The 656th Field Artillery Battalion was constituted 11 March 1944 in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

Lineage

*Constituted 11 March 1944 in the

as the 656th Field Artillery Battalion *Activated 20 April 1944 at Camp Rucker,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

*Deployed via

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

30 November 1944 *Arrived in England 8 December 1944 *Arrived in France on 3 March 1945 *Located at Berg Reichenstein, Germany on 14 August 1945 *Returned to CONUS via New York Port of Embarkation on 29 November 1945 *Inactivated 1 December 1945 at

Camp Kilmer Located in Central New Jersey, Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

*Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 656th Field Artillery Battalion, redesignated 24 December 1946 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 479th Field Artillery Group, and allotted to the

Organized Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 202 ...

(remainder of 656th Field Artillery Battalion concurrently disbanded) *Activated 2 January 2 January 1947 at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

*(Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the

Organized Reserve Corps The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

) *Reorganized and redesignated 25 May 1959 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 479th Artillery Group *Location changed 1 May 1960 to

Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to the Horsham Air Guard Station at the form ...

; location changed 31 January 1968 to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

*Redesignated 1 November 1971 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 479th Field Artillery Group *Redesignated 16 April 1980 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 479th Field Artillery Brigade *Inactivated 15 15 September 1996 at

*Withdrawn 24 October 1997 from the

and allotted to the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

; Headquarters concurrently activated at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

*Inactivated 16 October 1999 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma *Headquarters activated 1 December 2006 at

using the assets & personnel of 4th Brigade, 75th Division (Training Support) *Deactivated 30 June 2015 at Fort Sill

Subordinate units

*1st Battalion. 289th Regiment (CS/CSS) *2nd Battalion. 290th Regiment (CS/CSS) *2nd Battalion. 381st Regiment (CS/CSS) *1st Battalion. 382nd Regiment (LSB) *1st Battalion. 393rd Regiment (Infantry) *3rd Battalion. 393rd Regiment (Field Artillery) *1st Battalion. 395th Regiment (Engineers) *3rd Battalion. 395th Regiment (Armored)

Honors

Campaign participation credit

*World War II: **

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

; **Central Europe

Decorations

*None

References

{{ACMH, url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0479fabde.htm, article = 479th Field Artillery Brigade Lineage and Honors Field artillery brigades of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1944