GEN. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER’S WAR-DATE HISTORY OF THE 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION, INSCRIBED TO HIS DAUGHTER

GEN. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER’S WAR-DATE HISTORY OF THE 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION, INSCRIBED TO HIS DAUGHTER
A superb historical item, a history of the 1st Infantry Division inscribed by its commander, Major Gen. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER, shortly after the division took Aachen in a bloody engagement that lasted from Oct. 2-21, 1944. The booklet, 34pp. 4 x 5.5 in., is titled simply: "The First!" and offers an excellent illustrated history of the division from its landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day until the shortly after the taking of Aachen. Huebner is quoted on the last page, and it is clear that the division is still at war as "greater demands must yet be made". On the inside of the front cover, the general inscribes the booklet: "To Juliette from Daddy" and on the last page, reserved for “Autographs”, he signs: “C. R. Huebner Maj. Gen. U.S.A.” Fine condition. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER (1888-1972) was an American general who commanded the 1st Infantry Division, popularly known as the "Big Red One", in early August of 1943. He commanded the division during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, where it was the first force to face the Germans on Omaha Beach, and he joined his men on the beach the same day. The division was instrumental in the breakthrough following the battle for St. Lo and in foiling the German counteroffensive at Mortain. After the Allied breakout in Normandy, the division advanced rapidly, arriving at the German border in early October of 1944, where it was committed to battle at Aachen, which it captured after two weeks of heavy fighting. After experiencing heavy fighting once again in the Huertgen Forest, the division briefly rested but soon returned to counter the German offensive at the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944. In January, 1945, Huebner was named commander of the V Corps, which he led in its advance to the Elbe river, where elements of the corps made the first contact with the Soviet Red Army.