Thousands of Canadians gathered at the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge Monday, to mark 95 years since the fight in northern France that some say was a turning point in forging Canada's identity as an independent nation.

Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney joined 5,000 young Canadians for ceremonies at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge.

The students, carrying Canadian flags, banners and umbrellas on an overcast, rainy day, slowly marched up the ridge to line up in front of the massive concrete, steel and limestone monument. The names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France during the First World War are carved on its walls.

Blaney said he saw some students with tears in their eyes as they toured sites that were once trodden by soldiers from the four divisions of the Canadian Corps that launched their assault on this day in 1917. Some of the students' relatives had fought in France, sacrificing life and limb for the freedom of future generations.

"They are really carrying the sacrifice…we can see the emotion," he told CTV News Channel in a phone interview from Vimy.

Ted Barris, the author of "Victory at Vimy" who attended the commemorations, said Monday's experience was "eerily similar to 95 years ago … It was dark, it was damp, it was cold."

"It was very inspiring to see these young people who were filing their way up the ridge the same way the soldiers did 95 years ago this morning," Barris told CTV News.

Standing on the Vimy monument's terrace, it's possible to look down at an expanse of fields and hills, places where Canadians battled and died. Blaney said visiting the spot was a life-changing experience.

"It's not about the triumph, or only about victory. It's about the loss of a young nation," he said. "That's why it's so important."

Canada lost 3,600 men in their bid to capture the ridge that French and British forces had already fought the two years prior to capture at a cost of some 100,000 lives.

It took four days of battle for Canada to seize control of the entire ridge.

The memorial at Vimy is a spot that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called symbolic of the "high price paid for peace and freedom."

"It endures as a tribute to all the brave men and women who served their country in battle during the First World War," he said in a statement issued Monday.

Back home, dozens of veterans gathered around the National War Memorial in Ottawa to lay wreaths for those who lost their lives at Vimy Ridge.

Canada's top soldier, Gen. Walter Natynczyk, was among the dignitaries who took part in a moment of silence as Canadian flags flapped in the wind.

"Canada came of age because of the courage of those incredible people back then," Natynczyk told CTV Ottawa.

A prayer during the ceremony referred to Canadians as a "grateful people and a grateful nation" and called on service members to act as "agents of peace" at home and abroad.

The night before, small groups of cadets took turns holding vigil at the National War Memorial.

Thousands of kilometres away, Gov. Gen. David Johnston joined young Canadians at the Vimy memorial, a spot that he says contributed to the nation's identity.

"In many ways it was the birth of a nation," Johnston said in an interview from Vimy, France, noting it was the first time Canadians had fought together as a group.

No one had expected the Canadians to snatch victory there, Johnston told CTV's Canada AM, suggesting the key was their groundbreaking application of science and technology.

The so-called creeping barrage, for instance, saw artillery fire closely co-ordinated with infantry movements, while flash spotting and sound recording was used to target the German guns.

The Canadian forces had also been rigorously trained, Johnston added, noting the unique "democratization" of their ranks as another key factor.

"Every soldier, including the privates, had the battleplan in advance," Johnston said, explaining that meant they were better able to adapt as the fight took its toll.

When the dust settled, Canada's enviable and longstanding image as a nation of heavy-hitters had been set.

‘History relived through their eyes'

While reflecting on the military accomplishments of those terrible days, Johnston said he's also been struck by a sense of awe and humility as the memorial events serve as reminders of the horrors of war.

Since 2010, when Canada's last First World War veteran John Babcock died at the age of 109, this country has not had a living connection with "the war to end all wars." That is why young people are important participants in commemorations such as today's events on Vimy Ridge, Johnston said.

"It's wonderful to see history relived through their eyes," he said. "It is these young people who will carry on our understanding of it and will help us learn from our history so we don't repeat the errors of the past."

Johnston, a former law professor, university administrator and unrepentant history buff, is also touring various other battlefields during his French trip, including Beaumont Hamel where the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was all but destroyed in 1916, and Ypres, the medieval Belgian city that was a keystone of the Allied lines in the First World War.

On the mistaken assumption an artillery barrage had wiped out the German resistance, the Newfoundlanders suffered a casualty rate of 86 per cent when they were ordered to advance that day -- the highest of any regiment in the battle.