Canadian National Vimy Memorial — Attraction in Lens

A very sacred place. Several hundred acres along the Route des Canadiens. The monument sits at the top of the ridge, surrounded by grassy area in which you can still make out the trenches where those young men, often as young as 14 (they would lie to enlist), hid and crawled in the mud. 4 Canadian regiments fought and took that hill on the 9th of April, 1917. It was the 1st time that Canadian regiments fought together as a unit and independent of the British army. The British and the French had both tried and failed to break the German line and take the ridge, but the Canadians, after much planning and terrible loss took Vimy Ridge on that morning. Over 3000 boys and men died on that day, and many, many thousands more were injured and maimed. It was on that day that Canada took its place among the league of nations and truly became a Nation, both in the eyes of the world, and maybe more importantly, in our own eyes. Needless to say, this is a very moving experience. One that I highly recommend to all, particularly to fellow Canadians. For that matter, I think Canadians should view the Vimy Memorial as mandatory pilgrimage to be made by all those who...

Wow. I had forgotten that in 1912 France and UK were still playing imperialist because they "found" the new world and all so the poor bastards got roped in to fight their war very early on because Canada was recognized as a territory. I have the utmost respect for all that served ww1 was particularly gnarly because tactics were staying roughly the same while the technology leaped ahead. Ive heard that Over 1/3 of British troops in the revolutionary war in US and battle of 1811 were actually Canadians fighting on their behalf. THATS the way wars should be memorialized your honoring the fallen whie simultaneously using it as a symbol of peace and a reminder of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in times no human should endure. In the US you have to pick and choose war is a lot more... Glorified i guess if you say that you are against warfare thay means "you don't support the troops" which is ridiculous so I respect your nations outlook on it America could learn a thing or two from...

It was a very moving experience to visit the memorial. It was a place I always intended to visit and today I took the opportunity. It is perhaps the most impressive of the ww1 memorials in France. The visitor centre gives an opportunity to learn the history, the staff are friendly and welcoming. They also after free guided tours through a tunnel and trenches in English. The whole are is large with much of the battlefield left as it was with the remains of trenches and bomb craters. There are still unexplored munitions to be found but the dangerous areas are fenced off. If time is short it’s better to use your car than walk everywhere - there is parking near the memorial, at the visitor centre and other places. A visit here is a chance to learn, reflect on impact of war and to keep alive the memory of the hundreds of thousands of men from many nations who lost their lives. Let as use this experience as a reminder of past events and the need to avoid...