Sniper
The traditional definition of a sniper is an infantryman skilled in camouflage and sharpshooter, firing a rifle at long ranges and from concealed locations at selected targets. Typically and ideally, a skilled sniper approaches the enemy (unaware of his presence), uses a single bullet per target, and withdraws unseen. Good training is essential to provide a sniper with the necessary skills to perform his tasks successfully.
Military sniper training teaches improvement in camouflage and concealment, stalking and observation, and precision shooting under a wide range of operational conditions. Snipers are volunteers accepted for training based on their perceived aptitude by their commanders.
Origin of Sniper
The origin of the word “sniper” comes from the French “franc tireur” (free shooter) a term that came into common use during the Franco-Prussian War. During this war many French soldiers who had remained behind enemy lines, after the initial defeats, began to harass the Prussians using their excellent long-range smokeless powder “Chassepot” rifle. Thanks to these characteristics, shots could be fired from afar and with almost complete impunity .
Training of Sniper
Soviet training
This preparation was due to the recommendations of some Russian officers who participated in the Spanish Civil War and observed how a single man could have an entire enemy sector under control. During the Winter War that faced the Russians and Finns where the Russians learned a hard lesson. Finnish snipers killed hundreds of Russian soldiers; Dressed entirely in white, crouched in the snowy Finnish forests, they sowed panic among the enemy ranks.
The Russians increased the resources allocated to sniper training. The largest Soviet sniper school was in Moscow, where a 3-week training period was carried out, in which they were instructed in shooting, observation, camouflage, the interpretation of maps, and as a great novelty, combat in an urban environment. The latter would be of great help to them during the fighting for Stalingrad and Leningrad . One of the differences that existed in the training of snipers by the Russians and the rest of the powers was the creation of battalions made up entirely of them. These battalions were kept in reserve to be moved to critical sectors such as the battle for Stalingrad.
British training
After the end of the First World War, British officers who had fought in the trenches recommended continuing specialist marksman training. The British had two sniper schools, in Scotland and in Sussex County. The number of snipers produced by these schools was soon insufficient, which implied the creation of new schools in Lebanon , Palestine , Italy and the Netherlands..
Unlike other nations, these schools were formed by volunteers and not by exclusive recommendations of officials. One of the main slogans with which they instructed the British snipers was that they had to fight with the minimum possible equipment; weapon, ammunition, water and rations. If they carried any metallic element, it had to go inside some socks, to prevent it from producing shine or noise when hitting another metal.
German training
It could be said that the German snipers were the best prepared and the ones with the best equipment. The precise Mauser rifle and the high quality scopes they had provided gave them an important advantage over their rivals. To this we must add that they knew how to anticipate what a war of movements would be, leaving behind the outdated sniper techniques of 1918..
The hobby of shooting in Germany was widespread, already before the Second World War there were “shooting clubs” throughout its territory. Many of the future snipers would emerge from these clubs. With the start of the war, new schools were created in which advanced shooting techniques were explained, emphasizing long-distance shooting (500 – 600m), and the art of camouflage and stealth. They even created replicas of Russian villages so that German snipers could become familiar with their surroundings. The new snipers that came out of the schools were distributed in a ratio of 22 men per battalion.
Great snipers
Vasily Zaytsev
Hero of the Battle of Stalingrad, in which he made 254 effective targets on the German army. His combat rifle is kept in the Museum of the defense of the city of Volgograd (Stalingrad). With a plaque that says:
His exceptionality lies in the fact that the casualties he inflicted on the enemy army were made in a little less than four months, since after that time he was seriously wounded in the eyes by mortar fire and had to dedicate himself to teaching others his sniper techniques. .
Juba
Notorious Iraqi sniper “Juba” claims to have executed 37 American invaders in Baghdad . In addition to showing dozens of American soldiers killed by Juba. Among the data they present about the resistance snipers are:
- 634 US soldiers executed.
- 206 wounded soldiers.
- 23 US officers executed.
- 11 American snipers executed
Simo Häyhä
The Finn is considered by many to be the most effective sniper in the history of warfare. Using a Mosin-Nagant Model 28, he killed 542 Soviet Union soldiers between November 30, 1939 and March 6, 1940, before being wounded. Sulo Kolkka, also a Finn, killed approximately 400 Russian soldiers with his rifle, and more than 200 with a submachine gun. The Soviets called the Finnish snipers cuckoos because they thought that the Finnish snipers were located in the trees.
