Editorial 8: Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917

In February 1917, Allied com- Canadian soldiers began to dig in manders began planning a massive along Vimy, a light snow began to fall. spring offensive. - The battle ended on April

After much debate and delib- 12th, as soldiers from Western Canada eration, it was decided that as part of captured the final, heavily-defended the Allied push into German occupied — German position.

UPET STUDENT NEWSPAPER land, the Canadian Corps would be The Canadian Capture of responsible for taking Vimy Ridge—A Vimy Ridge proved to be the only sig- November 12, 2002 piece of high-ground on the Western nificant victory for the Allies in 1917. Front which represented serious mili- Ten percent of the Canadian Corps editor-in-chief tary importance. became casualties, with over three Matt STEWART On the morning of the attack, thousand, five hundred soldiers being after months of preparation, Canadian __ killed in action. production, manager/graphics soldiers moved into the forward posi- A white stone monument now ene tions. stands above the old shell craters and Scare ual Crouching in the trenches and _ pieces of trench which scar the land py editor ie ; : : Catherine SWEET waiting below in specially constructed surrounding Vimy. tunnels, young men from coast to coast The underground tunnels still news editor prepared for a battle which would put —_ exist where thousands of Canadian VACANT Canada on the map. men crouched on that Easter Monday At 5:30 a.m. the troops were while waiting for the word, "go entertainment editor given the order to go over the top. Many of the young Canadians Brodie MacRAE Reaching the first of the took the time to carve messages into : German lines-of-defence, the the soft-chalk walls from which the obits eater Canadians bombed the dugouts and tunnels were carved. Some wrote ex FIELD ‘ : j silenced the sentries. messages to their loved ones back photographer Displaying a mixture of home, others simply signed their Brad DEIGHAN extreme courage, determination, and names, and others — carved maple tenacity, the advancing troops cut leaves. reporter through strong point after strong point, A Canadian veteran of Vimy Mariéve MACGREGOR while facing unimaginable resistance, Ridge, visiting the monument in 1987, Julie VEINOT and surged towards the summit of the | summed up the soldier's view of our res embankment. country's proudest day: "We had to do advertising manager The fighting was intense, but what we did. Some died. Some didn't.

a a by mid-morning, members of the 25th _ That's it."

distribution manager Nova Scotia Rifles had reached their

Lennie MacPHERSON objectives at the crest of the ridge. Matt Stewart, Fittingly, as the first of the Editor-in-Chief

contributers

Johnathan SMITH Dave NEATBY Angela MASON Brandy MacLELLAN

The Cadre is the official newspaper of the UPEI Student Union. 2,000 copies of The Cadre are printed 10 times per semester. There are meetings open to anyone Mondays at 4:30 in room 213 in the new Student Union Centre.

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