Major General Raymond O. Barton commanded the US 4th Infantry Division from July 1942 until December 1944 in the European Theater of World War II. Suffering from a severe ulcer, he relinquished command, returned to the United States in early 1945, and died in 1963.
Stephen A. Bourque first mined Barton's papers for his biography, Tubby: Raymond O. Barton and the US Army, 1889–1963 (UNT Press, 2024). Among these many hundreds of letters and documents was a sixty-six-page typed manuscript of events between March 1944 and April 1945. Compiled by his aides-de-camp and military assistants, the daily entries identify General Barton's activities while training in England and commanding his division during the landing on Utah Beach; during the capture of Cherbourg and the liberation of Paris; and during the bloody fighting along the German border in the Schnee Eifel, the Hürtgen Forest, and Luxembourg. This diary, edited by Bourque with commentaries and explanatory footnotes, describes Barton's daily travels and exposes his intensive interaction with superiors, subordinates, and other American leaders. Few World War II division commanders left such a historical record of their command tenure.
Augmenting the edited diary are other documents that provide context and explanation, including the 4th Infantry Division's "Narrative History." Written primarily by the 4th Division historian, it has not previously appeared in print. In addition, other documents—such as the 4th Division's daily and monthly after-action reports, unit orders, and unit journals—provide evidence that the commander was engaged in the day's action. In addition, Barton's extensive letters and military documents offer insight into his role as a commander. Where the narrative history lacks sufficient detail, Bourque has added his own comments.
Barton's War is an unprecedented window into the daily activities of an American combat division commander, providing historians, military officers, and historic travelers a detailed accounting of this prominent commander.
About the Author :
Stephen A. Bourque is professor emeritus of military history at the School of Advanced Military Studies, Army University, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A retired US Army officer, he earned a PhD from Georgia State University and taught at several military and civilian colleges. Bourque is the author or coauthor of six books, including TheRoad to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 Persian Gulf War (UNT Press) and Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France. His most recent, Tubby: Raymond O. Barton and the US Army, 1889–1963 (UNT Press), earned a distinguished writing award from the Army Historical Foundation. In addition, he has conducted almost two dozen historical tours and military staff rides in Europe and the United States.
Review :
"Division-level command remains underexplored in WWII literature, and the day-to-day realities of commanders in the field are absent. Barton's daily record, paired with the 4th Infantry Division narrative and Bourque's expert framing, is unique. Nothing else captures this echelon of command with this clarity or authenticity. This work brilliantly complements Bourque's earlier biography Tubby. His integration of sources reflects real command-level insight and deep familiarity with the material, as well as appreciation of the human dimension. This is a rare and authoritative work, grounded in a daily primary source and edited by someone who knows both the scholarship and the soldiering."—Steven L. Ossad, author of Omar Nelson Bradley: America's GI General, 1893–1981
"Stephen Bourque has unearthed an important primary source for the European Theater of Operations, the diary of Major General Raymond Barton. Augmented by the author's insightful commentary and detailed notes, the diary sheds light on the hectic daily routines and pressures facing the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, the most bloodied division in the northwest European campaign. This new evidence gives readers and historians a revealing window into a troop leader's high-tempo life of frontline visits, conferences, staff meetings, and face-to-face confrontations, occasionally punctuated by a nearby blast from enemy artillery. This is a must-have source for anyone interested in the challenges of World War II military leadership." —Craig S. Chapman, author of Javelins in the Half-Light: The Schnee Eifel Battles 1944–45
"Like his previous work Beyond the Beach, Stephen Bourque again covers another all-too-forgotten element of the Normandy Campaign. Barton's War masterfully brings to light the challenges and contributions of 'Tubby' Barton and his 4th Infantry Division. Detailed and insightful, this account sheds new light on the battles in Northwest Europe and fills an important niche in the historiography of the campaign. The work easily transitions between the operational and tactical levels of war while including individual biographical elements. Barton's War is a welcomed addition to the literature."—John M Curatola, Lt. Col. USMC (Ret.), Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, National World War II Museum
"I like the use of the 4th Infantry Division's official history; it sets up the sections of the diary well. It's interesting to see how different divisions handled these things. Most keepers of war diaries seem to have been learning how to do so on the job, and the format and content of these diaries evolved over the course of the war as the authors got better at it (and as higher HQ added requirements for info in daily reports). The inclusion of letters from Barton and others throughout the text is very effective and adds important color to the relatively dry diary entries. Nice work!"—Mark Calhoun, senior historian at the National World War II Museum and author of General Lesley J. McNair: Unsung Architect of the US Army
