Monday marks the 90th anniversary of an event that not only solidified Canada's presence on the world stage, but also helped a fledgling country to forge its own national identity at home.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, considered by many to be the first real allied victory in the First World War, began at 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday April 9, 1917. British and French forces lost more than 190,000 men trying to take the ridge prior to handing the task over to the Canadians under the command of General Sir Arthur Currie.

Canadian soldiers stormed through muddy impact craters and tangles of barbed wire to reach the German stronghold, believed by both sides to be one of the most heavily fortified points on the entire western front.

It was the first major battle where the Canadian Corps was allowed to plan its own battle strategy. A week-long artillery barrage leading in to the conflict, combined with innovative platoon-level battle tactics contributed to the Canadians taking most of the ridge on the first day. On the fourth day, and after a great cost of life, the Canadians seized control of the final German stronghold and forced their remaining enemies to surrender or retreat.

It was through battles like Vimy Ridge that solidified the Canadian Corps' reputation as a professional and hard fighting force. During Canadas Hundred Days  a string of battles leading in to the German surrender in 1918  four Canadian divisions defeated or forced the retreat of 47 German divisions (about one quarter of their forces on the western front).

Young men from all nine of Canada's provinces fought for the Canadian Corps in World War I. Those who were fortunate enough to return from war brought back with them a national pride that helped this country gain its own identity separate from Britain.

Thousands of Canadians will travel to the newly restored Vimy Ridge War Memorial in northern France on Monday to commemorate not just the 3,598 soldiers who gave their lives on the ridge, but the 60,000-plus young men who never returned from the Great War.

While confederation occurred some 50 years prior, it was their triumphs and their sacrifices that made Canada a country.