One hundred years ago, on the morning of April 9, 1917 some 15,000 Canadian troops opened fire on German positions at Vimy Ridge in northern France. Over four days of bloody fighting, the Canadians had overrun Vimy Ridge at the cost of more than 10,600 killed and wounded. The Canadians had succeeded where British and French troops had failed in almost three years of fighting in the so-called Great War. (As for the US, America entered the war only a few days earlier, when Congress ratified Woodrow Wilson's declaration of war against Germany.) The victory at Vimy was a defining event for Canada, considered by many to be a significant event in Canada’s progress to full independence from Britain that began with Confederation in 1867. For the first time, Canadians fought as Canadians and died for their fellow citizens in Canada, not for Britain or the "Empire". Even though the British High Command considered Canadian troops little more than expendable cannon fodder, those who served at Vimy considered themselves something more than colonial detachments from the UK fighting for the glory of the mighty British Empire. Over the past century, Vimy Ridge has become to Canadians what Gallipoli is to Australians and New Zealanders, i.e. an integral part of the national identity.
Patria does not glorify war, particularly a war as fratricidal and pointless as the First World War in which 18th century battlefield tactics met 20th century technology. Nonetheless, to recognize Patria's special relationship with Canada and to commemorate this defining moment in Canadian history as a truly independent country - on a par with Canadian citizenship being recognized as distinct from being a British Subject (1947), the adoption of the new flag (1964-65) and repatriation of the Constitution (1982) - Patria Post has issued a commemorative stamp (pictured above). The stamp depicts a painting of the battle, from a collection of First World War artwork displayed at the Canadian War Museum.
For all those who gave their lives at Vimy Ridge, and those who returned home with missing limbs and/or a lifetime of PTSD, in the muddy trenches from August 1914 to 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918, let us say lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. Lest we forget. N'oublions jamais. Nijí bhulámi.
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| Such a stupid, needless war. All over the assassination of a lousy Archduke. |
