Sniper ace : from the eastern front to Siberia : the autobiography of a Wehrmacht sniper

203 Pages·2009·10.98 MB·English

by  Sutkus

Bruno Sutkus in the early autumn of 1944 in the Carpathian mountains. He
Bruno Sutkus in the early autumn of 1944 in the Carpathian mountains. He
carries the 98k carbine with Korntunnel sight fitment. The optic is the Ajak
telescopic sight with four-fold magnification on the low swivel mounting. The
binocular is a 6 × 30. He wears a brown sniper jacket with a hood.

Sniper Ace

This edition published in 2009 by Frontline Books, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church
Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS

www.frontline-books.com

Copyright © Munin Verlag GmbH, 2003
Translation © Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2009
This edition © Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2009
Introduction © David L. Robbins, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-84832-548-7
ISBN 9781844684410 (epub)
ISBN 9781844684427 (prc)

Frontline Books and Munin Verlag both wish to express their gratitude to
Martin Benz for his major contribution to the production of the German-and
English-language editions of this book.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Im Fadenkreuz: Tagebuch eines Scharfschützen was originally published by
Munin Verlag in 2003. This is the first English-language edition of the text
and includes a new introduction by David L. Robbins.

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without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does
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prosecution and civil claims for damages.

CIP data records for this title are available from the British Library
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Typeset by JCS Publishing Services Ltd, www.jcs-publishing.co.uk

Maps drawn by Red Lion Prints

Printed in the UK by the MPG Books Group
Contents
List of Illustrations and Maps
Maps
Introduction by David L. Robbins
Author's Preface
Publisher's Foreword

Part One
1 Childhood in East Prussia
2 I Become a Soldier
3 My First Fifty-Two Successes as a Sniper
4 A Grim Vision of What to Expect: My Tally Rises to 130 Victims
5 Jastrzebiec, My Last Battlefield: Ninety-Eight More Victims
German Publisher's Note

Part Two
1 The End of the War: Escaping the Firing Squad
2 Helping the Lithuanian Resistance
3 Banished to Siberia
4 Labouring to Atone
5 Removal to Rudovka, April 1950
6 A Soviet Piggery: I am Recognised as a German Sniper
7 Soviet Bureaucracy in Action
8 Down the Pit: Sherenkov 1957–1971
9 I Keep Agitating for my Exit Visa
10 Released from Banishment but not the Soviet Empire
11 My German Nationality Restored

Index
Illustrations and Maps
Frontispiece

Bruno Sutkus in the Carpathian mountains in 1944.

Maps

The Journey of Bruno Sutkus, 1943-1997
Lithuania to Siberia

Plates

1 Bruno Sutkus, autumn 1944. The optic is the 4-power Zeiss Ajack
telescopic sight graduated to 1,200 metres.
2 (Top) German heavy artillery replying to a Soviet attack in the
Carpathians.
(Bottom) German MG 42 machine-gun nest.
3 A German sniper with the high turret ZF-K98k rifle sighted to 1,200
metres.
4 (Top Left) General der Panzertruppe Frite-Hubert Gräser, C-in-C, 4.
PanzerArmee, who expressed his admiration of Sutkus's skills in several
letters of recognition. Gräser held the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and
Swords.
(Top Right) Generalmajor Paul Scheuerpflug, GOC, 68. Inf Div, received
the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross and was promoted to Generalleutnant
with effect from 16 March 1945. He died under Soviet administration in
the former concentration camp at Auschwite on 8 August 1945.
(Bottom) A sniper pair in action.