The 227th Field Artillery Battalion was the 29th Division’s general support battalion (155mm) during World War Two.
The exact origins of the unit is slightly confusing, but it appears it came about from a combination of the 2/111th FA from Virginia and the 176th FA from Pittsburgh, PA. The lineage came from the 2/111th FA, but the bulk of the personnel and equipment came from the 176th FA.
The lineage comes from the 2nd Battalion, 111th FA, “The Richmond Howitzers”. In 1920, the 2/111th consisted of the following batteries: HQ and HQ Battery – Portsmouth, VA; Battery D – Hampton, VA; Battery E –Richmond, VA; and Battery F – Fredericksburg, VA.
The 2/111th was mobilized along with the 29th Division in February of 1941. In 1942, the Division was triangulized. On 11 March 1942, the 2/111th FA redesignated as the 227th FA (155mm) as the artillery regimental system was abolished from the old “square” divisions. The 176th FA was reassigned to another division but apparently most of its personnel and equipment became the core of the 227th FA on 12 March 1942 with LTC Harry Warfield as the Commander.
A very detailed history of the 227th can be found in these official After Action Reports (AARs):
1942 AAR click here to view document
1943 AAR click here to view document
June 1944 AAR click here to view document
July 1944 AAR click here to view document
August 1944 AAR click here to view document
September 1944 AAR click here to view document
October 1944 AAR click here to view document
November 1944 AAR click here to view document
December 1944 AAR click here to view document
January 1945 AAR click here to view document
February 1945 AAR click here to view document
March 1945 AAAR click here to view document
April 1945 AAR click here to view document
May 1945 AAR click here to view document
June 1945 AAR click here to view document
August 1945 AAR click here to view document
September 1945 AAR click here to view document
Oct/Nov 1945 AAR click here to view document
An excellent copulation of unit and individual awards and commendations can be found here: click here to view document
In 1946, the 227th FA was redesignated as the as 442 FA Bn (105mm) in Richmond VA (assigned to VA NG 176th RCT). In 1959, the 442 FA Bn was inactivated with the 176 RCT disbanded in July 1959.
References
1. Lane, Dale. “227th FA 1942 and 1943 AARs.” Message to the author. 11 May 2014. E-mail.
2. Lane, Dale. “227th FA 1944 AARs.” 11 May 2014. E-mail.
3. Lane, Dale. “227th FA 1945 AARs.” Message to the author. 11 May 2014. E-mail.
4. Lane, Dale. “Battery Rosters.” Message to the author. 11 May 2014. E-mail.
5. Lane, Dale. “Unit History 227th FA BN.pdf.” Message to the author. 12 May 2014. E-mail.
6. Ewing, Joseph H. 29 Let’s Go!: A History of the 29th Infantry Division in World War II. Nashville, Tn.: Battery, 1979. Print.
7. Cooper, John P. The History of the 110th Field Artillery, with Sketches of Related Units. Baltimore: War Records Division, Maryland Historical Society, 1953. Print.
8. Listman, John W., Robert K. Wright, and Bruce D. Hardcastle. The Tradition Continues: A History of The Virginia National Guard, 1607-1985. Richmond: Taylor Pub., 1987. Print.