals, trained them properly so that everyone knew their own job, built our own trenches and brought our own artillery. The great Canadian Commander of the Canadian Corps by the name of Sir Arthur William Currie wanted and effectively tried to keep the Canadian troops separate from the British troops. These were all acts of Canadian independence. Our nation truly showed that we could fight and win against a very strong enemy and without our motherland helping us. Furthermore, during the battle, it was all Canadian soldiers, from one side to the next. It showed our Canadian independence because we did not have any troops from Britain. Canada showed the world that we were an independent nation because of this brave battle, in which we fought under our own leadership. Not only were we proving that we were an independent nation who would not take orders from anybody else, we were also demonstrating that we

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