U.S. Army general. Born in Bushton, Kansas, on 24 November 1888, Clarence Ralph Huebner enlisted in the army as a private in 1910. He earned a commission by examination, and by the time the United States entered World War I, he was a captain in command of a company of the 28th Infantry Regiment. His conspicuous bravery and leadership ability were evident at the May 1918 Battle of Cantigny. Promoted to major, Huebner was wounded during the fighting south of Soissons in July 1918. After the Saint-Mihiel Offensive, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the 28th Regiment in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He then served in occupation forces in Germany after the armistice. He returned to the United States in 1919 and reverted to the rank of captain.

Huebner was promoted to brigadier general in February 1942 and came to the attention of Army chief of staff General George C. Marshall. Promoted to major general in March 1943, Huebner became deputy chief of staff to British General Sir Harold Alexander in North Africa. In August 1943, Huebner replaced Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen in command of the 1st Infantry Division. He led the division, nicknamed the "Big Red One," onto Omaha Beach in Normandy on 6 June 1944. When the war ended in Europe, he was commander of V Corps. Lieutenant General Huebner retired in November 1950 and died in Washington, D.C., on 23 September 1972.

John F. Votaw

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Further Reading
Blumenson, Martin, and James L. Stokesbury. Masters of the Art of Command. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.; Society of the First [Infantry] Division. Danger Forward: The Story of the First Division in World War II. Washington, DC: Society of the First Division, 1947.