In the cold dawn of Easter Monday on April 9, 1917 the Canadian trenches facing Vimy Ridge erupt with fire as one thousand artillery pieces launch one of the most devastating barrages of World War I. Vimy Ridge would become the most influential battle of World War I and the model for the great allied offensive of 1918. It dramatically revealed how innovative tactics combined with iron courage and heroic self-sacrifice enabled Canadian soldiers to transform a field of slaughter into a field of glory. The memorial is one of only two National Historic Sites outside of Canada - the land donated by the French government houses a massive sculpture memorial, preserved underground Trenches, a burial ground for Canadian soldiers and a park created to resemble the woods and forests of Canada.