OMAR BRADLEY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH, PRESENTED TO GEN. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER

OMAR BRADLEY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH, PRESENTED TO GEN. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER

(1893 - 1981) American general of World War II who commanded the largest ground force ever led by one man. Great S.P., 8 x 10 in. b/w, a chest-up view of Bradley in uniform, signed and inscribed across the chest: 'To Major Gen. C. R. Huebner...Best of Luck, Omar Bradley'. Contrast a bit lacking, else fine. Sold with a war-date Army photograph, 8 x 10 in. b/w, showing Bradley pinning an award to Huebner's uniform with First Division patch prominently showing on his arm. The reverse bears a European Theater of Operations stamp, reading 'PASSED FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY...NOT FOR PUBLICATION...18 JUL 1944' at top-left, along with a 'CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL RECLASSIFIED' stamp at center. Very good. 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 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. By war's end, the division had advanced into Czechoslovakia. Following the German surrender, Huebner served as the Chief of Staff for all American forces in Europe, and in 1949 was named the final military governor of the American occupation zone in Germany.