Russian doctrine for sniper training took a rather broader view than that of other nations. The Russians claimed that by 1938 six million soldiers had qualified for the 'Voroshiloff Sharpshooter' badge.
This is not to say that these men were true snipers, but they were trained riflemen who gave the Russian command a very deep pool when it came to selecting snipers.
Some indication of how seriously the Soviet High Command took sniping is the fact that over 53,000 Mosin-Nagant sniping rifles were manufactured up to 1938s; by 1942 the same number were being manufactured annually.
In practice, wartime Soviet snipers were probably less well trained than their counterparts in other armies, as the need to put them into the field at once and in large numbers overrode all other considerations. During the heavy fighting on the Eastern Front an experienced sniper would be allocated a couple of neophyte snipers who, if they ere lucky, received to weeks 'front line' training before they were left to fend for themselves.
The Red Army publicity machine enthusiastically promoted the new cult of 'sniperism',, but not everyone belived spectacular Soviet claims about their sniping. Captain Charles Shore, a British sniper officer who wrote an informed and critical book on wartime sniping, stated: 'Summing up ... about Russian snipers and sniper training, it would appear that it sniping is not as we know it, but suggests rather close quarter fighting and maybe sharpshooting in its lowest form.
This dismissive verdict is probably unjust, as it was already proven that to be effective sa sniper did not necessarily need to be shooting at long range with a scoped rifle. The Russian had very large numbers of competent riflemen who wre able to shoot very accurately at ranges of up to 400 metres, lending credence to the myth that every other Russian soldier was a sniper. They were not - but it may have felt like that to the Germans.
The Russian certainly did some very talented snipers; and there is clear evidence that the volume and effect of Soviet markmanship seriously worried the Germans, to the extent that they adopted a training programme for their own snipers based upon that used by the Russians.
Some indication of the losses inflicted by the Russians can be glimpsed from one assault by German 465th Infantry Regiment in September 1941 on a thickly wooded area. In a few hours they lost 75 dead and 25 missing to what were described as 'tree snipers' who melted away as the German advanced.
The Russians proved to be bitterly stubborn adversaries, well equipped and fanatical in their desire to wreak revenge on the invaders. One German account tells of a single sniper who steadily inflicted casualties on a resting Panzer unit over a five-day period. All attempts to locate him failed. One morning a sharp-eyed German observer saw in the bright cold sunlight what appeared to be smoke coming from a knockout Russian T34 tank.
Investigation showd it to be the breath of a sniper, who had been living in the tank amongs its dead crew for nearly a week. He had survived by eating the crews frozen rations and by thawing out their waterbottles under his clothing. There is no record of his fate, but it was doubtless swiftly and ruthlessly administered.
The standard Russian sniping rifle was the the Moisin-Nagant 91/30, originally equipped with a 4x PT telescopic sight made by Carl Zeiss, a company that Russia had purchased in the 1930s. When supplies of the PT dried up in 1935 the Soviet copied it, calling it the VP or PEM; but from 1940 these began to be replaced by the smaller, ligghter 3.5x PU.
Altough all three were in use throughout the war. The veteran Moisin could achieve good accuracy out to 800 metres, but at the war progressed quality varied greatly; some captured examples that were tested were reckoned to be of use only out to 400 yards or so. This was not a great handicap, as much street sniping was done at short ranges, but in open warfare on the vast steppes an accurate rifle was invaluable.
The Russians also took the lead in introducing a gas-operated semi-automatic sniping rifle, the M1938 Tokarev, a mechanism that they were to retain on their sniping rifles to the present day.
Initially the Germans had little or no means of combating the Russians. There were some Heer and Waffen SS snipers, but rifles were in short supply, the German frquently resorting to using Moisins captured from the Polish and Soviet armies. The demand for men to train as snipers meant that an above average shot in an infantry unit could find himself orderd from the front line to attend a sniping school. There he would be issued with a matched rifle and scope with which he would train and fight for the rest of his service career.
Sniper Books
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American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History List Price:  |
DescriptionHe is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers . . . From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history... |
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Cross Fire (Alex Cross) List Price: |
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Kill Zone: A Sniper Novel List Price: |
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First to Kill List Price: |
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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 List Price: Sale Price: $4.64 You save: $4.35 (48%) |
DescriptionFour US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold... |
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Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Killes List Price: |
DescriptionHe's silent, invisible. He lies in one position for days, barely twitching a muscle, able to control his heartbeat and breathing. His record has never been matched: 93 confirmed kills. This is the story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, Marine sniper, legend of military lore. |
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Color Me Grey (Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles) List Price: |
Description...exciting, highly paid position for person with specialized training...Recently unemployed after quitting a boring office job, Alexis Stanton finds a mysterious ad in the help wanted section that might prove to be the answer to her desire for excitement and adventure... |
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SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper List Price: |
DescriptionA book that takes you inside SEAL Team Six – the covert squad that killed Osama Bin Laden SEAL Team Six is a secret unit tasked with counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and counterinsurgency. In this dramatic, behind-the-scenes chronicle, Howard Wasdin takes readers deep inside the world of Navy SEALS and Special Forces snipers, beginning with the grueling selection process of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S)—the toughest and longest military training in the world... |
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