Background
Allen was born in Fort Douglas, Utah, to Colonel Samuel Allen and Consuelo "Conchita" Alvarez de la Mesa. Allen's family had a long line of military tradition.
Allen was born in Fort Douglas, Utah, to Colonel Samuel Allen and Consuelo "Conchita" Alvarez de la Mesa. Allen's family had a long line of military tradition.
Allen grew up in various military bases because of his father's military career and in 1907, received an appointment to the United States Military Academy (West Point) in New York. Unlike most American World War II generals, Allen was also a Roman Catholic.
On June 7, 1918, fourteen months after the United States declared war against Germany and entered World War I, Allen was sent to France and assigned to the 315th Ammunition Train. Allen showed up at a school for infantry officers the day before a class graduation. When the commandant of the school began to hand out certificates to the graduates, Allen lined up with them. When confronted with him, the commandant said, "I don't remember you in this class." "I'm Allen. Why don't you?" was his reply. Without further ado, Allen was given the certificate and became a temporary major.
Allen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 358th Infantry Regiment, part of the 90th Division of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) which he led into battle on the Western Front at St. Mihiel and Aincreville. During one battle Allen received a bullet through his jaw and mouth and, as a result of the wound, never stuttered again. He was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his actions. Allen remained with the AEF in France until the Armistice of November 11, 1918. He then served with the Army of Occupation in Germany until 1920 when he returned to the United States.
After Allen returned to the United States, his temporary rank of major was reverted to captain until July 1, 1920, when he was promoted to the permanent rank of major. He served in Camp Travis and later in Fort McIntosh, both located in Texas. In 1922, Allen was assigned to the 61st Cavalry Division, in New York City.
He continued to take military related courses, among them: an advanced course at the U.S. Army Cavalry School, Fort Riley, Kansas; a U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a course in the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia and an interim course in infantry command with other divisions. In 1928, he married Mary Frances Robinson of El Paso, Texas with whom in 1929 he had a son, Terry Allen, Jr. On August 1, 1935, Allen was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became an instructor at the U.S. Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas. He wrote and published "Reconnaissance by horse cavalry regiments and smaller units" in 1939.
On October 1, 1940, during World War II (although the United States was still neutral at this point) General George C. Marshall, Jr., the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, promoted him to the rank of brigadier general (without ever holding the rank of colonel) and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Brigade. From April–May 1941 he commanded the 2nd Cavalry Division. He then became the assistant division commander (ADC) of the 36th Infantry Division, an Army National Guard formation from Texas. The 36th Division was commanded by his good friend, Brigadier General Fred L. Walker.
In May 1942, five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent German declaration of war on the United States, he was promoted to the rank of major general and given command of the 1st Infantry Division.
Allen's 1st Infantry Division was soon sent to the United Kingdom where they underwent further combat training, which included training in amphibious operations. Allen and his ADC, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (son of former President Theodore Roosevelt), distinguished themselves as combat leaders. 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, D-Day.
Allen was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on August 9, 1943. In October 1944 he was reassigned to command the 104th Infantry Division, known as the Timberwolf Division. Despite being relieved of command of the 1st Infantry Division, Allen continued his own style of leadership. Former 104th Infantry Division veterans remembered him as being "Confident, stubborn, determined, and aggressive." At the same time, Allen gave orders that he would not tolerate unshaven or slovenly troops–what he termed "Mauldins" in the Timberwolf Division.
Allen retired from the Army on August 31, 1946. For a number of years he served as a representative for various insurance companies in El Paso and was active in civic affairs and in veteran organizations. In October 1967, Allen's son, Lieutenant Colonel Terry de la Mesa Allen Jr., was killed in the Vietnam War, while commanding the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 1st Infantry Division, which his father had commanded in World War II.
Allen Sr., died of natural causes on September 12, 1969, in El Paso, Texas, at the age of 81. He was buried, with his son and wife, in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.