Dury Memorial

Dury Memorial
Canada
the Canadian Dury Memorial
For the Canadian Corps actions in the First World War during the Second Battle of Arras in their valiant defeat of the Drocourt–Quéant Line defences of the Hindenburg Line.
Location 50°14′3″N 2°59′49″E / 50.23417°N 2.99694°E / 50.23417; 2.99694Coordinates: 50°14′3″N 2°59′49″E / 50.23417°N 2.99694°E / 50.23417; 2.99694
near Dury, Pas-de-Calais, France
The Memorial's inscription reads:
THE CANADIAN CORPS 100,000 STRONG, ATTACKED AT ARRAS ON AUGUST 26TH 1918, STORMED SUCCESSIVE GERMAN LINES AND HERE ON SEPT. 2ND BROKE AND TURNED THE MAIN GERMAN POSITION ON THE WESTERN FRONT AND REACHED THE CANAL DU NORD

The Dury Memorial is a World War I Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Arras, particularly their breakthrough at the Drocourt–Quéant Line switch of the Hindenburg Line just south of the town of Dury. The Drocourt–Quéant Line was a main position in the German Army's defensive position in the area. The action took place on 2 and 3 September 1918 during a period known as the Hundred Days Offensive or Canada's Hundred Days.[1] Particularly noteworthy for such a brief battle was that seven Canadians earned a Victoria Cross on 2 September during the battle.

Monument

Site Selection

The Canadian Battlefield Monument Commission established after the Great War was appointed to select the location and design of the memorials to commemorate the Canadian participation in the First World War. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial at Vimy Ridge was selected as the national memorial site and seven other locations at Hill 62, St. Julien and Passchendaele in Belgium, as well as Le Quesnel, Dury, Courcelette and Bourlon Wood in France were chosen to commemorate significant battles the Canadian Expeditionary Force had engaged in. Each of the seven sites were to have an identical granite block inscribed with a brief description of the battle in both English and French.

At Dury, the memorial is situated symbolically where the Drocourt–Quéant Line crossed the Arras–Cambrai Road.

Design and Location

The Dury Memorial site is a small square park located on the north side of the D939 Route Nationale, south of Dury, between the cities of Arras and Cambrai. Tall, stately maple trees line three edges of the park and well kept lawns surround the low circular flagstone terrace that the granite memorial block rests on.

References

  1. ↑ Jacqueline Hucker (2012). "Monuments of the First and Second World Wars". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation. Retrieved 2012-07-26.

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