CENTENARY OF THE BATTLE OF VIMY (FRANCE, 1917): PRESERVING THE MEMORY OF THE GREAT WAR THROUGH 3D RECORDING OF THE MAISON BLANCHE SOUTERRAINE

Abstract

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement between the Canadian Corps and the German Empire during the Great War (1914-1918). In this battle, Canadian troops fought as a single unit and won the day. It marked an important point in Canadian history as a nation. The year 2017 marks the centenary of this battle. In commemoration of this event, the Pas-de-Calais Departmental Council financed a 3D recording mission for one of the underground tunnels (souterraines) used as refuge by the Canadian soldiers several weeks prior to the battle. A combination of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and close-range photogrammetry techniques was employed in order to document not only the souterraine, but also the various carvings and graffitis created by the soldiers on its walls. The resulting point clouds were registered to the French national geodetic system, and then meshed and textured in order to create a precise 3D model of the souterraine. In this paper, the workflow taken during the project as well as several results will be discussed. In the end, the resulting 3D model was used to create derivative products such as maps, section profiles, and also virtual visit videos. The latter helps the dissemination of the 3D information and thus aids in the preservation of the memory of the Great War for Canada.