The German 79th Reserve Infantry Division in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 1917

Canadian narratives of the Great War rarely give a very clear picture of the enemy. They may mention German regiments, brigades, divisions or corps that opposed Canadian troops on this or that front, but detailed citations from German sources are often missing. There are a number of reasons for this, most notably the scarcity of translated primary documents. A number of comprehensive regimental histories were published in Germany during the interwar years, but these are often difficult to obtain and tend to be printed in old German. Consequently, we were glad to receive this translation of Generalleutnant Alfred Dieterich’s report on his brigade’s defensive operations on Vimy Ridge during March-April 1917. Dieterich originally published the account in Germany after the war, and to our knowledge, this is the first time it has appeared in English. The translation was completed by Christopher and Ute Wilde Linnell