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How you can explore historic battlefields online this Remembrance Day

Canadian soldiers parade in front of the Canadian memorial on April 9, 2012 in Vimy, northern France,. A total of 3,598 Canadian Corps troops were killed and 7,004 were wounded over four days of fighting as they seized control of the ridge from German soldiers. PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

Major battlegrounds and trenches of the First World War are now yours to discover online.

Here are a few suggestions from Google Canada on the top historical spots to digitally explore this Remembrance Day:

  • The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Canada’s victory at Vimy Ridge in World War I is thought to have been a key turning point in shaping Canada as a nation.

Travel the Routes des Canadiens using Google Maps and see how the battle shaped the surrounding landscape with trenches and shell craters, which can still be seen nearly a century later.

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Overlooking the battlefield is the iconic Canadian National Memorial at Vimy.

In Google Maps satellite view, the pock-marked battlefield is still visible.

  • Revisit the Somme in Google Maps
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The National Library of Scotland released 307 interactive trench maps that allow users to navigate trench maps and enemy positions side by side with Google Maps satellite imagery.

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Take a look at this map of the Battle of the Somme.

The altered landscape and trenches are still visible at Newfoundland Memorial Park (which commemorates The Newfoundland Regiment’s role in the Somme).

And in satellite view, the trench lines still remain visible.

A huge hole in the ground created by a mine blown under the German Front Line on the Somme battlefield on July 1, 1916 — called Lochnagar Crater — can be viewed in Street View and Satellite View.

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If you visit this area today in Street View, you can see several Commonwealth cemeteries lining the roads.

  • Other First World War Locations: You can also view First World War trenches in Street View, including one of the war’s first large-scale battles in Ardenne.
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There are also plenty of episodes to watch on the HISTORY website.

HISTORY is owned by Shaw Communications Inc., parent company of Global News.

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