Raymond Oscar Barton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | "Tubby"[1] |
| Born | August 22, 1889 Granada, Colorado, United States |
| Died | February 27, 1963 (aged 73) Augusta, Georgia, United States |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1912–1946 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Service number | 0-3401 |
| Unit |  Infantry Branch |
| Commands | 1st Battalion,8th Infantry Regiment 8th Infantry Regiment 4th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star |
Major GeneralRaymond Oscar "Tubby"Barton (August 22, 1889 – February 27, 1963) was a careerofficer in theUnited States Army and combat commander inWorld War I andWorld War II. As commander of the4th Infantry Division during World War II, most notably during theNormandy landings in June 1944. He commanded the 4th Infantry Division from 3 July 1942 to 26 December 1944 and led them into battle fromD-Day atUtah Beach,[2] to theBattle of Normandy, theLiberation of Paris, and into theBattle of Hürtgen Forest before leaving the command due to health problems on December 27, 1944.[1]
_at_West_Point_in_1912.png)
Born on August 22, 1889, Raymond Oscar Barton graduated from theUnited States Military Academy (USMA) atWest Point, New York, with the class of 1912.[3] Many of his West Point classmates later became general officers duringWorld War II as he did, such asWade H. Haislip,John Shirley Wood,Walton Walker,Harry J. Malony,Walter M. Robertson,William H. Wilbur,Franklin C. Sibert,Robert McGowan Littlejohn,Stephen J. Chamberlin,Archibald Vincent Arnold,Albert E. Brown,Gilbert R. Cook andMillard Harmon.[3]
His first assignment was with the30th Infantry Regiment, then serving inAlaska. He did not see any active service duringWorld War I but, by now acaptain, he served in Germany from 1919 to 1923 as commander of the 1st Battalion,8th Infantry Regiment which was the last formation to leave Germany.
He later returned to the United States, now as amajor, and attended theUnited States Army Command and General Staff College from August 1923 to June 1924,[4] along with theUnited States Army War College.[3] He returned to the Command and General Staff College in the late 1920s, this time as an instructor.[4] Barton then became a professor of Military Science and Tactics atGeorgetown University. While he was there, on August 1, 1935, he was promoted again, this time tolieutenant colonel.[1]
The United States enteredWorld War II in December 1941, by which time Barton was a temporary colonel, having been promoted to that rank on February 14.[1]
Having gained for himself a reputation as an excellent trainer of troops, Barton dedicated himself to training the men under his command for their ultimate test, theAlliedinvasion of Normandy, which would be their baptism of fire. The division conducted training inamphibious landings atCamp Gordon Johnston,Florida, and continued to do so after it left the United States, arriving in January 1944 inEngland, from where the Allies would launch the invasion, then scheduled for May 1944. Once there, training in amphibious landings continued, most notably atSlapton Sands inDevon.[3]
The Allies' plan for the invasion was for theU.S. VII Corps, under Major GeneralJ. Lawton Collins, to seize and holdUtah Beach, with Barton's 4th Division as its spearhead. The division's leading units began landing on Utah Beach early in the morning on June 6, with Barton himself arriving ashore in the afternoon. In contrast toOmaha Beach, where the Germans had put a fierce defense and inflicted heavy casualties on the Americans, Utah saw only light resistance. Despite this, Barton was concerned about getting his men and equipment off of Utah and inland to link up with the Americanairborne forces which had landed in Normandy in the early hours of the morning (seeAmerican airborne landings in Normandy).[3] The terrain behind Utah was flooded, which made the move inland more difficult, and meant that the causeways were the only escape inland. During one point in the afternoon Barton himself began directing traffic through the only open causeway off the beach. His worries were lessened when the Allies opened up other exits.[3]
Barton then began leading his division inland where it relieved troops of the82nd Airborne Division who had become isolated atSainte-Mère-Église. In the next few days Barton's division fought to enlarge the Allies'beachhead in Normandy, with the Germans putting up their usual stubborn resistance. A story of this period in the fighting in Normandy tells of Barton visiting a unit of his division to encourage the men. Upon informing them that the Germans opposite them were not first-rate, the unit's intelligence officer countered by stating that the Germans should be put on the distribution list as they apparently did not realize they were second-rate.[3]
During the war he became friends withErnest Hemingway who sought his favor as the war correspondent assigned to the division and the two corresponded after.
Hemingway wrote to Barton:
You had one of the greatest divisions in American military history.
During theBattle of Hürtgen Forest on the Weisser Weh stream near Grosshau,Germany General Barton gave up his belt for tourniquet material to medicRussell J. York of his division at York's request. Lives were saved, and aSilver Star was personally awarded to Technician (Medical) 4th Grade York by General Barton for his actions.
Barton died atFort Gordon nearAugusta, Georgia on February 27, 1963, and was buried at Westover Memorial Park.[5]
In the filmThe Longest Day he is played byEdmond O'Brien. He appears in a scene where he allows his assistant division commander,Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (played byHenry Fonda), to lead the division ashore at D-Day.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding General 4th Infantry Division 1942–1944 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
