Customer Reviews

Vimy (Pen & Sword Military Classics)

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although this book is long it does go into detail about what the conditions were like at Vimy Ridge but also in to the people (such as Gen. J. Byng).

99% of my class enjoyed reading this book. It was very hard to put the book down as got further into the book. It was well writen and the information is great for people entering high school.

I would recomend this book to anyone who would like to know more about WWI and the strugles the people had..due to the fact that it focus in on the CANADIAN heritage. It is well writen because Pierre Burton did a lot of research..

It just so happens that I've finished reading this book today, exactly 85 years after the very battle it describes. The Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9th, 1917.
On that chilly morning the inexperienced Canadian Corps (including one British brigade) were expected to accomplish what the British and French had failed to do in two years: namely, to dislodge the Germans from their impenetrable stronghold of Vimy Ridge on the Douai Plains of France. And they were expected to achieve that victory with fifty thousand fewer men then the French had LOST in their own frustrated assaults.
They did it.
And this book is their story.

Pierre Berton's approach is unique, and makes for a breathtaking read. In the Author's Note he says "My purpose... has been to tell not just what happened but also WHAT IT WAS LIKE. I have tried to look at the Vimy experience from the point of view of the man in the mud as well as from that of the senior planners."
He has achieved his goal... one gets the sense that the author ran through the trenches and across "No Man's Land" himself with a videocamera on that thunderous morning. Not only do we see the root and stem of every tactical achievement and blunder, we hear, see and smell, and FEEL what took place as well, in as much as it is possible. The research is extensive and meticulous, as can be seen in the Acknowledgements and Source List at the end of the book.

It just so happens that I live within sight of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, here in the capital city of Canada. High up in that Tower the single word "Vimy" is carved. For me, reading this book shifts a tremendous load of significance onto that single word.
Vimy stands for more than a battle won, it stands for Canadian ingenuity, innovation, courage, Canadian dash and daring, Canadian enterprise. Life! Freedom!
It has become commonplace to say that Canada came of age at Vimy Ridge.
This is an immeasurably important, beautifully written book. Read Vimy, "lest we forget."

Vimy is just one of several books written by the quintessential Canadian historian Pierre Berton. Along with these books, his columns, television series, and his permanent panellist status on Front Page Challenge have earned him a place in the Order of Canada, the Governor-General's award, several literary awards, and has made many Canadians interested in their country's history.

Now this isn't the first piece I've read by Mr. Berton. I've also thoroughly enjoyed many of his others, including The Invasion of Canada, Flames Across the Border, and Marching to War. It is however, my favourite one to date.

Vimy tells the stories of a number of the Canadian participants in the Great War. It follows them as they prepare for, then engage in, and come out victorious from the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a battle that has become a national symbol of pride for Canada.

After reading this book, it is easy to understand why Canada is so proud of its accomplishment during the First World War. A young nation, with little military experience and somewhat unruly soldiers, came in with fresh ideas and accomplished what the British, and the French, countries with centuries of military knowledge, could not.

This book reads more like a good novel than like a historical fact-sheet. At times it's hard to follow because of the number of people involved in the different stories, but otherwise, it's a literary masterpiece. The graphic imagery of the trenches and the battlefields paint a very vivid picture in one's imagination, and the feelings emoted by the characters become very real to the reader throughout the book.

This is a true testament to the resolve of the Canadian people, but it is also an eye-opening account of the horrors of war. It is important for Canadian to know what role we played on the world stage in the World War 1, and this is the perfect book to read to understand that.

Vimy - Pierre Berton

This book is a classic. It gives the reader a clear picture of what happened in 1917. The Canadian Corps changed history at Vimy Ridge.
Each and every Canadian will surely remember what happened on that horrible battlefield; to stop the carnage of the First World War.
The Canadians were brave fighters in the cause of world peace. The Generals believed the Ridge was impregnable, but they devised a strategy that made history. The rocket barrage of the artillery bombardment was an ingenious strategy. The official Canadian history says of the soldiers:
"They fought as Canadians and those who returned, brought back with them a pride of nationhood that they had not known before."
May the soul of every brave Canadian soldier be remembered forever.

Ursula Boylan O'Gara
Artist/Author - Ireland

I have to give this book at very high 5 stars. Berton writes about the genesis of the Canadian military in great detail. I must admit to not knowing the rolling barrage and the trench raids were of Canadian origin. After the superb set up, the battle itself shows the infusion of all of these preparations in thier victory at Vimy. The story bring you to the GHQ's and the foot soldier level.. a Must Book!

Of the numerous popular histories that Pierre Berton wrote, Vimy is is one of his more popular and enduring works. It deals with the assault on April 9-12, 1917 by the Canadian Corp against the German defenses along Vimy Ridge, an important area of high ground on an otherwise relatively flat expanse of land along the Western Front. Berton's account draws on numerous Canadian personal accounts and unit histories, piecing them together into a clear and highly readable reconstruction of the pre-attack build up, the course of battle for each of the four divisions of the Canadian Corp on April 9, as well as the follow up actions that lasted through to April 12.

While I admire the fact that this book has and will provide Canadians with an accessable account of this pivotal battle in the First World War, a battle which some have argued was a key event in Canada's development of a seperate national identity; Vimy is certainly not all that it could have been. Granted the book is meant to chronicle the Canadian side of the battle, but this does not mean that the disposition of the German units and the nature of the German defenses should be almost entirely ignored.

In one particular instance, when he does happen to mention German units that were thrown into the line to secure The Pimple, he writes: "the posponment of the battle had given the Germans time to bring up fresh troops, the elite Prussians of the 5th Guard--six footers all, who sneered at the Canadians as 'untrained Colonial levies'." Here are the problems with this statement:

1) The Prussian Guards that were brought up were in fact all ready being brought as the battle commenced.

2) The Prussian Guards were not "fresh troops," rather had been recently taken out of line after being in the line for much of 1916 and early 1917.

3) The units in question were in fact the Fusilier Battalion of the 5. Garde-Grenadier-Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 93, which were both part of the 5. Garde-Infanterie-Brigade of the 4. Garde-Infanterie-Division.

4) I highly doubt by this time in--if ever during--the war the Prussian Guard units consisted of entirely of "six footers".

5) References to the effect that the Prussians "sneered" at the Canadians for being "levies" is really necessary here, because the post-war German accounts of the battle that I've read have indicated that the Canadians were regarded as nothing else but the elite of the British Army.

Unfortunately, it's inaccuracies like this that throw into doubt the overall reliability of Vimy as a historical source. Still, it does make for great reading, and hopefully will serve as a source of inspiration for future generations to learn more about Canada's important role in the First World War.

Vimy by Berton is a fabulous book on the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. Lots of fascinating, personal stories of the men who fought and died, and great insight to the suffering that they endured.