98th Anti-Tank Battery

Originating in 1936, as a Field Battery, the 98^th Anti-Tank Battery (often referred to as the 98^th Bruce Anti-Tank Battery) was mobilized for active service in Port Elgin on July 15, 1940, under the command of Major John Amer Howe. Initially part of the 21^st Field Brigade, it became a key component of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment on April 1^st, 1941, following training in Port Elgin, Listowel, and finally Camp Petawawa.

The Regiment was comprised of the 49^th Battery (formerly the 24^th Medium Battery) mobilized in Toronto, the 82^nd mobilized in the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec and the 16^th Battery that was mobilized overseas.

The Regiment along with the 8^th Field Regiment (SP), the 17^th Field Regiment and the 5^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment fell under command of the 5^th Canadian Armoured Division as part of the 1^st Canadian Army RCA.

On the evening of October 5, 1941, the Regiment marched from its hutted camp to the Petawawa railway siding led by the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Band on route to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they boarded the HMT Aorangi. By the afternoon of October 17, the ship was safely on the River Clyde making for Glasgow. Two days later the Regiment marched into Waterloo East Barracks, Aldershot, Hampshire, England.

In August of 1942, the Regiment was in Brighton, East Sussex, readying itself for the second wave of the Dieppe Raid if called upon.

The Regiment embarked for North Africa in November of 1943, docking in Algiers on the 26^th. Orders were given to move to Italy on December 1, 1943, arriving in Naples, January 2, 1944. It took up position north of the town of Ortona on the14th.

The unit was equipped with M-10 self-propelled anti-tank guns (often called “Wolverines”).

During April 1944, attention was focused on the Gustav and Hitler Lines near Cassino and Monastery Hill. They then advanced towards the Melba River and the Liri Valley and on to Rome, which fell to the Allies on June 4th. They then moved northward towards the Adriatic Coast to Coriano Ridge and the Gothic Line where the men endured very heavy German resistance at Rimini and the Coriano Ridge.

After the surrender of Italy in early 1945, the Regiment moved through France and Belgium to join with allied forces to liberate Holland. Very heavy fighting occurred in Holland around Nijmegen, Arnhem, Apeldoorn and the port of Zuider Zee by April. The Regiment moved on to the German Dutch Border on the east bank of the Ems River towards Emden, Germany nearing regimental headquarters and the town of Nieuweschans.

The end was near. Messages of “Cease Fire” were reported on May 4, 1945. With terms of surrender having been signed, the free world celebrated May 8 as V.E. Day and after five years, eight months, and seven days, the men could finally think about going home.

The 98th Battery played a significant, though sometimes overlooked, role in Canadian anti-tank warfare during the war, particularly in supporting armored divisions with self-propelled artillery.

For more photographs and information about the 98th Anti-Tank Battery, visit Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre’s Online Collections site:  98th Anti-Tank Battery, Bruce County Museum Online Collections.

Written by Glenys Johnson from research completed by Mildred Esplen.