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Source: Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Facebook Page
From Marc Today is the centennial of Z-7 (Zero Day minus 7) at Vimy. It is the last day of Phase 1 of the bombardment which began on 20 March to prepare the way for the assault. So far, no more that 50% of the Heavy and Siege guns and 1/3 of the Field guns have been disclosed. This was done to hide the weight of the coming blow from the Germans. During the 14 days of Phase 1, approximately 340,000 rounds were fired on the Germans It is now the wee hours of 3 April in France, the beginning of Phase 2, which lasts until the troops go over the top. Now all the waiting guns will come into action. Now the brand new 106 Fuzes will be used to cut wire. Now the destruction of German guns and defences begins in earnest. The barrage designed to cover the assault will be fired twice, both to confuse the Germans as to the actual moment of the assault and to correct any problems that are detected. The moment of the impending attack will not be clear to them, but there will soon be no doubt about the weight of guns now facing them. Over the coming seven days, some 660,000 rounds will be fired on Vimy. The German survivors called it "the week of suffering". Lest We Forget. UBIQUE |
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