Forward with Patton: The World War II Diary of Colonel Robert S. Allen

American Warriors

by Robert Sharon Allen, John Nelson Rickard (Editor)

Soldier, journalist, and Soviet spy Robert S. Allen (1900--1981) was a deeply controversial figure. After serving in France during World War I, he left the military, forged a successful career as a syndicated columnist, and even rose to become the Washington, DC, bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. During this period, he developed a sideline as a paid informant for the KGB. Still, Allen returned to the army following America's entry into World War II and served as General George S. Patton's chief of situation and executive officer for operations. He was considered such an authority on Patton after the war that Twentieth Century-Fox asked him to develop a film script about the general.

In Forward with Patton, John Nelson Rickard presents a complete, annotated edition of Colonel Allen's World War II diary for 1944-1945. The entries reflect Allen's private thoughts on his experiences, provide insight into the employment of the Third Army staff, and survey the strengths and weaknesses of individual staff members. They also provide an invaluable and rare perspective of Patton, with whom Allen worked closely while gathering intelligence, and whom he deeply admired. At times objective and at others intensely personal, Forward with Patton offers a distinctive eyewitness account of one of the US military's most important armies by one of its most colorful soldiers.

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2021

About the author

Robert Sharon Allen, whose byline was also "Robert S. Allen." was a Washington D.C. correspondent and Washington bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great companion to any history of the 1944-45 US campaign in Europe. Allen was on Patton's staff as an intelligence officer, and he is inordinately proud of his ability to compile a report. His diary is full of petty grievances, including his resentment of peers who get promoted while he languishes as a lieutenant colonel. He blasts all and sundry, especially Montgomery, but Eisenhower and Bradley receive a heaping helping of scorn after the Battle of the Bulge. Well worth reading for the sense of "you are there" with gossip, rumors, and lots of snapshots of ol' Blood and Guts himself.