Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II

by Belton Y. Cooper, Stephen E. Ambrose (Foreword)

“An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants“Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of life—and of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph.”—Stephen E. Ambrose, from his Foreword  “In a down-to-earth style, Death Traps tells the compelling story of one man’s assignment to the famous 3rd Armored Division that spearheaded the American advance from Normandy into Germany. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. This was a dangerous job that often required him to travel alone through enemy territory, and the author recalls his service with pride, downplaying his role in the vast effort that kept the American forces well equipped and supplied. . . . [Readers] will be left with an indelible impression of the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them.”—Library Journal “As an alumnus of the 3rd, I eagerly awaited this book’s coming out since I heard of its release . . . and the wait and the book have both been worth it. . . . Cooper is a very polished writer, and the book is very readable. But there is a certain quality of ‘you are there’ many other memoirs do not seem to have. . . . Nothing in recent times—ridgerunning in Korea, firebases in Vietnam, or even the one hundred hours of Desert Storm—pressed the ingenuity and resolve of American troops . . . like WWII. This book lays it out better than any other recent effort, and should be part of the library of any contemporary warrior.”—Stephen Sewell, Armor Magazine “Cooper’s writing and recall of harrowing events is superb and engrossing. Highly recommended.”—Robert A. Lynn, The Stars and Stripes “This detailed story will become a classic of WWII history and required reading for anyone interested in armored warfare.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Death Traps] fills a critical gap in WWII literature. . . . It’s a truly unique and valuable work.”—G.I. Journal

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, War, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography

399 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Belton Cooper grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and attended the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Michigan. He served as an Ordnance officer with the 3rd Armored Division during World War II.

Mr. Cooper was awarded five service stars on his Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign medal: serving in the field from the Invasion of Normandy in 1944 through the Allied invasion of Germany in 1945. He was also awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation, the Belgian Fourragere and the Bronze Star Medal.

His primary duty during the war was the "recovery, repair, and maintenance" of US tanks during the war. As part of that duty, he regularly traveled through "the void", an area ranging from a few miles to as many as 50 miles (80 km) between the front lines and US supply trains, to deliver loss reports to commanders, which were too sensitive to transmit via radio.  He called this activity "running the gauntlet", due to the tendency of Allied armored forces to bypass some German elements in their advance, leaving pockets of enemy forces between the quickly advancing armor, and the trailing infantry units.

After the war, Mr. Cooper completed his studies at the University of Michigan with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He moved to Birmingham to work for Ingalls Shipbuilding Company. He also worked for U.S. Pipe & Foundry Company for over 20 years, and for 33 years was President of the Herman Williams Company, Inc.

His experiences in the European theater were the subject of his 1998 book "Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II".

Reviews

[Wesley Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book single-handedly introduced the vast majority of all tank-related WWII myths into modern culture, and it seems now to be impossible to dislodge it from its place of infamy.

The recent movie "Fury" used this debunked atrocity as a source, in order to attempt to make the movie more accurate - anybody knowledgeable about WWII tank warfare will attest to the absurd results. :/

The book - published by a major publisher - and boasting an introduction from the esteemed Steven Ambrose (a historian of no small stature, who himself is guilty of not understanding WWII tank warfare) starts off well enough, but VERY quickly the major flaws are revealed.

Belton Cooper has also appeared in interviews on the History Channel - a dubious source of "history" indeed.

For starters, this book has NO bibliography. It has NO endnotes. And it has NO footnotes. So, basically we are left with a book that doesn't attempt to back up what it says with ANY sources - and yet, as you can see from all the other reviews, people just take Coopers word for what he says at face value.

It is an odd book. As a memoir it is poorly written, and wanders all over the place - frequently into the realm of speculation. As a history it supplies zero sources, and thus can be accused of being psuedo-historical. And as an assessment of the M4 tank it is MAJORLY incorrect.

Belton Cooper was an ordnance officer, so he did see the end result of tank warfare from a rather unique, and grim, point of view. But this does not make him a General in regards to theories of WWII tank warfare - not even an expert. This is a conceited attitude on his part that shapes this entire volume.

He constantly gives us second-hand stories, things he heard, and has a VERY biased view towards the German army of the era - seemingly admiring the German army more than his own comrade-in-arms! He uses hyperbole a lot, such as describing a single battle he witnessed as "the most spectacular aerial battle of the war".

He also relates how he was forced to take command of an armored column, which was defending a road junction outside if Mons. He says that he has frequently pondered just how much critical weight this guard position affected the battle. Um, considering that the record shows that he faced ZERO enemy forces, the only assumption one can make is that minimal weight was lent to the battle!

Then as to his remarkably-ignorant assessment of the M4 Sherman tank: He uses a questionable, and very narrow, assessment criteria of the tank - and he frequently mis-identifies the performance info of basic systems.

He also, absurdly, states that the M4 was so vastly inferior to the German tanks as to be one of THE worse blunders of the entire war!

This book has been completely shown, by plenty of actual, respected, historians to be almost completely wrong (some of Cooper's personal recollections are a good, valid read).

A disgrace of a book, and a shameful author. I respect that he served in the forces, but that is all.

[Sweetwilliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Traps is a very good memoir by Belton Cooper. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd Armored DIV or Spearhead Division. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the Allied advance across Europe. I read this book immediately after reading Spearhead. This is a great companion book for Spearhead and the two should probably be read one after the other because they complement each other so well. Cooper would be first on the scene after each tank battle. His job was to get the tanks running again or order new ones. If you are a techie I think you will really love Belton Cooper’s book because he is an engineer and gives an engineer’s perspective. He even ran his own experiments on the battlefield by using a Panzerfaust to test the vulnerability of German armor and comparing this to the Sherman.

This book is not without emotion as Cooper had to look inside the tank and decide how to clean out the gelatinous human remains so that the tank could be inhabited by humans again. It is obvious by the title of the book what he thought about the Sherman. He also relates his numerous brushes with death as the armor would frequently outrun the rest of the army and Belton Cooper would have to drive through and around pockets of German resistance to make his reports.

He said in the book that the C.O. of the 3rd Division wanted the Pershing but General Patton, who was very influential, didn’t want the Pershing. According to Cooper, Patton preferred the Sherman because it burned less fuel and it was in mass production already. It was good enough. Besides, he didn’t want his Sherman’s dueling with Panthers and Tigers anyway. He wanted them to bypass the front lines and get in the German rear and take out artillery and wreak havoc.

The best part of this book is Cooper’s analysis of the performance of the Sherman tank compared to the German Tigers and Panthers. According to Cooper, the Sherman was faster on pavement and could get 1,250 miles on each side of its tracks before having to be replaced while a panther would have to replace tracks after only 600 miles or so. The Sherman was also a lot faster on pavement and burned less gas. This came in handy when being chased by Panthers or Tigers with their superior armor and guns. Most surprisingly, the Panzers were much more maneuverable in the field because their tracks had a much greater surface area and even though the tiger and panther were behemoths, they were less likely to get bogged down in the mire than the lighter Sherman.

One interesting tidbit is Cooper describing a scene where maintenance came upon a lone burned out Sherman at a crossroads in Germany that was surrounded by dead Germans. They looked inside and they found a sole survivor. This was the inspiration for the final scene in the Hollywood blockbuster movie starring Brad Pitt entitled “Fury.”

All in all, this is a good read. Not as good as Spearhead but right up there and it gives a unique perspective. 4 stars.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Traps by Belton Cooper is a memoir of his US Army service in World War 2. Cooper served with United State Army's 3rd Armored Division fighting the Germans in 1944-1945. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks.

The United States World War 2 main battle tank, the M4 Sherman was obsolete by 1944. Compared to it's German opponents, it was under-gunned, under-powered and under-armored. There were two tremendous strength however. First the United States produced a huge number of them. Second, the United States deployed an incredibly effective recovery and repair infrastructure to support them. This meant that US tanks were very rapidly repaired and returned to service. The German infrastructure was not as good and the Germans were forced to abandon many tanks due to inability to repair them.

The memoir is well written and gives the reader a very good feel for what the author did during the war. He occasionally describes the horrors of war, but does not dwell on them. The reader ends up with a good feel for what Cooper went through, and a lot of respect for him.

I would recommend this book if you are interested in military history, World War 2, or what makes an Armored Division function.

[Jimy Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best accounts I've read of the war in close relation to the tanks and equipment used and not written by a combat soldier/Officer. Gave me a new appreciation and understanding of the events that unfolded and the ad hoc ways in which things were developed on the battlefield in country.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent soldier bio, but one this time relating the challenges if the American tank crew during WWII. You first scratch your head that it's author is the maintenance officer before you discover that the reason for this is the countless deaths of other armor officers who might have been around to write their own stories has the tanks they drove not been death traps relative to their opponents.

It is filled with enthralling personal tales which get you close to men and close to the action, while realizing just what they were up against. Our guys were cannon fodder thrown against German tanks and anti-tank personnel rocket Panzerfausts. Eventually we were taking ground troops and throwing them into tanks...trained by the mechanics to run it...because we'd run out of tank crews. We had more tanks than men trained to run them.

I dislike slow and impersonal (historical) warrior bios, and this one does not disappoint as a good read.

[J.W. Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly one of the better military memoirs of all those I have read over the years. The American author, Belton Y. Cooper, was a kind of laiason ordnance officer between combat units of Sherman tanks and those units further behind the combat action who maintained and repaired these vehicles. Cooper would often have to travel to and from the front lines recovering knocked out or immobilized tanks--sometimes under very dangerous conditions. There is a wealth of tank lore here, an excellent book for treadheads (such as myself). This book gives a lot of technical detail, but goes way beyond the "bolt-counting" practices that a lot of armour oriented works do. Cooper's personal experiences and those of others are recounted in very interesting detail.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooper tells it like it was. His memoir of being a maintenance liaison officer with the 3rd Armored Division in WWII, European Theater was downright captivating. His voice is clear, perceptive, and fascinating to listen to. This is the way history should be written. It especially rings a bell with me, since i was the Adjutant for a US Army Maintenance Battalion in Germany in the 1970's, and so much of what he is talking about are things I have direct familiarity with.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective from the maintenance and support perspective of armored vehicles in WWII. Less about the actual battles and more about how the ordinance and maintenance personnel overcame shortcomings in the Sherman tank.

[Ray Pierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about an officer assigned to tank recovery and repair. US tanks were no match for German monsters, and encounters seldom went well for Americans.

[Dachokie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Much-Needed Perspective of How the US fought in Western Europe …

There are so many accounts of how the Allied armies “swept” through France and into Germany following Normandy that one may not realize the costly “nuts-and-bolts” angle of how victory over Germany was achieved. Thankfully, Belton Y. Cooper decided to write about his experiences as an Ordnance Liaison Officer with the 3rd Armored Division. DEATH TRAPS fills a large void in explaining how smaller units of brave, dedicated, resilient and innovative young men performed extraordinarily under extreme and deadly conditions.

What I found enjoyable about Cooper’s book was that as an officer, he effectively conveys the realistic plight of the average soldier that fought a bruised, but still deadly Wehrmacht for every inch of ground. DEATH TRAPS is not a chest-thumping tale of bravado or an account of an officer executing his sharp leadership skills, but more of a reality check as to how daunting the task was for American tankers who relied on inferior vehicles (generating the book’s title) that were clearly no match for the German Panther and Tiger tanks.

Cooper’s account is straight-forward, detailed and interesting as his tour of duty in Western Europe saw his division engaged in most every major battle (Normandy, Falaise, across the Siegfried Line, Battle of the Bulge and crossing the Rhine). Each and every chapter is full of interesting stories that provide insight as to how haphazard and imperfect many battles were fought (poor leadership, poor decision-making and poor equipment). Cooper openly expresses his frustrations with the main US battle tank, the M4 Sherman, and all its deficiencies, which included an underpowered gun, thin armor and narrow tracks which inhibited its main advantage (other than numerical superiority) of being fast/nimble. He glorifies the young men (boys) that fought in them … knowing how low their odds were in surviving an engagement with superior German armor. This is a running theme through the book as his unit was responsible for recovering and refitting disabled but salvageable tanks for reuse. There is more than one instance in the book that Cooper describes the necessity of removing the gory remains of a knocked-out tank’s crew and applying several coats of paint inside to remove the smell of death for the tank’s new occupants. The need to do this and convincingly patch-up any visible shell-holes was more to prevent the refitted tank’s new crew from being demoralized by knowing the previous crew’s fate. By the war’s end, Cooper’s division accounted for a 500% loss rate when replacement casualties are factored-in.

I particularly enjoyed Cooper’s detailed reporting of his experiences and the fact he saw so much. He recalls the division finally receiving a tank (Pershing tank) that could match the German Panther and even accounts for testing one of the two Super Pershing tanks made available (a vehicle he claimed to be the most powerful tank of the war). Cooper’s educational background allows him to convey in layman’s terms the differences between American and German tanks and how/why they excelled/failed. Other involvements include seeing/hearing V1 and V2 rockets, watching Allied air-ground attacks, Allied planes short-bombing their target (hitting allied soldiers) and an aerial duel between an American fighter and an ME-262 jet fighter.

While the author comes across as a rather straight-laced officer, he doesn’t shy away from describing the ineptitude of some of his fellow officers, including an example of one insubordinate officer using a gun to back-up his refusing an inept order that would have assured his death. Throughout the book, Cooper accounts for the ability of the US Army to adapt, adjust and improvise when facing challenges as a big reason for its success in Europe. Voices in the field were often heard and action was taken (attaching cutters to Sherman tank was and enlisted man’s idea). On the contrary, Cooper acknowledges the German’s rigid rank standard didn’t allow much, if any flexibility and this proved to be detrimental to their success.

One of the biggest attributes of this book was that it illustrated how imperfection and inferiority did not hinder the resolve of the American soldier but frequently served to spur innovation. For those looking for a different perspective as to how the war in Western Europe was fought and won, I would highly recommend DEATH TRAPS.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first-hand account of the Western Front in WW2 written by an officer in a maintenance company attached to the US 3rd Armoured Division. As such it's a different viewpoint to, say, a front-line infantryman or tanker. His job was to follow the division into action, then report vehicle losses, and arrange for recovery and repair, if possible.

However, this book is not just a memoir. His day to day experiences dealing with the aftermath of armoured conflict give rise to a bigger point, which is the failure of the US Army to adequately equip itself to handle late war German hardware. The argument goes that if the M26 Pershing tank had been deployed in the autumn of 1944, then numerous failed offensives would have succeeded, the Battle of the Bulge would never have happened, and the war would have ended some months earlier.

Mr Cooper has received plenty of flak for this view. I'm not qualified to say one way or the other, but what I have consistently read in numerous first-hand accounts (and indeed actual battle reports) is mention of the 5:1 kill ratio between Shermans and Tigers/Panthers, and later in the war, the 1:1 kill ratio between Pershings and the same. Conclusion: deploying the Pershing closed the equipment gap.

I'm docking a point due to wobbly editing and pacing but really this isn't supposed to be literature. If you're interested in this side of the war, this is a must-read.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting look into the actual hows and whats of maintaining the equipment of an American heavy armored division in World War 2, but it has some drawbacks/failings as well.

For one, the book essentially reads like it was transcribed from a journal with little to no editing; there is very little transition between chapters/sections. For another, the author makes little or no effort to distinguish between his own eyewitness accounts, and stories he heard second- or third-hand, so it's difficult to rate the trustworthiness of any particular vignette. In general the author was not directly involved in combat, so his descriptions of armored combat and its results are often relatively bare of details.

Additionally, some of the items presented as facts (such as the delay in the introduction of the M26 Pershing being basically all Patton's fault) aren't actually true, they're just what the common armored soldier believed at the time; again, these aren't called out in any way, so you have to either have read additional sources or simply take everything with a grain or two of salt.

That said, the book is an excellent view of how American tankers perceived their vehicles, and how it was that an army using underpowered tanks like the M5 and M4A1 could manage to overcome one of the most technically advanced armies in the world.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belton Cooper was an U.S. Army Ordinance officer assigned to the Third Armored Division (General George Patton's Division.) Cooper's job was to ensure that the 3rd Armored vehicles (tanks, jeeps, half tracks and such) were repaired and ready for combat. His insights on the defeicencies of the M4 Sherman tank are enlightening although very well known to armor historians and World War II historians. He compares and contrasts the Sherman with it's superior German opponents, the Psnzer IV, Panther and Tiger and raises the point that the upper esceclons of the U.S. Army were negligent in their development of U.S. Armor doctrine in World War II, a point with which I highly agree.

Whereas the German armor was constintely being developed and upgraded throughout the war, the U.S. basically had the M5 Stuart light tank and the M4 Sherman medium tank. The M26 Pershing heavy tank was not available until 1945 when it did not have a great effect on the outcome of the war. Cooper states that if the U.S. had developed more effective armor and thank guns many American soldiers may not have died.

[Reko Ukko · Rating 4 out of 5]

After about a gazillion books on WW2, this was a refreshing read (on the back of watching 'Fury') - the book describes the combat and maintenance ops of the american armored division and the surprising underdog position it was in almost the whole war. This interesting tidbit is often forgotten by the contemporary military historians and the author provides some compelling arguments how the war could have ended sooner and events such as The Battle of the Bulge would have never happened - if the american tanks would've been adequate against the Panthers and Tigers.

The book casts a pretty horrific view what it meant to be part of an american tank crew. The losses for the M4 tanks ran at 580% and ultimately they ran out of trained tank crews; later on the infantry men were picked up for tank training which meant couple of turns on the yard, few shots with the cannon and off you go...

[Jeong Sihm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book answers my question, why the US armored divisions were equipped with M4 tanks in the Northern European Plain during WWII even though American technology and industrial power could have produced heavier tanks with a high velocity gun without difficulties. This book explains how the 3rd Armored Division was operated during many battles and campaigns in WWII from the viewpoint of a junior ordinance officer. One can see how the US armored divisions could overcome the weaknesses of its main battle tank and win the war. Full of vivid stories on the backdrop of big military maneuvers. The story of Technician 5th Grade Smith in pp. 282-283 was particularly moving to me.

Recommend this to anyone interested in how people organized and operated fighting forces.

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rate! This is good stuff. A first-hand account written by a maintenance officer in a World War Two armored division in Europe. You won't get a better primary source on the war than this. It is simply amazing what soldiers then had to go through. It is very fortunate that Hitler spent so much of Germany's magnificent war machine on the Russian front. Bitter fighting and humorous anecdotes, tragedy and comedy fill this book. I recommend it if you are a World War Two student. Its at least as good as 'Seven Roads to Hell: A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne' was and you really should have this in your library.

[Robert M. Roth MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for what it is

This is really the story of a young Lieutenant who served as a liaison officer for tank maintenance. Not a tanker himself nor an individual assigned to front line combat, his experiences were nonetheless interesting and informative. The Sherman M 4 tank did not stand much of a chance against German armor or anti-tank weapons and the losses in men and material were horrific. Patton's stance against the heavier and better Pershing tank was responsible for its delay in entering service until the last months of the war. Certainly a good book that is informative, I was hoping to learn more about what it was like to be a tank crewman.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really interesting to read this sort of a book from the perspective of someone who wasn't constantly at the front lines. Learning about the problems of mechanized combat and experiencing the deficiency of American armor first hand was quite a sobering experience. Dealing with the aftermaths of combat losses seems like a unique problem that I'd never before considered.

The beginning of this book gets bogged down slightly in unit details, but as the bigger picture comes into play toward the middle and end it reads in a much easier way.

[Manuel Vergara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unvarnished account of American armor in WW2

Long on details and anecdotal accounts, the author narrates a vivid picture of the war in Europe from Normandy to the final assault in Germany from the perspective of an armored maintenance battalion. Discussed in detail is the comparison of American tanks versus German units as well as other fighting elements. Very interesting read for WW2 history buffs.

[William Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by an officer who served as a maintenance liaison from the 3rd Armored Division Maintenance Battalion to Combat Command B of the Division. It is a perspective I easily related to from my Army experience. The title comes from the author's assessment of the M4 Sherman tanks. He thought them totally inadequate for the fighting they had to perform. Being an college trained engineer and having gone through Ordnance officer training, he went through the Armored Force School at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He understood maintenance and armored force doctrine. This perspective and his combat experience shaped his opinion of the M4 Sherman tank. His job as a liaison officer from the maintenance battalion was to assist in coordination recovery, evacuation, maintenance and replacement of damaged combat equipment of Combat Command B (CCB). After each day's combat 1Lt. Belton Cooper, the author, would take the combat loss report of CCB and deliver it to the division maintenance battalion to coordinate replacement and recovery and evacuation of the damaged equipment. To support his opinion that the M4 was inadequate, the author provides the following statistics: Third Armored Division started in Normandy with 232 M4 Sherman tanks. During their campaign 648 M4's were completely destroyed. Another 700 were knocked out but repaired and returned to combat. The loss rate was 580% (Cooper, p. xii).
I can relate to the liaison functions of 1LT Cooper. I started my Army career as a tank platoon leader in the 2nd Armored Division. Though never in combat I understand the heavy maintenance requirements for tanks and then spending the remaining 27 years of my career as a logistician, I understand the extensive support requirements, fuel, ammunition, replacement parts, transportation, of an Armored Division. My experience made reading this book much more relative to me.
First Lieutenant Cooper was an engineer and after the war spent thirty three years as president of a machine shop. His description of both US and German equipment is done through an engineer's eyes. He describes the thickness of armor and how it deflects or fails to deflect tank rounds. He reports the type of welding and the thickness of the welding bead on equipment. He recounts the engine dimensions and characteristics of the M4 tanks and German tanks. He explains the differences between the tank tracks and suspension systems and how that limited the M4. He actually got to inspect a M262 German jet and describes it in detail. At the end of the war 1Lt Cooper was tasked with auditing German manufacturers in the 3rd Armored Division area of occupation. He was amazed at how they could continue functioning given the bombing and shortages of material.
I don't want to give the impression that this book is all statistics and engineering specifications. The author is very sensitive to the stress and tribulations of combat. He was under fire often and witnessed his share of death and destruction. He lost many a friend and states how that affected him. He came across a couple of Concentration Camps and that took its toll on him.
This is an outstanding book about World War II and I highly recommend it to everyone!

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book because I am generally interested in World War II and wanted to learn more about the role tanks played in that war. The book is advertised as giving an insight into tank combat. I do not think this book achieves that aim.

The book does do several things well. To begin with it is an eye witness account of a fascinating and terrifying period in history. Mr Cooper does a good job of explaining the 'behind the scenes' elements of a military campaign. The book is easy to read and military jargon, although present, is kept to a minimum.
Mr Cooper was one of those guys working hard in the background to keep the US tanks rolling. Not the most glamorous and exciting roles but vital nontheless however, it's this lack of glamour which ultimately lets the book down.

If you are looking for a book which gives detailed accounts of tank combat, you should look elsewhere. Although some accounts are mentioned in brief Mr Cooper was never involved in combat. He recovered and repaired damaged American sherman tanks which had, most often, been knocked out by superior German tanks such as the panther or the infamous tiger tanks with their 88mm guns which could tear Sherman tanks to shreds often killing the crew in the process. Mr Cooper recalls accounts he's heard from other eyewitnesses rather than himself and they always paint US actions in a great light which leads me on to my main criticism of the book.

In my experience the best history books are written by those who weren't there. As daft as that sounds I always find accounts written by soldiers directly involved in the fighting are heavily biased. This is a good example of that. Examples of heroism by US troops, some highly implausible, are vaunted as the great atributes of the noble American soldier. Whilst any hint of mistakes, arrogance or atrocities are briefly mentioned, if at all. This is the problem with eye witnesses: bias. A good example is an account Mr Cooper gives of a French woman who reported to a US general that she had been raped by some of his soldiers. The general took the woman and her father on an inspection of the troops to ID the men who had raped her. She was unable to pick them out for whatever reason but Mr Cooper seemingly felt no sympathy for her only reporting the soldiers were 'relieved' none of them had been picked out and then, for reasons I can't fathom, Mr Cooper decided to include a rumour he'd heard that the woman was lying and had agreed to have sex with the soldiers in exchange for sweets. I feel this was crass and unnecessary on his part. He has no idea what happened and I suspect he felt more comfortable believing the woman lied than his beloved American heroes raped someone. Silly decisions made by senior US officers are passed over in a very forgiving way, despite those decisions costing many lives.

All in all I was left disappointed but it wasn't too badly written so I gave it two stars instead of one.

[Javier HG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es un libro que disfrutarán l@s "frikis" de la historia militar en general y de la Segunda Guerra Mundial (SGM) en particular. Es una combinación de autobiografía y estudio militar de uno de los componentes críticos de la guerra pero al que se dedica menos literatura: el apoyo logístico. El viejo dicho militar es: "Los aficionados discuten estrategia, los profesionales logística".

Belton Y. Cooper fue un teniente en el servicio de reparaciones de la Tercera División Acorazada, la División liderada por el General Patton y que entró en acción a finales de junio de 1944. De la lectura de "Death Traps" se aprende mucho, sobre todo de la errónea decisión del propio Patton de apoyar el uso continuo del Sherman en favor del M26 Pershing. Esto llevo que los estadounidenses sufrieran una carnicería para, ya que hasta el Panzer IV con el cañón de 75mm tenía una ventaja en combate frente al Sherman. Es cierto que el Sherman tenía numerosas ventajas en cuanto a desplazamiento y durabilidad, pero era inferior en cuanto a su armamento principal y la capacidad de avanzar campo a través en terreno embarrado. Los nazis, que luchaban una guerra defensiva, no necesitaban tanques que pudieran desplazarse decenas de kilómetros en un día, solo que pudieran poner fuera de combate al mayor número posible de blindados.

El libro da una muestra del enorme esfuerzo logístico que supone mantener una división acorazada. Si el número de vehículos de combate ronda los 4.000 (entre tanques, blindados y transportes acorazados de infantería), los vehículos de apoyo (reparaciones, combustible, munición) suponen unos 10.000. Imaginad lo que eso suponía en las limitadas carreteras de la Europa de la década de 1940. Un caos, pero un caos que avanzaba de una manera u otra, y eso es lo que cuenta este libro.

[Henry Percy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cooper was a lieutenant in the maintenance group for 3rd Armored Division. Lots of interesting details on keeping the tanks repaired and running. He acknowledges Patton’s grasp of history and tactical skills but maintains that Patton blundered gravely in early 1944 in England when he nixed the Pershing heavy tank (45 tons) in favor of the MIV (25 tons), which Cooper says was vastly inferior to German armor, undergunned and underarmored, leading to many unnecessary GI deaths. Cooper admits that Patton worked around the Sherman's weaknesses by avoiding head-to-head battles wherever possible, prefering mobility and envelopment. I remember Dad saying that the Pershing was too heavy and crashed through many bridges available in Europe. So was Patton just a fool, or were there other considerations?

There may be much in what Cooper says, but Monday morning quarterbacking is a cheap skill. The junior officer or enlisted man, if magically given 3 or 4 stars, would have concluded the war far sooner with fewer casualties. Maybe so. While the view from the trenches is valuable, there are other considerations that a commander must take into account that those on the ground can have no idea of.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book " Death Traps" tells the compelling story of one man’s assignment to the famous 3rd Armored Division that spearheaded the American advance from Normandy into Germany and its small village to start there conquering journey.

Cooper served as an ordinance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. While serving he been through places where they have to fight and survive enemy attack.

This was a dangerous job that take him often to places where they have travel alone through enemy territory, and the author recalls his service with pride, the atrocities one goes through in Armor tank and pain, will to survive, finding and killing the enemy in short span of time before they got the big guns and there tanks to bury them alive with tanks.

He downplayed his role in the vast effort that kept the American forces well equipped and supplied, Which shows the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them for food , ammunition, tools and there work to make the armors working before next attack in the crucial time of war. His journey of survival is extraordinary for readers to be known

[Robert F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engagingly written account by an armored vehicle engineer who was the liaison officer for the 3rd Armored Division in its’ drive from Normandy to Northern Germany by the end of the war. While there is a great deal of detail in the description of the units’ movements, the personal narrative is not lost. You often get the feeling that the author is sitting with you, giving you a thorough rundown of what he saw and did in the war.

Attached to one of the most successful armored units of the war, you will achieve a good understanding of the challenges faced and how they were overcome. You can also ascertain the advantages the Germans had against our equipment. But we had more men and material, better logistical support by far and won against an enemy who was fighting on their home front. The juggernaut of American war industry and our deep pool of personnel overcame the highly motivated Wehrmacht soldiers.

This is recommended reading for those interested in the minutiae of the European war while satisfying the reader who needs a reasonably good “yarn” to stay with it through the details.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooper's memoir is engaging and interesting. However he intermixes the technical arguments about the short comings of American armor in the war (from D-day on) with his personal memoir of his experiences while serving in Europe. The result is an interesting story of an important but overlooked element of front line service that is interrupted with large swaths of technical jargon, and technical arguments that disappear for pages while Cooper gives and anecdote about fox holes. While the book was very enjoyable it would have probably been a better choice to split it in two, one section detailing his journey through the war, and a second giving detailed technical specifications and arguments for why American armor preformed so poorly vs the Germans. All in all it was a great read that veers from the normal 101st Airborne or 1st Marine division books made popular in recent years to examine a service that is often mocked but crucial to a modern army at war.

[Philip De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent source of information about the war from Normandy to VE day. The author's testimony is more evidence that the Sherman tank was a terrible weapon and that it was constantly being outmatched by enemy weapons and tactics. A lot of allied soldiers lost their lives because we did not field a tank that was suitable for the combat of the day. Clearly it was Patton's fault. He thought the Sherman was adequate. The author makes it clear that the Sherman's greatest attribute was its ease of repair. From this story you will learn how Shermans were, essentially, disposable and casualties among tank crews were high.

[Dave Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second read

A good factual book discussing the pros and cons of US Army tank doctrine in Western Europe after D-Day. It has received some criticism but I disagree with it. Loosing 560% of their divisions M4 Sherman’s was colossal and related directly yo a large number of crew being injured and killed. I believe the wrong machine made it assure and it cost them dearly from that day on. The book does repeat itself a few times. It’s not a bad journey through France,, Belgium and into Germany with much the was both new and very ugly encountered Bought a hard copy for my military history buff brother. Worth a read.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although no secret, it really points out how overmatched Allied armour was against German armour in Europe and the bravery it took to go to battle in an M4 Sherman.

As a lot of reviews point out, the author was in a unique position in that in was down in the weeds of combat and can write from that perspective but was also in a position to write from a more strategic/big picture point of view.

Enjoyed how the author had a very large knowledge base about the M4 as other allied vehicles and provides a lot of details that one might not otherwise have known

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting look at armored operations in WWII. Told by a maintenance officer, he explores the challenge of evacuating, repairing and returning tanks to the combat commands. The inferior capability of American tanks against German tanks is explored exhaustively. The book seems to have been written in independent chapters with considerable repetition of the major points and explanations. This was annoying since you may have read the same information a few pages previous. Great topic.