4 Days in April, 3,600 Canadian soldiers dead another 5,000 wounded and one ridge taken!

We remember Vimy this weekend, a battlefield where a nation’s reputation and essence of being was forged with blood, tears and death.

Canada’s Army did what many said was impossible at the end of the Easter weekend of 1917, push a solid German occupation force off of a vital French ridge, one of the first of the major victories for the Allies of the First World War.

It proved to be a coming of age for Canada’s Armed Forces, fighting under their own commanders and as a cohesive unit of four divisions, some twelve battalions aligned on the French frontier, striking a push into German lines and wresting one sliver of real estate from occupying hands. (An interactive map can be found on the CTV website, showing the push towards the ridge by Canadian forces)

Many successes and setbacks would come over the years, war seemingly never that far from our history and when called our's has been a nation that went forward. But for modern era Canada, the touchstone of all military matters for the newish nation will always be Vimy ridge 1917.

It has gone down as perhaps one of Canada’s greatest victories, a time of test and success, but at a horrible cost. 1917 is such a long time ago now, as a nation we have fought many battles since through a number of wars and military conflicts and we continue to do so even today!

When sent to far off lands, the battles are joined again, lives can be lost and lives can be changed forever. The ghosts of yesterday, march along the forces of today, a reminder of the horror of war and at times the glory that arrives as well.

While war is never wanted, at times it is forced upon us. In April 1917 Canadians from all corners of the nation fought as one on the ridges of France, its in their memory that we commemorate their sacrifices and achievements this weekend.

The CBC is covering the Vimy commemorations quite extensively starting on Sunday and featuring a ceremony on Monday where the memorial will be re-dedicated. They have compiled an excellent collection of information on their website, historic pictures, videos, stories and maps all providing extensive glimpses of just what Canadian troops were up against starting on Easter Monday of 1917.

You can take a virtual tour of the Vimy Memorial through the Veteran's Canada website, which features a number of multimedia presentations.

Further information can be discovered at the Canadian War Museum's portal, which is a wonderful source of information on Canada's military history through our history.

The National Archives as well provides some fascinting images of those days from its website, including this silent movie reel which was made shortly after the epic battle.

Canadians tend to not be chest thumpers when it comes to their history, in fact far too many of us don't learn enough about our past and how we have developed through the years. While we consider ourselves to be one of the most fortunate nations on the planet, that good fortune did not come just by happenstance, it came from a nation willing to take on the hardest and most dangerous of tasks and not accept failure.

It's through sacrifice and reputation that a nation's image is made, Vimy shaped a good portion of what we've become, we should make the time to learn more and honour the memories of those that made the ultimate in sacrifices for us so many years ago.