During the night of April 8-9 the waves of attackers moved into their forward assembly positions. At exactly 5:30 am, every Canadian artillery piece opened fire. Canadian cannons laid down a creeping barrage to shield the troops as they advanced while other guns hammered German defences further back.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, a painting by Richard Jack. Canadian War Museum

The attacks by the 3rd, 2nd and 1st Divisions were tremendously successful. The creeping barrage kept the Germans pinned in underground bunkers, while first wave of attackers used tunnels to pop up right in front of the German lines. Many German soldiers were captured while still in their dugouts and the first two German trench lines were taken quickly. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions reported reaching and capturing their first objective, the Black Line, by 6:25 am. Shortly after 7:00 am, the 1st Canadian Division and 2nd Divisions reached the Red Line, their second objective. The 3rd Canadian Division reached their Red Line objective by 7:30 am.

The only portion of the Canadian assault that did not go as planned was the advance of the 4th Division. Here, the commanding battalion officer hoped to leave the German trenches intact so they could be used as a defense against German counter-attacks. As a result the German defences were not damaged or destroyed by artillery bombardments. Machine-gun nests in the undamaged German line and harassing fire from the "Pimple" pinned down, wounded or killed much of the 4th Division. Persistent attacks from Canadian reserve units eventually forced the German troops on the southern slope of Hill 145 to withdraw.

On the second day of the attack, British reserve battalions "leap frogged" passed the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions to attack the third and fourth German trench lines. The element of surprise was gone and casualties for the attackers were higher than on the first day. Despite this, by 11:00 am, the Blue Line, including Hill 135 and the town of Thélus, had been taken. At 2:00 pm the Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions secured their final objective, the Brown Line. It took until April 12 for the 10th Canadian Battalion to drive all the defenders off of Hill 145 and the Pimple.

The attack on Vimy Ridge was not perfect. The Canadians suffered over 10,500 casualties, including: 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded. Planning mistakes on the attack on Hill 145 and the Pimple accounted for the greatest casualties. The victory received huge publicity in Britain - primarily because the rest of the Britsh and French attacks at the same time had failed badly. For Canadians it was a moment of great pride and satisfaction. The Canadians had planned and executed the most technically complex and near-perfect attack of the war. They had succeeded where Britsh and French armies had failed and they had shown the Germans how a modern battle should be fought - and won!

"The Battle of Vimy Ridge", Canada's History, 2:03 min.