Monday 9 December 2013

Recreating Historical Landscapes: Vimy Ridge Memorial

There was sleet that morning but that was hardly an excuse for the newly formed Canadian Corps to yield their assault on German lines at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. Weeks of preparation had gone into that moment and, despite the weather, nothing was about to stop the attack. Since that fateful day when the Canadian Corps took the ridge, the landscape in northern France has changed from the muddy, water-filled craters and trenches to that of memorial. However, it has also captured the results of the war, preserving those trenches and encapsulating the cost of war with the colossal monument. Some may never have the opportunity to visit the historic national site but with the aid of digital technology, users of history will still be able to view and study it with the hopes of gaining a general understanding of the memorial park. Such an example of this use of technology was created for a project in Western University's History 9808: Digital History course. The methods used for its creation, the benefits and limitations of using said methods, and the story that was created through the curating of primary sources will be discussed further below.

The goal of the project was to compare the modern day landscape to the terrain that the soldiers of the First World War faced. The images were selected with the intent of conveying the way the historical landscape has changed over the last 96 years from a battlefield to that of a mingled landscape, containing both memorialization and reflections of the past.  However, articulating this change was not the only story being told through the digitization of Vimy Ridge. A social history was created by using only images of the battle from the perspective of a soldier instead of utilizing only aerial shots which would have ignored the purpose and significance of the Vimy Ridge site. To properly articulate that story, certain digital tools had to be utilized.

The project was created using a number of digital resources, the most prominent being Trimble’s Sketchup. Sketchup is a 3D modeling program which allows users to design and recreate buildings or landscapes. In the case of Vimy Ridge, the monument had been previously built and stored in the 3D warehouse (Figure 1 and 2). This allowed for more time to be given to recreating the surrounding landscape of the memorial park and the preserved trench system. Although it was challenging to learn all the tricks to the program, Sketchup provides a medium for historians to recreate historical landmarks and display the results in a digestible format as seen in the video below. However the project would not have been nearly as successful had it not been for the digitizing of Library and Archives Canada’s holdings of Vimy Ridge photographs. Without the digitization of these photographs, the project would not have contained the comparative aspect that brings purpose to the 3D model of the ridge. Finally, the use of this blog makes the findings and comparisons accessible to those who wish to seek it out and use it, a method of sharing that academics are wary to use but provides the most traction for spreading ideas on a wide basis.

Figure 1: 3D model of the back of the Vimy Ridge Monument. Found in the Trimble 3D warehouse.

Figure 2: 3D Model of the front of the Vimy Ridge Monument. Geo-referenced through Sketchup.

This is what the final product looked like: 


Picture 1: Canadian troops advance up the ridge through barbed wire and under artillery fire.
Picture 2: Canadian pioneers fell trees in the post-battlefield.
Picture 3: Artillery was used to smash through the wire before the battle to ease the advancement of troops.
Picture 4: Canadian troops advance over the crest of the ridge. Picture taken from either a trench or a crater.
Picture 5: Canadian troops search German trenches for enemy soldiers. Note the amount of water in the trench.
Picture 6 and 7: View of Petit Vimy and the battlefield to the east from the ridge.

As noted above, the purpose of the project was to show the difference between 1917 and 2013 landscapes. The animations seen in the video were meant to highlight the selected photographs and show the change sustained by panning past the photograph to show the 3D landscape. Particular features that I wished to address were the reforestation project the Canadian government undertook (seen in Figure 3), the change that the trenches experienced through their preservation (Figure 4) and the destruction of war versus the memorialization of the past (examples in Figures 5 and 6).

Figure 3: Reforestation project undertaken by the Canadian government to replenish the destruction French forests suffered.

Figure 4: Preserved trench system to the south west of the monument

Figure 5: Land covered in barbed wire with explosion; Vimy Ridge Memorial in the background.

Figure 6: Artillery bombardment to break up barbed wire with the grass and tree covered ridge in the background.

However it must be acknowledged that digitally reconstructing historical sites provides limitations. The first is the difficulties of retaining accuracy. In the case of Vimy Ridge, there was no way to visit the site and measure the trench systems precisely or know which trees were planted where. When viewing the model, there is no way of knowing if the trenches were that deep or if that many oak trees actually existed on site. As well, since the site is in a digital format it must conform to the confines set by the program. When using Sketchup, memory and processing power must be considered when recreating sites. The Vimy Ridge Park is 107 hectares, covered in trees and an impressive, towering monument. When placing all of the landscape into the program a severe lag appears which distorts the image of the site and diminishes the quality of viewing and understanding the conveyed message. Thus, compromises had to made regarding the number of tress and other alterations to the terrain. Given these limitations, when digitally recreating historical sites historians must consider what they are willing to sacrifice or adapt to achieve their task.

While there are limitations to using programs like Sketchup, this should not overshadow the benefits of digitally recreating historical landscapes. After all, the digital reconstruction of the Vimy Ridge Memorial Park has its advantages to historiography and users of history. It has been acknowledged that digital history provides accessibility that scholars and other users of history lacked in the past. Recreating Vimy Ridge allows those with the interest in the site to explore its features and the conclusions made by the creator. As well, projects of Vimy Ridge recreations, such as this one that examined the change of terrain over time, can be examined and engaged with on a broader level, especially when considering the utilization of the blog format to share it.

In addition to accessibility, the 3D model and the photos create a historical moment frozen in time. Weather will affect the landscape within a few years and technological advances will render the model outdated and obsolete. However it will still provide some insight for those studying the comparison made between the digitally recreated model of 2013 and the photographic evidence of 1917. It offers a primary source for future scholars, whether it is to study the model itself or the digital tools monopolized during this time.

Nothing in either the digital or material world is without its flaws and often those flaws gain much attention. Although the produced Vimy Ridge model for this project is not perfect or wholly accurate it still offers a primary source for studying change over time and the technological skills at our current disposal. Arguments can be made through the visual communication with use of photographs paired with the 3D model. Could this project have been done differently? Certainly; that is the benefit to the digital and technological advances being made every day. However, it is how historians use these formats that will determine how successful the conveyance of their arguments and messages are.


Bibliography

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“Canadian Pioneers felling shatter trees near Vimy Ridge. October, 1917.” Photograph. Library and Archives Canada. 1914-1919. http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3405562&rec_nbr_list=3405562,3194322,3379699,3241489,3403081,3395321,3404770,3397830,3520900,3213530 (accessed November 20, 2013).

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Castle, W.I. “View over the crest of Vimy Ridge, showing the village of Vimy, which was captured by Canadian troops.” Photograph. Library and Archives Canada. May 1917. http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3192998&rec_nbr_list=3395330,3397007,3192998,165633,165653,3405563,3623100,3521863,3623102,3395246 (accessed November 29, 2013).

Hucker, Jacqueline. ““Battle and Burial”: Recapturing the Cultural Meaning of Canada’s national Memorial on Vimy Ridge”. The Public Historian 31 no. 1 (2009): 89-109.

Munroe, Susan. "Smashing Barded Wire at the Battle of Vimy Ridge." About.com Canada Online. http"//canadaonline.about.com/od/ww1battles/ig/Pictures-Battle-of-Vimy-Ridge/Smashing-Barbed-Wire-at-Vimy.htm (accessed November 1, 2013).

“(W.W.I- 1914-1918) Canadians advancing over the crest of Vimy Ridge April 1917” Photograph. Library and Archives Canada. April 1917. http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam _archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3521852&rec_nbr_list=3521995,3329245,3194252,3403082,3521922,3521842,3521932,3395332,3522072,3521852 (accessed November 30, 2013).


“(W.W.I- 1914-1918) The battlefield as seen from Vimy Ridge looking towards the German lines. May 1917). Photograph. Library and Archives Canada. May 1917. http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.phpfuseaction =genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3521934&rec_nbr_list=3521964,3379684,3521844,3521864,3521934,3521884,3194778,3521858,3521928,3521898 (accessed November 30, 2013).