Vimy Ridge 100th anniversary ceremony

Thousands of people joined dignitaries at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France to mark 100 years since the battle of Vimy Ridge and to honour those who fought and died.

The First World War battle was a costly victory — with nearly 3,600 dead and another 7,100 wounded over a few days — but it helped shape Canada into a nation committed to peace, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday at the commemorative ceremony marking the anniversary.

Allies honoured Canadians who succeeded where others failed.

From left, Prince Harry, Prince William, Trudeau and French President François Hollande joined Canadian Gov. Gen. David Johnston and Prince Charles in a walk past the memorial during the commemoration ceremony,

The Canadian Corps captured the highest strategic point of Vimy Ridge after five months of planning. Prince Charles commended Canada for its sacrifice and for succeeding "in a task in which many others before them had failed."

Monument near Arras a symbol of friendship between Canada and France.

Before the prime minister spoke, Johnston told the crowd the Vimy monument symbolizes the enduring friendship between Canada and France, underscored by the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who helped liberate the country.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial was unveiled in 1936 near Arras in northern France.

"Those spires stand for peace and for freedom," Johnston said. "They stand for justice and hope. And they remind us that one cannot exist without the other."

Vimy's soldiers 'are still speaking to us.'

The French president said it's a reminder that "peace is the most precious gift." 

"Yes, Vimy's soldiers are telling us nationalism only leads to war and fundamentalism to destruction. They are telling us the future of our countries is to be united," Hollande said. 

Remembering the fallen soldiers. 

Military boots lined the hills near the memorial as a symbol of remembrance for the soldiers who lost their lives during the battle of Vimy Ridge. 

Earlier in the day, Trudeau and Hollande attended a ceremony to unveil an installation called Victory Medal-Poppy of Peace in the town of Arras. The installation, by New Zealand artists Helen Pollock and Tony McNeight, is 36 pairs of feet on a platform, surrounded by red circles bearing messages to the soldiers who died, which come together to create a poppy, the symbol of remembrance.