Vimy, 1917

This page describes one of the 21 battle honours won by the 15th Battalion CEF and it is one of 10 that are emblazoned on the Regimental colour.

The original wooden cross shown in the photo above is in the Regimental Museum. Also read “The story of the Vimy Cross” on this web site.

The 15th Battalion earned the Vimy Battle Honour for its role as part of the Canadian Corps in the capture of Vimy Ridge (9-12 April 1917), a well-established German defensive position, which dominated the Douai Plain to its east and Arras countryside to its west. The men of 15th Battalion, having previously carefully rehearsed all aspects of their assigned operational tasks, moved, on Easter Sunday, 8 April 1917, into their Start Line positions in the Douai Tunnel and in shallow ditches and craters, that were just ahead of their Front-Line location. At, H Hour, 5:30 AM on Easter Monday, the Highlanders began their advance through driving sleet, closely following a creeping artillery barrage, with Number 4 Company on the right, 1 on the left, 2 in direct support and 3 in reserve. Pushing through the immediate German Front Line, they assaulted down a slow slope towards their first objective, the Black Line. Seizing and consolidating this position on time, they took a brief tactical pause of 40 minutes, then resumed their advance and took their second objective, the Red Line, well ahead of the assigned time of 7:00 AM. Throughout their advance, the Highlanders were quick, efficient and successful in eliminating pockets of enemy sniper and machine gun resistance in order to effectively take control of both of their objectives and allow the battalions of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade to pass through the new 15th lines and successfully continue the Canadian advance to the final objective, the Blue Line. The actions of the 15th Battalion were an important part of the Victory achieved at Vimy, but there was a high cost, 90 Highlanders killed and 175 wounded

Read an overview of the battle on the Veterans Affairs web site: The Battle of Vimy Ridge. and Vimy Ridge on the Canadian War Museum site.