Rating: 
Summary: A Faulty Indictment
Review: Death Traps, a poorly written memoir by Belton Y. Cooper promises much, but delivers little. Cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant in the 3rd Armor Division (3AD), acting as a liaison officer between the Combat Commands and the Division Maintenance Battalion. One of the first rules of memoir writing is to focus on events of which the author has direct experience; instead, Cooper is constantly discussing high-level or distant events of which he was not a witness. Consequently, the book is riddled with mistakes and falsehoods. Furthermore, the author puts his main effort into an over-simplified indictment of the American Sherman tank as a "death trap" that delayed eventual victory in the Second World War. Cooper's indictment of the Sherman tank's inferiority compared to the heavier German Panther and Tiger tanks ignores many important facts. First, the Sherman was designed for mass production and this allowed the Allies to enjoy a 4-1 superiority in numbers. Second, fewer than 50% of the German armor in France in 1944 were Tigers or Panthers. Third, if the German tanks were as deadly as Cooper claims, why did the Germans lose 1,500 tanks in Normandy against about 1,700 Allied tanks? Indeed, Cooper claims that the 3AD lost 648 Shermans in the war, but the division claimed to have destroyed 1,023 German tanks. Clearly, there was no great kill-ratio in the German favor, and the Allies could afford to trade tank-for-tank. Finally, if the Sherman was such a "death trap," why did the US Army use it later in Korea or the Israelis use it in the 1967 War? There are a great number of mistakes in this book, beginning with Cooper's ridiculous claim that General Patton was responsible for delaying the M-26 heavy tank program. Cooper claims that Patton was at a tank demonstration at Tidworth Downs in January 1944 and that, "Patton...insisted that we should downgrade the M26 heavy tank and concentrate on the M4....This turned out to be one of the most disastrous decisions of World War II, and its effect upon the upcoming battle for Western Europe was catastrophic." Actually, Patton was in Algiers and Italy for most of January 1944, only arriving back in Scotland on 26 January. In fact, it was General McNair of Ground Forces Command, back in the US, who delayed the M-26 program. Cooper sees the M-26 as the panacea for all the US Army's shortcomings and even claims that the American offensive in November 1944, "would have succeeded if we had had the Pershing" and the resulting American breakthrough could have forestalled the Ardennes offensive and "the war could have ended five months earlier." This is just sheer nonsense and ignores the logistical and weather problems that doomed that offensive. Cooper continually discusses events he did not witness and in fact, only about one-third of the book covers his own experiences. Instead of discussing maintenance operations in detail, Cooper opines about everything from U-Boats, to V-2 rockets, to strategic bombing, to the July 20th Plot. He falsely states that, "the British had secured a model of the German enigma decoding machine and were using it to decode German messages." Cooper writes, "not until July 25, the night before the Saint-Lo breakthrough, was Rommel able to secure the release of the panzer divisions in reserve in the Pas de Clais area." Actually, Rommel was wounded on 17 July and in a hospital on July 25th. In another chapter, Cooper writes that, "the British had bombed the city [Darmstadt] during a night raid in February," and "more than 40,000 died in this inferno." Actually, the RAF bombed Darmstadt on 11 September 1944, killing about 12,000. Dresden was bombed on 13 February 1945, killing about 40,000. Obviously, the author has confused cities and raids. Even where Cooper is dealing with issues closer to his own experience, he tends to exaggerate or deliver incorrect information. He describes the VII Corps as an "armor corps," but it was not. Cooper's description of a counterattack by the German Panzer Lehr division is totally inaccurate; he states that, "July 11 became one of the most critical in the battle of Normandy. The Germans launched a massive counterattack along the Saint-Lo- Saint Jean de Daye highway..." In fact, one under strength German division attacked three US divisions. The Americans lost only 100 casualties, while the Germans suffered 25% armor losses. The Official history calls this attack "a dismal and costly failure." Cooper wrote that, "Combat Command A...put up a terrific defense in the vicinity of Saint Jean de Daye..." but actually it was CCB, since CCA in reserve. On another occasion, Cooper claims that his unit received the 60,000th Sherman produced, but official records indicate that only 49,234 of all models were built. Cooper claims that the 3rd Armored Division had 17,000 soldiers, but the authorized strength was about 14,500. Can't this guy remember anything correctly? Cooper's description of the death of MGN Rose is virtually plagiarized from the official history and a number of articles in ARMOR magazine in the past decade reveal that Rose was an extreme risk-taker. Reading "Death Traps," the uninitiated may actually believe that the US Army was badly defeated in Europe. Cooper even claims that, as the 3rd Armored Division approached the Elbe River in the last days of the war that, "with our division spread out and opposed by three new divisions, our situation was critical." If anybody's situation was critical in April 1945, it was Germany's. Actually, the 3rd Armored Division had one key weakness not noted by Cooper, namely the shortage of infantry. The division had a poor ratio of 2:1 between tanks and infantry, and this deficiency often required the 3AD to borrow an infantry RCT from other units. While the much-maligned Sherman tank was far from perfect, it did the job it was designed for, a fact that is missed by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: A valuable memoir from a veteran.
Review: Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II is an unusual addition to the growing pile of memoirs being published as WW II veterans age and then die. It is not written by a soldier who was in the thick of combat and has brave tales to tell, nor is it the story of someone in command, explaining and justifying his decisions. Instead, Cooper was a junior officer in charge of vehicle maintenance for the 3rd Armored Division as it fought its way from Normandy to Central Germany. He was always right behind the front lines, but seldom in combat, though frequently exposed to sniper and artillery fire. The main revelation of Death Traps is obvious from its title: the famous M4 Sherman tank which was the mainstay of American armor during the war was completely inadequate when facing German tanks. American commanders, especially Gen. Patton, chose to continue producing the Sherman even when they knew it could not face German tanks and antitank guns, and American tank crews paid a heavy price for this mistake. Cooper has done his homework. Unlike many war memoirs, he has spent time reading the general histories in recent years, and gets the background information right when he discusses the pursuit across France, the invasion of Germany, and the Battle of the Bulge. But the most important thing here is the details: how the Sherman worked, how maintenance was carried out under harsh conditions, and, especially, what happened when a high-velocity 75 mm or 88 mm shell hit an M4.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent insight to armored warfare
Review: From reading this book I felt that Mr. Cooper provided little known facts regarding the entire spectrum of armored warfare. By relating his experience as an Ordance Officer in the United States Army during WWII, Mr. Cooper describes the organization, development, and deployment strategies of armored divisions from Normandy to the outskirts of Berlin. Cooper also details the design and development of the M-4 Sherman Tank, which was unfortunately dictated by politics. The inferiority of the Sherman Tank as compared to the German Panzers was also outlined in detail. Mr. Cooper also discusses little known facts regarding the developmnet of the M-26 Pershing and "Super Pershing". I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in WWII.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: great book for anyone interested in the sherman tank & excellent information on the 3rd armor div. in ww2
Rating:
Summary: Maintenance view of a WWII Armored Division in Europe
Review: Hundreds of books have been written about armored warfare in World War II, usually from the viewpoint of a combat commander. "Death Traps" is a first hand account of the often overlooked area of maintenance support. Belton Cooper was a army Ordnance officer with the 3rd Armored Division. He gives a different perspective of the day to day life of supporting a combat command of the 3rd AD during WWII. He served as a laision officer with the duties of evaulating knocked out military vehicles, primarily M4 Sherman Tanks. His job was to determine if these tanks could be salvaged,rebuilt and be reissued to tank crews. It is already well known that America's main battle tank was far inferior to German Armor, but Cooper explains how the M4 met its fate through numerous encounters with German Panthers and Tigers. This required Tank Commanders to rethink Armored Warfare and to come up with ways to defeat the enemy. He explains in detail the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome from the Normandy landings all the way to the surrender of Germany. You will read of the development of the famous Cullen Hedgerow device that helped break the stalmate in the hedgerow country of Normandy. Also the first trials of the M26 Pershing Tank which was so badly needed by our troops to counter heavy German Armor but was refused by General George S. Patton. Pattons view was that we needed fast tanks to go to the enemys rear to disrupt supply and command elements, did not warrant tanks like the Pershing. Coopers evaluation of the Pershing shows that if we had this tank in great numbers the war in Europe could have been over much sooner and with less loss of life. Also there is the rare story of the use of the M26A1E2(aka M26E4) Super Pershing and its encounter with a Panther. This is a great book. As a Veteran Tank Commander I highly recommend this book be read by all Armor Officers and Tank Commanders. You will awe at the stories of horror when you have to clean out a destroyed tank and try to match up the body parts. You will laugh at the comical incidents soldiers often find themselves in. A great deal of thanks is due to Cooper for contributing this work. It is a much needed addition to the library's of our nation's history. The new millineum is upon us. We must encourage our veterans to write about their experience's before they are lost to time. Cooper has done this and we thank him. Tom Holt Veteran, The Big Red One
Rating:
Summary: Maintenance view of a WWII Armored Division in Europe
Review: Hundreds of books have been written about armored warfare in World War II, usually from the viewpoint of a combat commander. "Death Traps" is a first hand account of the often overlooked area of maintenance support. Belton Cooper was a army Ordnance officer with the 3rd Armored Division. He gives a different perspective of the day to day life of supporting a combat command of the 3rd AD during WWII. He served as a laision officer with the duties of evaulating knocked out military vehicles, primarily M4 Sherman Tanks. His job was to determine if these tanks could be salvaged,rebuilt and be reissued to tank crews. It is already well known that America's main battle tank was far inferior to German Armor, but Cooper explains how the M4 met its fate through numerous encounters with German Panthers and Tigers. This required Tank Commanders to rethink Armored Warfare and to come up with ways to defeat the enemy. He explains in detail the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome from the Normandy landings all the way to the surrender of Germany. You will read of the development of the famous Cullen Hedgerow device that helped break the stalmate in the hedgerow country of Normandy. Also the first trials of the M26 Pershing Tank which was so badly needed by our troops to counter heavy German Armor but was refused by General George S. Patton. Pattons view was that we needed fast tanks to go to the enemys rear to disrupt supply and command elements, did not warrant tanks like the Pershing. Coopers evaluation of the Pershing shows that if we had this tank in great numbers the war in Europe could have been over much sooner and with less loss of life. Also there is the rare story of the use of the M26A1E2(aka M26E4) Super Pershing and its encounter with a Panther. This is a great book. As a Veteran Tank Commander I highly recommend this book be read by all Armor Officers and Tank Commanders. You will awe at the stories of horror when you have to clean out a destroyed tank and try to match up the body parts. You will laugh at the comical incidents soldiers often find themselves in. A great deal of thanks is due to Cooper for contributing this work. It is a much needed addition to the library's of our nation's history. The new millineum is upon us. We must encourage our veterans to write about their experience's before they are lost to time. Cooper has done this and we thank him. Tom Holt Veteran, The Big Red One
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, absorbing -- excellent
Review: I read this book because I was curious to know what happened to a tank crew when the tank was knocked out. Now I know. Mostly they died horrible deaths by getting blown to pieces or incinerated. They died by the tens of thousands because they fought in rolling boxes that might as well have been built out of cardboard for all the protection they afforded against Panther and Tiger tanks. The inexcusable loss of these brave men because of the inadequacy of their equipment is an important story which needed to be told. The book also tells the story of the bravery and superhuman efforts of the armored divisions 'ordnance and maintenance crews. It was astonishing how quickly a severely battle damaged tank could be retrieved, repaired and put back in the line. If not for this effort, the war may well have been lost. My auto mechanic should read this book. I sincerely hope this book is very successful. Death Traps belongs on the shelf of every public library in America.
Rating:
Summary: Death Traps review by one who was there
Review: I reviewed this book 2 years ago when I first read it because it was so truthful and realistic as written by this man. He was the young ordinance officer of my 3rd Armored Division, 33rd Armored Regimment. I was in Recon. Company and in his book he tells it as it was. I wrote the first review because of the impression it made on me. It is a book every military buff, every history teacher, every politican and every America should read especially those interested enough in our past wars to try to prevent the events in this book from happening again. WW II could easily have been lost or been like Vietnam and ended in a no win situation. I stongly recommend the reading of this for enjoyable, informative story line told from the veteran's level and prespective. I traveled to a 3rd Armored Veteran's reunion to meet the author and get his autograph. It was worthwhile. He is a fine , friendly man who wrote this book mainly as a tribute to his fellow soldiers and to tell a story that neederd telling which was how our soldiers died and suffered because of the inferiority of our tanks, guns and other equiptment to that of the Germans.
Rating:
Summary: Death Traps review by one who was there
Review: I reviewed this book 2 years ago when I first read it because it was so truthful and realistic as written by this man. He was the young ordinance officer of my 3rd Armored Division, 33rd Armored Regimment. I was in Recon. Company and in his book he tells it as it was. I wrote the first review because of the impression it made on me. It is a book every military buff, every history teacher, every politican and every America should read especially those interested enough in our past wars to try to prevent the events in this book from happening again. WW II could easily have been lost or been like Vietnam and ended in a no win situation. I stongly recommend the reading of this for enjoyable, informative story line told from the veteran's level and prespective. I traveled to a 3rd Armored Veteran's reunion to meet the author and get his autograph. It was worthwhile. He is a fine , friendly man who wrote this book mainly as a tribute to his fellow soldiers and to tell a story that neederd telling which was how our soldiers died and suffered because of the inferiority of our tanks, guns and other equiptment to that of the Germans.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible up front view of an armored division
Review: I think the author may have been in the perfect position to write the best account of an armored division in Europe during WWII. And it doesn't hurt that the author is an excellent writer.
The author was in charge of maintance & repair for the division's tanks. So he was as close to the battle as you could be without actually fighting in one of the tanks. I think that one step removed gave him an even better view of events than if he was in a tank.
And his observations of the Army, West Point, the command structure, and others involved in the battle is brutally honest. He doesn't pull any punches.
A book you cannot put down that takes you there and gives you an honest picture of an American armored division.
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