Battle for Vimy Ridge: 1917

In a new departure in the Battleground Europe series, this book is a guide to both sides of a major battle – in this case to the Canadian Corps operations against 1st Bavarian Reserve Corps at Vimy from 9 – 12 April 1917, which formed part of the opening of the British offensive, known as the Battle of Arras.

Historically, the capture of Vimy Ridge was an event far more significant than its undoubted military importance alone. Here for the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Corps were deployed in line together in one offensive; and although the Corps went to fight even greater battles, Vimy marked a key point in the emergence of Canada as a fully sovereign nation.

Although the Canadian side of the story has been well chronicled by a number of writers, until now there has been little concerning the defense during this great battle. Now, the accounts of the German soldiers and their commanders are combined with those of the Canadians and British deployed on the other side of No Man’s Land – and not simply those who fought above ground, but tunnelers also.

Nigel Cave is the founder editor of the Battleground Europe series; his association with the Company goes back some thirty years.

Educated at Inverness Royal Academy, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Universities of Lancaster and Westminster, Jack Sheldon completed a thirty-five year career as a member of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

In 1982 he graduated from the German General Staff course at the Führungsakademie, Hamburg and went on to fill international staff appointments and to command an infantry training battalion. His final post before retirement in 2003 was as Military Attaché Berlin.

He now lives in France and has rapidly established himself as an expert in German First World War history. He was an honorary researcher for the Thiepval Visitor Centre Project, is a member of the British Commission for Military History and is the author of the highly acclaimed The German Army on the Somme 1914 – 1916, The German Army at Passchendaele and a number of Battleground Europe titles.