Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Harold Roe "Pink" Bull (January 6, 1893 – November 1, 1976) was a general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served as Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

(SHAEF) from 1943 to 1945.

Biography

Bull was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

in June 1914. His fellow graduates included

Carl Spaatz Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; 28 June 1891 – 14 July 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil productio ...

, Brehon B. Somervell, Charles P. Gross,

John B. Anderson John Bayard Anderson (February 15, 1922 – December 3, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member of ...

, James L. Bradley, Frank W. Milburn, Harold Francis Loomis, Ralph Royce,

Orlando Ward Major General Orlando Ward (November 4, 1891 – February 4, 1972) was a career United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. During the latter, as a major general, he commanded the 1st Armored Division during Oper ...

, Jens A. Doe, Harry C. Ingles, and Vicente Lim, all of whom were later to achieve

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

rank. Commissioned as an infantry officer, Bull was initially assigned to the 30th Infantry. From September 1914 to March 1918, he served with the regiment in California, New York state, Texas and North Carolina. From April to October 1918, Bull served with the 3rd Division in France. Promoted to captain in May 1917, he served as a temporary major from June 1918 to March 1920. From October 1918 to August 1920, Bull was assigned to the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area. He then served as an instructor in the Department of English and History at West Point from August 1920 to August 1923. Promoted to major in February 1923, Bull commanded the 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry at

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...

in Hawaii from October 1923 to January 1925. He graduated from the Infantry School Advanced Course in May 1927 and the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in June 1928. Bull served as an instructor at the Infantry School from August 1928 to July 1932. He graduated from the Army War College in July 1933 and the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in June 1934. Bull served with the 26th Infantry at

Plattsburg Barracks The "Old Stone Barracks" is the last remaining structure of a proposed quadrangle of early U.S. Army barracks built at Plattsburgh, New York in 1838. Of the four main buildings initially planned for the Plattsburgh post, only two were ever co ...

in New York state from July 1934 to July 1935 as executive officer and 3rd Battalion commander. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1935, he then served at the War Department in Washington, D.C. From August 1939 to July 1941, he was professor of military science and tactics at the Culver Military Institute. Receiving temporary promotions to colonel and then brigadier general in July 1941, he served as assistant commander of the 4th Motorized Division at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

in Georgia from August to December 1941.

World War II

Temporarily promoted to major general in May 1942, Bull served as commanding general of

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

in Georgia and Tennessee from June to October 1943. He served as Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at

(SHAEF) under

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

from October 1943 until SHAEF was dissolved in July 1945. He later served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff of U.S. Forces in Europe (USFET) until returning to the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

in September 1946. As head of the Operations (G-3) section of SHAEF, Bull had a major role in the planning of military operations in Europe. His office prepared most of the periodic situation reports to the

Combined Chiefs of Staff The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for the United States and Britain during World War II. It set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchi ...

and the SHAEF Operational Directives which were issued by Eisenhower's headquarters. Bull's office included the SHAEF meteorological staff which compiled weather reports for use in planning military operations. A favorable weather report by Bull's staff helped General Eisenhower decide to launch the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

on the morning of June 6, 1944. From September 20 to September 29, 1944, Bull was commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division. His promotion to colonel was made permanent in October 1942, brigadier general in June 1946 and major general in January 1948.

Post-war

Bull was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in July 1949 and served as Commandant of the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

until his retirement from the Army in July 1952. He then spent five years at the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. Bull died at his home in the Westmoreland Hills neighborhood of

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

on November 1, 1976, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Decorations

References

External links

Papers of Harold R. Bull, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Harold R 1893 births 1976 deaths Military personnel from Springfield, Massachusetts United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Infantry Branch personnel United States Army personnel of World War I United States Military Academy faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Naval War College alumni United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army generals People of the Central Intelligence Agency Military personnel from Bethesda, Maryland Burials at Arlington National Cemetery