Table Of ContentFirst published in 2011 by
Amber Books Ltd
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Copyright © 2011 Amber Books Ltd.
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ISBN: 978-1-907446-29-0
eISBN: 978-1-907446-84-9
Project Editor: Michael Spilling Picture Research: Terry Forshaw
Designer: Hawes Design
Additional text: Martin J. Dougherty Printed in China
PICTURE CREDITS:
Jonathan Alpeyric (CC Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Licence) Amber Books
Art-Tech/Aerospace Art-Tech/MARS
Australian Department of Defence Australian War Memorial Board of Trustees of the
Armouries Bridgeman Art Library (Peter Newark’s American Pictures) (Stapleton
Collection) (Ken Welsh) (Stapleton Collection) Cody Images
Corbis (Hulton) (Hulton) (Bettmann) (Rob Howard) (EPA/Anja Niedringhaus) (Kate Brooks) (In
Pictures/Richard Baker) (Reuters/Paul Saxby) (Reuters/Chris Helgren) (Reuters/Atef Hassan)
Mary Evans Picture Library (Robert Hunt Library) Getty Images (Science and Society)
(Hulton) (Hulton) (Ghaith Abdul-Ahad) (Giles Penfound) (AFP/John D. McHugh)
LEI
McMillan Group International, LLC
Press Association Images (Musa Sadulayev) (Zoran Sinko) (Rikard Larma) Public Domain
Topfoto (Novosti) Ukrainian State Archive U.S. Department of Defense
Contents
Introduction
1. FROM SKIRMISHERS TO SHARPSHOOTERS
2. SNIPERS IN THE TRENCHES
3. THE MARKSMAN AND MANEUVER WARFARE
4. COLD WAR CONFLICTS
5. THE MODERN SPECIALIST
Appendices
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
U.S. Marine Corps scout/snipers at Marine Corps Development and Education Command. Both
snipers wear ghillie suits, developed from the camouflage originally used by Scottish ghillies,
which enables them to blend effectively with their surroundings and also breaks up their profile.
The Marines are equipped with the M40A3 sniper rifle.
The sniper, as this particular breed of solitary
marksman is now called, is the master of many skills.
He is first and foremost a marksman and supreme
practitioner with a long-range rifle; he is a master of
movement–able to maneuver himself into position unseen
and remain undetected, often for hours, sometimes for days;
he is an expert at camouflage, taking this art way beyond the
skills of a regular soldier; and he has a general’s ability to
assess ground, fields of fire and the optimum positions to
take advantage of all these.
The common snipe bird, which gives its name to the sniper, is known to
be remarkably difficult to find on the ground, because of the way it
conceals itself in long grass and its well-camouflaged nest and because of
its erratic flight. These skills enable both the snipe and the sniper to
survive. Concealment from the enemy mixed with deadly accuracy of aim
make the sniper an extremely effective weapon and creates a hugely
disproportionate effect on the enemy. A sniper is capable of literally
reaching the enemy’s heart with his unseen hand, striking terror into all
those around. Not only can the unseen bullets of the sniper keep large
numbers of troops pinned down and too afraid to move, they can also
eliminate key personnel and thus create an instant impact on the chain of
command and morale of the enemy.
This mortal efficiency has caused the sniper to be respected, feared
and loathed. The sniper seems akin to an assassin, although in military
terms his aims are no different to any other of the fighting arms. A
machine-gunner blazing away may hit targets almost at random. An
artilleryman is unlikely to see the effects of his shells. A submarine
captain is inured from the terror and devastation wreaked by a torpedo and
an airman is similarly detached from the damage and victims below. The
cold hand of the sniper, however, has a personal and clinical quality that
sets it apart.
This book will chart the development of the sniper through history,
from the early roots of the sniper as a master of fieldcraft and hunting.
Those with the skills to stalk animals and shoot them at long ranges, such
as the American frontiersmen, possessed the natural skills to hit human
targets from concealed positions. The book examines the personal
targets from concealed positions. The book examines the personal
characteristics and motivations of the sniper through the years and
highlights some of the leading snipers in history. The book charts the
development of sniping in different wars, how it was used by smaller
forces to have a disproportionate effect on larger ones and how it was also
used by world powers struggling to contain insurgents in Iraq and
Afghanistan. In between are some of the great battles of World War I and
World War II, including the stalemate at Stalingrad when the sniper was
king.
The book also analyzes the tools of the sniper’s trade, from the British
Baker and Whitworth rifles of the nineteenth century, through the Lee-
Enfield, M-1 Garand, Gewehr 41 and Mosin-Nagant rifles of World War I
and World War II to the M82A1 Barrett of the twenty-first century.
A Soviet sniper of 21st Army on the Stalingrad front in the winter of 1943, wearing a snow
camouflage tunic over layers of cold-weather clothing. He carries a Model 1891/30 Mosin-
Nagant bolt-action rifle with a x4 magnification PE sight as well as binoculars for observation.
