Clarence R. Huebner


   In the middle of April 1945 the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Zhukov were 70 kilometers away from Berlin. On 16 April, the operation to capture the German capital began. In April, the Western Allied troops forced the Rhine and completed the liquidation of the Ruhr group of Germans.

They liberated Dresden, Magdeburg and other large cities of Germany. After a victory in Ruhr, the last phase of attack began - allies should leave to Elbe and meet on its coast with the Soviet troops.

Met at the Elbe River

This historic meeting took place two weeks before the Victory, on 25 April 1945. Near the city of Torgau, units of the 69th Infantry Division of the 1st American Army met with the 58th Infantry Division of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

Clarence R.Huebner and Gleb Baklanov on the banks of the Elbe River

On 13 May 1945, a Decree was issued to the troops of the first Ukrainian front.

«On behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, to award the officers of the First American Army for the successful conduct of combat operations against the common enemy and to commemorate the unification of American troops with the Red Army units on the Elbe River.»

Decree of 13 May 1945

Major General Clarence R. Huebner, commander of the V Corps, was awarded with the Order of Suvorov of the second degree.

Clarence R. Huebner

Clarence Ralph Huebner was born on 24 November 1888. He served during the both World War I and World War II. In January 1945 Huebner took command of the V Corps, which he directed from the Rhine to the Elbe, where his troops made first contact with the Red Army. More details about his biography can be found in Wikipedia.

In November 2019, the Huebner's archive was sold at the Alexander Historical Auctions.

Awards of Clarence R. Huebner

Including the Order of Suvorov of the second degree (number of the order 1667), which he was awarded in 1945.

Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov

As we can see, a screw has been removed from the order and a pin has been made.

Temporary certificate for the Order signed by Marshal Konev and other items.

Temporary certificate
Temporary certificate
Statute of the Order
Ribbon Bar

Grateful thanks to Andreas Kornfeld from the Alexander Historical Auctions for images from their catalogues.