GEN. CLARENCE HUEBNER'S 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION SICILY TRAINING MAP

Description:

FROM THE ESTATE OF GEN. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER, COMMANDER OF THE 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION IN THE FIRST WAVE AT OMAHA BEACH Historically important World War II map used by Gen. Clarence R, Huebner in preparing his 1st Infantry Division for its landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. Offered here is a 36 x 32 in. (irreg.) map assembled by Huebner showing the Sician coast west of Licata. An Army cartographer has laid out nine different training ranges to be used for various types of weaponry and assault. The ranges are variously labeled 'MORTAR', 'ARTILLERY', 'COMBAT', 'RIFLE', 'ATK', etc. According to our consignor, Huebner's son, Huebner extensively trained his men in Sicily immediately after assuming command of the division following its participation in the invasion of Sicily. Very good. CLARENCE R. HUEBNER (1888-1972) was the 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 commanded 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.