[3][7] By this time, despite being "woefully ignorant of the trench warfare of the western front", Allen had gained some valuable knowledge during his tour on the border.

When he was on active duty with the 14th Cavalry, he lived in the field with the troopers, isolated from the niceties of a well-established army post, and his appreciation of fellow soldiers regardless of rank could only have been enhanced.

[11] Allen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 358th Regiment, which was also part of the 90th Division which had been sent to reinforce the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front.

By this time, he wrote in a letter back home, "I can't help but weaken when I look at the size of some of my companies.

The citation for his Silver Star reads as follows: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Major (Infantry) Terry DeLaMesa Allen (ASN: 0-3461), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 90th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action near Aincreville, France, 24 October 1918, while leading his battalion.

[22] On August 1, 1935, Allen was promoted to lieutenant colonel[23][24][25] and became an instructor at the U.S. Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas.

"[29] In May 1942, five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent German declaration of war on the United States, Allen was promoted to the rank of major general and given command of the 1st Infantry Division (also nicknamed "The Big Red One" due to its distinctive "1" insignia), a Regular Army formation.

Allen's brash and informal leadership style won him much respect and loyalty from the men in his division, who wholeheartedly adopted his emphasis on aggressiveness and combat effectiveness rather than military appearances.

Another notable officer under his command was his chief of staff, Colonel Norman Cota, who would later become a major general and be remembered for his leadership on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, more commonly known as D-Day.

The division landed in Oran, Algeria on November 8, 1942, as part of Center Task Force of Operation Torch under the command of Major General Lloyd Fredendall.

[32] The division (and elements of the division, as it was frequently split up and spread out around French North Africa and serving under several different commands, much to Allen's displeasure) was then engaged in much severe fighting throughout most of the subsequent Tunisian campaign, notably in the run for Tunis in the immediate aftermath of Operation Torch, and later at Maktar, Medjez el Bab, Kasserine Pass, Gafsa, El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur, until May 9, 1943, helping secure Tunisia.

[34] With the six-month campaign at an end, Allen, who oversaw the movement of his exhausted division back to Oran,[34] found time to write to his wife and, in doing so, unburden.

[3] In a 3 March 1943 letter to Marshall, General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in North Africa, expressed his confidence in the 1st Infantry Division's two leaders: "Terry Allen seems to be doing a satisfactory job; so is Roosevelt.

[37] "While the Allies were parading decorously through Tunis," Bradley wrote, "Allen's brawling 1st Infantry Division was celebrating the Tunisian victory in a manner all its own.

"[38][39] Bradley continued: "Despite their [prodigious] talents as combat leaders, neither Terry Allen nor Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the assistant division commander, possessed the instincts of a good disciplinarian.

[42][44] With Patton occupied with the German evacuation from Messina and responding to official inquiries concerning his slapping of an enlisted soldier, Bradley used the opportunity to ask General Eisenhower permission to relieve both Allen and Roosevelt of their commands.

[49] Indeed, Eisenhower's statement on the matter from his personal papers was unequivocal: "It is a terrible injustice to General Allen to hint that he was relieved for inefficiency.

However, there was some consolation in knowing that the division had been successful and that in spite of minor reverses, it had won every 'round', after ten months of hard combat.

He had gone to the Command and General Staff School and he had all kinds of classroom work on the theory of training men for combat and teaching leadership.

[citation needed] "Allen stressed that success in such ventures required well-disciplined troops, map-reading proficiency, orientation to night movement, and patrolling and training that taught how to maneuver in the dark without noise or confusion.

Throughout his command of the division, Allen continued to display his independence and a hearty contempt for 'chickenshit' regulations that interfered with combat readiness, a trait which no longer seemed to infuriate his superior officers.

For a number of years he was employed as a representative for various insurance companies in El Paso and was active in civic affairs and in veteran organizations.

His health having declined very quickly after the death of his son, his only child, he developed a heart condition, which was worsened by several small strokes, which he himself described as, "Going in and out of reality.

[68] Although the building, adjacent to the Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum, no longer functions as a community center, the dedication plaque was refurbished in late 2013 and remains as a tribute to Allen.

[70] He was also reportedly the only American general officer in the European and North African theaters who preferred to sleep on the ground, rather than on a cot or in a bed.

[56] He expected his soldiers to keep their weapons and equipment in perfect working order and trained the men constantly to keep them combat ready.

As war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was later killed in action, would write, "Major General Terry Allen was one of my favorite people.

He hated Germans and Italians like vermin, and his pattern for victory was simple: just wade in and murder the hell out of the low-down, good-for-nothing so-and-so's"[71][72] Allen also frequently referred to the enemy as "squareheads", "krauts", "boche", or "wops.

"[72] In preparing his 1st Infantry Division for its first encounter with the enemy, Major General Allen emphasized realistic training exercises, weapons practice, and physical conditioning in the field in place of drill and military ceremony.

[73] Another officer, Albert Schwartz, believed Allen was a master of instilling confidence in his organization, which extended to even the lowest private.