Ottawa high school students tie yellow ribbons to the Vimy Memorial Bridge

Nearly 200 high school students from the Ottawa Catholic School Board attached more than 3,500 yellow ribbons to the Vimy Memorial Bridge in Ottawa to commemorate Canadian soldiers who died in the April 1917 battle during the First World War.

Elementary school students adorned each ribbon with words ofgratitude, serving asa visual reminder of how many soldiers were killed at Vimy Ridge.

On April 9, the 200 students who participatedwill travel to Vimy Ridge in France to attend the 100th anniversary ceremonies. They will place a tribute at the grave of an assigned soldier.

The Battle ofVimyRidge beganon April 9, 1917, and lasted four days. Canadian soldiers took the ridge but many soldiers perished. During the battle, 3,598 Canadian soldiers died and 7,004were wounded.

Although the general strategy failed, the capture of Vimy Ridge was the only major success achieved by the Allies in the spring of 1917. It also marks the day when Canada became a military nation. Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles in Juneof 1919, putting an end to the conflict.