Vimy Ridge & Arras

Vimy Ridge Tour
Above: Canadian Memorial at Vimy / 2009 Photo Competition Justin Ho, KEGS Chelmsforn

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Vimy Ridge was a fortress, studded with concrete pillboxes, deep dugouts and trenches, festooned with barbed wire where machine guns covered the long slope up from the Allied lines in front of Arras. Up to the spring of 1917 attempts to take the Ridge had cost the British and French armies over 190,000 casualties.

It was against this background that the Canadian Corps began their preparations. 40 kilometers of road were built and  30 kilometers of light railway tracks were laid and 7 kilometers of under ground tunnels, large enough to shelter almost 1,000 men, were dug. In, places, such as Wellington Quarry and the Grange Subway, the remnants of this work remain and are well worth a visit!

At 5.30am on the 9th April 1917 the Canadians left the security of their tunnels and trenches. Their training and detailed rehearsals paid off. At a cost of over 10,000 casualties they took the Ridge, on the highest point of which now stands the Canadian National Memorial.

A visit to Arras, Wellington Quarry and Vimy can easily be done in a day, as outlined below. Alternatively by combining it with a visit to the Somme or Ypres Ridge it can form part of a longer study tour.

Suggested itinerary

Fully guided 1-Day Vimy Ridge & Arras

  • Cabaret Rouge CWGC
  • Neuville St Vaast German Cemetery
  • Wellington Quarry - tunnel tour
  • Vimy Ridge - trench system
  • Canadian National Memorial

 

Themes

  • Causes of the Great War
  • The Western Front
  • The ‘actualities of war’ – the experience of soldiers on the Western Front
  • Kitchener’s Army – the Pals Battalions
  • The relationship between Officers and men
  • The development of warfare – tactics and technology in the Great War
  • The role of the Generals, in particular the Haig Debate
  • The impact of the Great War

 

Other options

Edexcel Option 3A
Key topic 2
For many British students of modern history the part played by the BEF in France and Flanders defines the Great War.

For students taking this Edexcel option ANGLIA is pleased to offer a tour which is designed specifically to amplify the key content of this course. It focusess on the BEF from its deployment to continental Europe in August 1914, through the stalemate and costly battles of 1916 & 1917, to the last hundred days and the advance to victory.

 

Discover the reality of life in the Trenches

Life in the TrenchesAre you planning a visit to the Battlefields of the Western Front? Well what better way is there to get inside the mind of 'Tommy Atkins' than by walking the same ground wearing his boots, tin hat, tunic & webbing and carrying a Lee Enfield Rifle.

Developing the very successful 'Show & Tell' sessions we run as part of our Christmas Truce tour, ANGLIA is pleased to offer student groups touring with us to the Somme and Ypres, a unique hands-on experience and an opportunity to get to grips with authentic Great War equipment.

These engaging sessions are led by your ANGLIA guide and will include both a short brief on the equipment on display as well as the chance for one lucky 'volunteer' to don full kit - which makes a perfect photo opportunity.

If you are interested in adding a 'Show & Tell' session to you Battlefield Tour or would like further information please contact us.