---
product_id: 8082013
title: "Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II"
brand: "belton y. cooperstephen e. ambrose"
price: "17261CFA"
currency: XOF
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/8082013-death-traps-the-survival-of-an-american-armored-division-in
store_origin: SN
region: Senegal
---

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

**Brand:** belton y. cooperstephen e. ambrose
**Price:** 17261CFA
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II by belton y. cooperstephen e. ambrose
- **How much does it cost?** 17261CFA with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/8082013-death-traps-the-survival-of-an-american-armored-division-in)

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## Description

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

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Very good book
  

*by P***) on Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2023*

You often read books about the front line troops and the war through their eyes. This is the only ww2 book I have found so far that details the actions of some of the thousands of men who worked to keep the machines of war in operation. One of my Grandfather's was a Bomber mechanic on Tinian Island during the war and the other fought in Europe and was part of a maintenance battalion such as this. I enjoyed the read. It put some of that in perspective for me.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Riveting Personal Account from  Insider Point of View
  

*by B***K on Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2006*

Deathtraps is an engrossing personal account of a of the American Tanker's experience in World War II from a unique insider's perspective, the man in charge of recovering and fixing destroyed tanks.  It is a deeply personal and moving account of a man coming to grips with the horrors of war while at the same time rejoicing at the traces of humanity that remained even in the worst situations.  Despite some inaccuracies and repetition it once again reinforces the fact that the M4 Sherman tank was totally outclassed for most of World War II by its German opponents.  While the GI grapevine isn't 100% accurate it captures the feelings and beliefs of the armored infantry and tankers who fought and died in the Sherman.  It is this insight that makes this book so valuable.  Belton Cooper speaks for those who didn't make it back.  The author writes with an earnestness that gives voice to those who went into battle knowing that the odds were against them.  Logistics efficiency was purchased at the expense of battle losses.  Whether or not that was the right choice will be debated forever but the author has earned the right to present his argument from firsthand personal experience.Unfortunately, the lead reviewer who gave this book one star used two outrageously misleading points (among several others) to disparage this book, and rather unwittingly, the tens of thousands of American tankers who fought and died in the Sherman.  He misses the point of this book by playing the part of a not-so-accurate-self-proclaimed-fact-checker and misses the story of the bravery of the crews who knowingly went into battle with an inferior weapon.  Whether or not the Sherman was or was not inferior is not the point.  The point is that these men believed that they faced certain death and still did their duty each day until the end of the war.  (See notes below).Additional Notes for Armor Nerds:Armor nerds will point out that limited supplies of special HVAP ammunition and add-on armor brought some Shermans up to a survivable level at the very end of the war.  The inescapable fact is that without overwhelming air superiority and artillery support, an unsupported Sherman pitted against a Panther or a Tiger without overwhelming numerical superiority was doomed.  Fortunately, towards the end of the war, that became an exceedingly rare occurrence.  Official Army guidelines stated that 5 Shermans were needed to knockout a Panther and thanks to the maintenance crews of the U.S. Army; there were always plenty of Shermans.  The Sherman was an excellent anti-infantry weapon.  It was a terrible anti-tank weapon.Lead Reviewer's misleading "fact" checking points:ONE:  Claiming that German tank kills by U.S. armored divisions refuted the assertion that the Sherman was at a disadvantage to German tanks:  Ridiculously misleading.  The overwhelming bulk of German tank losses were caused by combined air and artillery support.  In the case of Normandy (and Anzio), even the U.S. Navy intervened to stop German tanks near the beaches and saved the day.TWO:  Implying that since Shermans were used in the Korean War of 1950 and  the Arab-Israeli conflicts of 1967 and 1973 they were battle worthy to modern standards.ISRAEL: The Shermans were radically upgraded ("Super-Shermans") to be unrecognizable as an M4.  The Shermans were mechanically reliable and lasted a long time.  However, despite being given new guns and additional armor, they were still terribly vulnerable leading to incidents of mutiny when Israeli's manning Super Shermans refused to directly engage superior tanks alone without overwhelming combined arms support.  That the Sherman was used this late was the result of necessity (arms embargos) and mechanical reliability (the undisputed strongpoint of the Sherman).  The Arab armies also still used limited numbers of T34's and German Mark IV's due to arms shortages.KOREA:  The army was critically short of tanks and anti-tank weapons in Korea.  The first U.S. units engaged in Korea had no tanks and inadequate anti-tank weapons which led to many losses including the capture of a U.S. General.  They actually had to salvage tanks from the old pacific battlegrounds to initially obtain tanks for Korea.  When newer Shermans arrived in quantity, they had adequate HVAP ammunition not readily available in WWII and were facing a limited number of poorly trained North Korean tanks that did well against troops without anti-tank weapons but were quickly neutralized by overwhelming air and artillery support (sound familiar?).  The M26 and M46 Pershings were also on hand later on in the war so the Shermans were once again used mainly as artillery support and anti-infantry weapons.Perhaps the only two minor disappointments I have with Cooper's account are:ONE: His missed opportunity to build upon his disclosure of the critical tank crew shortages and identify it as the leading cause of Patton's (a Southern general descended from a Confederate Officer) decision to accept African-American tank troops in his army.  Given the state of race relations at that time, Patton's reversal on segregation and the integration of his army with African-American tank units underscored the failure of the Sherman and the tank crew shortage/crisis, which faced the U.S. Army.TWO:  Failure to mention that the British up gunned the Sherman with a 17-pounder gun (Firefly) that could destroy Panthers and Tigers and deployed them in a ratio of one Firefly for every four Shermans.  The U.S. declined Britain's offer of the 17-pounder, again for LOGISTICAL reasons.  While the British still suffered terrible Sherman losses, they at least had a fighting chance.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Interesting subject
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023*

This is a memoir, not a work of research. I found it interesting since there is not much written on this element of WW2. The writing style is a bit over-the-top patriotic and classist (enlisted men come across as simpletons compared to the officers)

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*Product available on Desertcart Senegal*
*Store origin: SN*
*Last updated: 2026-02-05*