The 56th Infantry Regiment was a regular infantry regiment in the United States Army. It originated from personnel of the 17th Infantry Regiment in 1917 and fought in the region of Metz during World War I. It was reconstituted in 1942 as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment and incorporated into the newly formed 12th Armored Division from which the 17th, 56th and 66th Armored Infantry Battalions were formed. History/Lineage The 56th Armored Infantry Regiment traced its origin back to the 17th Infantry Regiment of Maj. Gen. George Sykes' 2nd Division of the 5th Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Personnel from the 17th Infantry Regiment formed the 56th Infantry Regiment on 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army under the command of William P. Burnham, and on 16 June it was organized at Fort Oglethorpe. On 16 November 1917, it was assigned to the 7th Division. World War I During the Meuse-Argonne campaign it was on the left bank of the Moselle River, the nearest American military unit to Metz, and was preparing to attack towards Metz when the armistice was signed. In April 1919 a battalion of the 56th entered Metz as an honor guard for the Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. Pershing. For its actions during World War I, the regiment was awarded the campaign streamer 'Lorraine 1918'. The regiment was deactivated on 21 September 1921 at Camp Meade, Maryland and demobilized on 22 July 1922. World War II On 7 July 1942 the unit was reactivated as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 12th Armored Division, which was activated as a division at Camp Campbell, Kentucky on 15 September 1942. On 1 April 1943 the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment was given the special mission of guarding portion of a train route of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The regiment was reorganized as part of an effort to streamline U.S. armored units based on lessons learned from fighting in North Africa and Italy. In 1943, all Armored Divisions that had not been deployed to the European Theater of Operations were converted from heavy to light divisions. On 11 November 1943 while at the Tennessee Maneuver Area in Watertown, Tennessee, the 12th Armored Division was reorganized under the Authority and Orders TO&E 15 Sept 1943, G.O.#36 HQ 12th Armd Div, 11 Nov 1943, Letter HQ