During World War II, the U.S. Army experimented with battle sleds — improvised armoured sledges designed to carry infantry across open ground while being towed by tanks. First trialled at Anzio in 1944, they were made from halved torpedo shells, each holding a prone soldier. Chained together in groups of six, a Sherman could drag twelve men forward under supposed protection. In practice, the sleds were uncomfortable, vulnerable, and deeply unpopular with troops, who felt like “dead ducks.” Thoug