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Title: Terrible Terry Allen : Combat General of World War II - The Life of an American Soldier by Gerald Astor ISBN: 0-89141-760-5 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Best U.S. Combat Commander of W.W.II
Comment: "The Greatest Soldier of World War Two" - This is one of the many accolades said of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen by other Generals who knew him. He has also been credited with being the best U.S. combat commander of WWII. There are quite a few similarities between General George S. Patton and Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen in that they both:
·trained at West Point (Allen did not graduate, but finished his education at the Catholic University),
·served in the U.S. Cavalry during World War I as officers,
·became generals during World War II,
·were aggressive in their campaigns and always attacked,
·lost commands for "political" reasons,
·and both were very controversial.
There were also definite differences between the two:
Whereas Patton loved the limelight, and never missed an opportunity to distinguish himself, Allen was very low key, shied from publicity, and who liked his liquor.
Patton graduated from West Point, Allen flunked out twice.
Known as aggressive fighters, Patton was not terribly concerned with casualties but Allen was continually looking to keep the casualty rate as low as possible.
While Patton and Allen were both outspoken, Patton tried to play the "Army" game...Allen did not play the game, which irritated his superiors.
Allen was loved and respected by the average "G.I." in both Army Divisions. He was considered the enlisted man's General. Terry Allen was the only American WWII general to train and lead into combat two Army Divisions:
The 1st Division (a.k.a. the famous "Big Red One"), and the 104th Infantry Division ("The Timberwolves"). Under his command, the 1st Division helped conquer Sicily. Later, the 104th Division, led by Terry Allen was the first Army Division to make contact with the Russian Army (they met somewhere between the Mulde and Elbe Rivers).
The 104th Division under Terry Allen, set a record of 195 days of consecutive combat contact against the German Army.
While Gerald Astor has corrected a historical oversight by writing Terry Allen's biography, he definitely fell short of the excellent mark of a great book. I found the book to be slow moving during the first few chapters of "Terrible Terry Allen", and dwelled too much on minute details (such as the letters to his wife), while completely skipping over very important events in his life. While it is still a good book in that it describes a very controversial and brilliant military man, it comes up short describing "the total man". I would normally rate it at 3 stars, but give it a 4th only because it is the only book of its kind on Terry Allen.
Rating: 2
Summary: Terrible Book about Terry Allen
Comment: It should not be surprising that a book written by someone who is trained neither as a soldier nor a historian, about a consummate warrior like Major General Terry Allen, disappoints. It is most unfortunate, however, as Allen was one of the real characters among the US Army leadership in World War II and his life must have been a fascinating one.
This book reads like a first draft --one that cries out for a firm, knowledgeable editor who will cut the extraneous material and force the author to answer all the questions that could make this a great book. As only one example, before World War I Allen was sent as a new 2nd Lieutenant to the 14th Cavalry Regiment on the Mexican border. What was a cavalry regiment in 1914? How was it organized, trained,equipped and led? What was life in the 14th like? Where did the 14th Cavalry go and what did it do in the years Allen was with it? There is plenty of secondary material out there to answer these questions but scarcely a word in this book.
Allen claimed he participated in the last mounted charge with sabers by the US cavalry. This is a STORY. What happened? When? Where? Why? How? The author makes a silly try at connecting Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa's attack on US troops in Columbus, New Mexico, with inflated body-counts in Vietnam but the writer passes up another STORY and one relevant to Allen's development as a combat leader. Was Allen at Columbus? What happened there? What did Allen do?
Throughout we get page after tiresome page of Allen's letters to his wife, but little context. Why? What is the point? Before taking over the legendary 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One, in the early days of World War II Allen commanded the all-black Second Cavalry Division which included 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments -- the famous "Buffalo Soldiers." What effect did Allen have on the 2nd Cavalry Division? What effect did the division with its strong cadre of long-service, regular Army, African-American troopers and NCOs have on Allen? We are never told. Finally, for reasons that elude this reviewer, we get the full story of Allen's son's defeat by the Viet Cong as a battalion commander in the 1st Division in Vietnam. This in a book that gives us little of the important detail of when, where and how The Big Red One fought across North Africa and Sicily under General Allen. Why? Where is that editor?
We are left with a pradox: a polo-playing, loud-mouthed, combative drunk, who did not study his profession in peacetime, and refused to instill and demand discipline in war. Yet this officer trained and led into battle two of the best US Army combat divisions in World War II? How could that be? Sadly, we get few insights from this book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Trickle-down Effect
Comment: Biographies of such prominent World War II generals as Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton Jr. continue to surface regularly. Rarely do corps and division commanders who wore two stars on their collars receive the honor of the historian's pen. Gerald Astor may perhaps be paving the way for a trickle-down effect with his most recent effort. Astor's subject is not an obscure name in the annals of World War II combat. Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen is perhaps best remembered for commanding the infamous 1st Infantry Division-The Big Red One-during the North African and Sicilian Campaigns. He, along with his deputy commander Brig. Gen Theodore Roosevelt Jr. were perhaps responsible for the belief among its troops that the U.S. Army was made up of the 1st Division and a few million replacements. Just as the Big Red One was at its zenith in Sicily, both commanders were relieved and reassigned; Roosevelt would land on D-Day with his 4th Division, Allen would command the 104th Division during the drive into Germany. This controversial decision between Patton and then II Corps commander Omar Bradley to relieve Allen could become the subject of a book in itself. But Astor gives his readers much more. Allen was an Army brat. His father graduated from West Point and led a relatively uneventful Army career and never saw combat. Allen would flunk out of West Point and gain his commission in the reserves. Allen's son, Terry Jr. would also attend the Academy and die serving in his father's old division in Vietnam. This legacy of professional military officership is a promising theme that does not quite come to full fruition in Astor's' book. It appears Astor could have done more with this concept than a few pages he devoted to the first and third generations of Allens. The chapter on the incorrigible Terry Allen at West Point, however, may rank Allen alongside the likes of George A. Custer and George Pickett as a triumvirate of cadet flunkies. Like Custer, Allen made up for his academic and disciplinary deficiencies on the battle field. Astor, who has established a reputation for his oral histories, writes well and illustrates the personality of his subject with flowing prose. Astor is sympathetic, like Bruce Catton was to Ulysses S. Grant, to the fact that Allen may have had a drinking problem. Astor hammers home one significant contention, however: Allen cared for his men and agonised (and knelt down and prayed) when they became casualties. As I read, I kept thinking how could this poignant testament to a hard-fighting, chain-smoking, maverick general have been better. First, Astor does not cite his sources in notes. This is indeed unfortunate for it not only lessens his credibility as a bonafide historian, but also makes for awkward prose when certain significant works have to be introduced within paragraphs. It is obvious Astor has done his homework and trekked to all the relevant archival repositories. It is sad his diligent research is not documented, thus rendering his efforts a grave disservice. At times, Astor succumbs to the temptation to quote long passages from other authors or letters without off-setting the type. For example, Astor quotes Carlo D'Este at length and at one point I thought Astor's work could have been on the same level as D'Este's _Patton_. Like D'Este, Astor sometimes resorts to Bradley bashing with regard to Allen's relief, but tackles the topic thoroughly and even-handedly. Stylistically, what could have been a great biography is instead a very good one. For those who care little for the intricacies of style, Astor tells a compelling story about a remarkable general and man. In short, this book is a good read. Hopefully other authors will follow Astor's lead and more division and corps commanders of World War II will get their just deserve.
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