April 12, 1917: The Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial,

dedicated at the battlefield in 1936

April 12, 1917: The Battle of Vimy Ridge is won during World War I, at Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France. It is considered a landmark in the development of Canada as a nation on the world stage.

I will let a Canadian historian, James Fell, whose great-grandfather died in the battle, tell the story, in his profane but honest style:

Canada was officially born as a nation on July 1, 1867. But there are those who say we did not come of age as a country until this particular World War I battle that began on April 9, 1917. It was a defining moment for Canada when the country emerged from Britain's shadow and truly took its place in the world as its own entity.

The Canadians were seen as fresh meat for the grinder. In the previous two years the French had suffered 150,000 casualties in their vain efforts to take the strategically important ridge in Northern France from the Germans.

Knowing it was going to be a motherfucker of a task, the Canadians planned and practiced before just throwing more bodies at it. Under the command of British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng and Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie, they conducted meticulous rehearsals using models and maps of enemy strong points. Each soldier was given a specified role as either a rifleman, a machine-gunner, or a grenade thrower.

Julian Byng

The key to victory was the tactical use of artillery to protect the advancing soldiers. Prior to the attack, the artillery pounded the shit out of the Germans. On the day of the attack, artillery created a constant wall of advancing fire that the four divisions of Canadian soldiers followed close behind. Go too fast, get blown up by your own artillery. Go too slow, and the Germans would come up from cover and put high-caliber holes in parts of your body that aren't supposed to have holes in them. Timing was everything, hence all the practice.

Arthur Currie.

Not to be confused with Arthur Curry,

the comic book superhero Aquaman.

Many German positions were overrun by the Canadians on the first day of battle, and victory was attained on April 12. In addition to the 3,598 Canadian dead, another 7,000 were wounded. Canadian Brigadier-General A.E. Ross said of the victory, "I witnessed the birth of a nation."

Four Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military honor, for their courage in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The ridge remained under Allied control for the rest of the war, representing a pivotal moment in overall victory the following year. Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden used the battle as a symbol of Canadian unity to pressure Britain to change Canada's status from a colony to a dominion and member of the Commonwealth.

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In 1921, Julian Byng, 1st Baron Byng of Vimy, was named Governor-General of Canada by King George V. He held that post, as Canada's head of state -- or, rather, it's deputy head of state, representing the actual head of state, the British monarch -- until 1926, when a political confrontation with the head of government, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, made his position untenable. It became known as "The King-Byng Affair."

Julian Byng died in 1935. Today, when Lord Byng is remembered, it is mainly as the husband of Evelyn Byng. During her time in Canada, she became a fan of the sport of ice hockey, and the Byngs attended Ottawa Senators games together in the nation's capital. In 1925, Evelyn donated the Lady Byng Trophy, to be awarded to "the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." After her death in 1949, the NHL changed the trophy's name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

The other significant General, Sir Arthur Currie, a native of Napperton, Ontario, suffered a stroke in 1933, and died shortly thereafter. His funeral was said to be the largest in Montreal up to that point.

A monument was dedicated at the battlefield on July 26, 1936, by the man who was then in what turned out to be the middle of a brief tenure as Canada's head of state, King Edward VIII. He had previously visited Canada as the Prince of Wales, and pretty much anything in Canada named "Prince of Wales" (including the trophy for the Champions of the NHL's Eastern Conference) is named for either him or his grandfather, who became King Edward VII.

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April 12, 1917 was a Thursday. Helen Forrest, a popular singer of the 1940s, was born. And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 6-1 at the Polo Grounds. Dutch Leonard outpitched Bob Shawkey. Babe Ruth did not play, which was usually the case until 1918, not playing when he wasn't pitching.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 6-4 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) in Cincinnati. Fred Toney pitched a 3-hit shutout, and would pitch a 10-inning no-hitter against the Cubs 20 days later. Rogers Hornsby went 0-for-3.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Navin Field (later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Tris Speaker went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 at Weeghman Park (later renamed Cubs Park and Wrigley Field) in Chicago. Phil Douglas pitched a 4-hit shutout. Honus Wagner, in his last season, did not play in this game.

* The Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on May 6. The Browns swept, 8-4 and 3-0. Bob Groom pitched a no-hitter in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, George Sisler went 4-for-7, Eddie Collins went 2-for-7 with a walk and an RBI, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 1-for-6 with a walk. In spite of this sweep, the White Sox went on to win the World Series.

* And the Brooklyn Dodgers (or Robins, as they were known when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) and the Philadelphia Phillies were supposed to play at Ebbets Field, but the relatively new ballpark (1913) apparently had a lousy drainage system: According to Baseball-Reference.com both the April 12 game and the April 13 game were postponed due to not "rain," but "wet grounds." The April 12 game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 28. The Brooks won the opener, 5-3. The Phils won the nightcap, 1-0. Joe Oeschger pitched a 3-hit shutout.