The most successful sniper of World War 2. The best sniper

After the start Great Patriotic War hundreds of thousands of women went to the front. Most of them became nurses, cooks, and more than 2000 snipers. The Soviet Union was almost the only country that recruited women to perform combat missions. Today I would like to remember the shooters who were considered the best during the war.

Rosa Shanina

Rosa entered the school, but before the war, when tuition became paid, the girl was forced to go to work as a teacher in a kindergarten. Fortunately, at that time the employees of the institution were provided with housing. Rosa continued her studies in the evening department and successfully completed the 1941/42 academic year.

Three days after arriving at the location of the 338th Infantry Division, 20-year-old Rosa Shanina fired her first shot. In her diary, the girl described the sensations: “... her legs weakened, she slipped into the trench, not remembering herself: “I killed a man, a man...” Alarmed friends ran up to me and reassured me: “You killed a fascist!” Seven months later, the sniper girl wrote that she was killing enemies in cold blood, and now this was the whole meaning of her life.

Shanina's platoon was ordered to move in the second line, behind the infantry detachments. However, the girl was constantly eager to go to the front line to “beat the enemy.” Rose was strictly cut down, because in the infantry any soldier could replace her, but in a sniper ambush - no one.

Rosa Shanina took part in the Vilnius and Insterburg-Koenigsberg operations. European newspapers called her “the invisible horror of East Prussia.” Rosa became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Glory.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

From the very first days of the war, Lyudmila went to the front as a volunteer. The girl refused to be a nurse and demanded that she be enrolled as a sniper. Then Lyudmila was given a rifle and ordered to shoot two prisoners. She completed the task.

The Soviet sniper made many speeches at numerous congresses, but most memorable was her speech in Chicago. Lyudmila said: “Gentlemen, I am twenty-five years old. At the front, I had already managed to destroy three hundred and nine fascist invaders. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you've been hiding behind my back for too long? In the first seconds, everyone froze, and then a flurry of applause broke out.

On October 25, 1943, female sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Nina Petrova

Nina Petrova has 122 killed enemies during the war and trained snipers. The woman did not live to see the end of the war for only a few days: she died in a car accident.

Claudia Kalugina

After the war, Claudia shared her memories of how she initially missed the target at sniper school. They threatened to leave her in the rear if she did not learn to shoot accurately. And not going to the front line was considered a real shame. The first time, finding herself in a snow-covered trench in a snowstorm, the girl became cowardly. But then she overcame herself and began to make well-aimed shots one after another. The hardest thing was to drag the rifle along with you, because the slim Claudia’s height was only 157 cm. But the sniper girl overcame all adversities, and over time she was referred to as the most accurate shooter.

Female snipers

During the Great Patriotic War, not only female snipers terrified the enemy. , because the radars did not detect them, the noise of the engines was practically inaudible, and the girls dropped bombs with such pinpoint accuracy that the enemy was doomed.

When it comes to sniping during the Second World War, people usually think about Soviet snipers. Indeed, the scale of the sniper movement that was in the Soviet Army in those years was not seen in any other army, and the total number of enemy soldiers and officers destroyed by our shooters amounts to tens of thousands.
What do we know about German snipers, “opponents” of our shooters on the other side of the front? Previously, it was not officially accepted to objectively assess the merits and demerits of an enemy with whom Russia had to wage a difficult war for four years. Today, times have changed, but too much time has passed since those events, so much of the information is fragmentary and even doubtful. Nevertheless, we will try to bring together the little information available to us.

As you know, during the First World War, it was the German army that was the first to actively use accurate rifle fire from snipers specially trained in peacetime to destroy the most important targets - officers, messengers, machine gunners on duty, and artillery servants. Note that already at the end of the war, the German infantry had at its disposal up to six sniper rifles per company - for comparison, it must be said that the Russian army of that time had neither rifles with optical sights nor trained shooters with these weapons.
German army instructions stated that “weapons with telescopic sights are very accurate at a distance of up to 300 meters. It should be issued only to trained shooters who are able to eliminate the enemy in his trenches, mainly at dusk and at night. ...The sniper is not assigned to a specific place and position. He can and must move and position himself so as to fire a shot at an important target. He must use an optical sight to observe the enemy, write down his observations and observation results, ammunition consumption and the results of his shots in a notebook. Snipers are relieved of additional duties.

They have the right to wear special insignia in the form of crossed oak leaves above the cockade of their headdress.”
German snipers played a special role during the positional period of the war. Even without attacking the enemy’s front line, the Entente troops suffered losses in manpower. As soon as a soldier or officer carelessly leaned out from behind the parapet of the trench, a sniper’s shot instantly clicked from the direction of the German trenches. The moral effect of such losses was extremely great. The mood of the Anglo-French units, which lost several dozen people killed and wounded per day, was depressed. There was only one way out: to release our “super-sharp shooters” to the front line. In the period from 1915 to 1918, snipers were actively used by both warring parties, thanks to which the concept of military sniping was basically formed, combat missions for “super marksmen” were defined, and basic tactics were developed.

It was the German experience in the practical use of sniping in conditions of established long-term positions that served as the impetus for the emergence and development of this type of military art in the Allied troops. By the way, when in 1923 the then German army, the Reichswehr, began to be equipped with new Mauser carbines of the 98K version, each company received 12 units of such weapons equipped with optical sights.

However, during the interwar period, snipers were somehow forgotten in the German army. However, there is nothing unusual in this fact: in almost all European armies (with the exception of the Red Army), sniper art was considered simply an interesting, but insignificant experiment of the positional period of the Great War. The future war was seen by military theorists primarily as a war of motors, where motorized infantry would only follow the attack tank wedges, which, with the support of front-line aviation, would be able to break through the enemy front and quickly rush there with the aim of reaching the flank and operational rear of the enemy. In such conditions there was practically no real work left for snipers.

This concept of using motorized troops in the first experiments seemed to confirm its correctness: the German blitzkrieg swept across Europe with terrifying speed, sweeping away armies and fortifications. However, with the beginning of the invasion of Nazi troops into the territory of the Soviet Union, the situation began to change quickly. Although the Red Army was retreating under the pressure of the Wehrmacht, it put up such fierce resistance that the Germans repeatedly had to go on the defensive to repel counterattacks. And when already in the winter of 1941-1942. snipers appeared in Russian positions and the sniper movement began to actively develop, supported by the political departments of the fronts, the German command remembered the need to train their “super-sharp shooters.” In the Wehrmacht, sniper schools and front-line courses began to be organized, and the “relative weight” of sniper rifles in relation to other types of small arms gradually began to increase.

A sniper version of the 7.92 mm Mauser 98K carbine was tested back in 1939, but this version began to be mass-produced only after the attack on the USSR. Since 1942, 6% of all carbines produced had a telescopic sight mount, but throughout the war there was a shortage of sniper weapons among German troops. For example, in April 1944, the Wehrmacht received 164,525 carbines, but only 3,276 of them had optical sights, i.e. about 2%. However, according to the post-war assessment of German military experts, “type 98 carbines equipped with standard optics could in no case meet the requirements of combat. Compared to Soviet sniper rifles... they were significantly different for the worse. Therefore, every Soviet sniper rifle captured as a trophy was immediately used by Wehrmacht soldiers.”

By the way, the ZF41 optical sight with a magnification of 1.5x was attached to a specially machined guide on the sighting block, so that the distance from the shooter’s eye to the eyepiece was about 22 cm. German optics experts believed that such an optical sight with a slight magnification, installed at a considerable distance from the shooter's eye to the eyepiece, should be quite effective, since it allows you to aim the crosshairs at the target without stopping monitoring the area. At the same time, the low magnification of the sight does not provide a significant discrepancy in scale between objects observed through the sight and on top of it. In addition, this type of optics placement allows you to load the rifle using clips without losing sight of the target and the muzzle of the barrel. But naturally, a sniper rifle with such a low-power scope could not be used for long-distance shooting. However, such a device was still not popular among Wehrmacht snipers - often such rifles were simply thrown onto the battlefield in the hope of finding something better.

The 7.92 mm G43 (or K43) self-loading rifle, produced since 1943, also had its own sniper version with a 4x optical sight. The German military authorities required that all G43 rifles have an optical sight, but this was no longer possible. Nevertheless, of the 402,703 produced before March 1945, almost 50 thousand had an optical sight already installed. In addition, all rifles had a bracket for mounting optics, so theoretically any rifle could be used as a sniper weapon.

Considering all these shortcomings in the weapons of German riflemen, as well as numerous shortcomings in the organization of the sniper training system, it is hardly possible to dispute the fact that the German army lost the sniper war on the Eastern Front. This is confirmed by the words of former Wehrmacht lieutenant colonel Eike Middeldorf, author of the famous book “Tactics in the Russian Campaign,” that “the Russians were superior to the Germans in the art of night fighting, fighting in wooded and swampy areas and fighting in winter, in training snipers, as well as equipping the infantry with machine guns and mortars."
The famous duel between the Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev and the head of the Berlin sniper school Connings, which took place during the Battle of Stalingrad, became a symbol of the complete moral superiority of our “super marksmanship”, although the end of the war was still very far away and many more Russian soldiers would be carried to their graves by German bullets shooters.

At the same time, on the other side of Europe, in Normandy, German snipers were able to achieve much greater success, repelling attacks by Anglo-American troops landing on the French coast.
After the Allied landings in Normandy, almost a whole month of bloody fighting passed before Wehrmacht units were forced to begin retreat under the influence of ever-increasing enemy attacks. It was during this month that German snipers showed that they, too, were capable of something.

American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, describing the first days after the landing of the Allied forces, wrote: “Snipers are everywhere. Snipers in trees, in buildings, in piles of ruins, in the grass. But mostly they hide in the tall, thick hedges that line the Norman fields, and are found on every roadside, in every alley.” First of all, such a high activity and combat effectiveness of German riflemen can be explained by the extremely small number of snipers in the Allied forces, who were unable to quickly counteract sniper terror from the enemy. In addition, one cannot discount the purely psychological aspect: the British and especially the Americans for the most part subconsciously still perceive war as a kind of risky sport, so it is not surprising that many Allied soldiers were severely amazed and morally depressed by the very fact of being at the front some invisible enemy who stubbornly refuses to comply with the gentlemanly “laws of war” and shoots from an ambush. The morale effect of sniper fire was indeed quite significant, since, according to some historians, in the first days of the fighting, up to fifty percent of all losses in American units were due to enemy snipers. A natural consequence of this was the lightning-fast spread of legends about the combat capabilities of enemy shooters through the “soldier’s telegraph,” and soon the soldiers’ panicky fear of snipers became a serious problem for officers of the Allied forces.

The tasks that the Wehrmacht command set for its “super-sharp marksmen” were standard for army sniping: the destruction of such categories of enemy military personnel as officers, sergeants, artillery observers, and signalmen. In addition, snipers were used as reconnaissance observers.

American veteran John Highton, who was 19 years old during the landing days, recalls his meeting with a German sniper. When his unit was able to move away from the landing point and reached the enemy fortifications, the gun crew attempted to set up their gun on the top of the hill. But every time another soldier tried to stand up to the sight, a shot clicked in the distance - and another gunner ended up with a bullet in his head. Note that, according to Highton, the distance to the German position was very significant - about eight hundred meters.

The number of German “high marksmanship” on the shores of Normandy is indicated by the following fact: when the 2nd battalion of the “Royal Ulster Fusiliers” moved to capture command heights near Periers-sur-les-Den, after a short battle they captured seventeen prisoners, seven of them turned out to be snipers.

Another unit of British infantry advanced from the coast to Cambrai, a small village surrounded by dense forest and stone walls. Since observation of the enemy was impossible, the British jumped to the conclusion that resistance should be insignificant. When one of the companies reached the edge of the forest, it came under heavy rifle and mortar fire. The effectiveness of the German rifle fire was strangely high: medical orderlies were killed while trying to carry the wounded from the battlefield, the captain was killed outright with a shot in the head, and one of the platoon commanders was seriously wounded. The tanks supporting the unit's attack were powerless to do anything due to the high wall surrounding the village. The battalion command was forced to stop the offensive, but by this time the company commander and fourteen other people were killed, one officer and eleven soldiers were wounded, and four people were missing. In fact, Cambrai turned out to be a well-fortified German position. When, after treating it with all types of artillery - from light mortars to naval guns - the village was finally taken, it turned out to be filled with dead German soldiers, many of whom had rifles with telescopic sights. One wounded sniper from the SS units was also captured.

Many of the marksmen the Allies encountered in Normandy had received extensive marksmanship training from the Hitler Youth. Before the start of the war, this youth organization strengthened the military training of its members: all of them were required to study the design of military weapons, practice shooting with small-caliber rifles, and the most capable of them were purposefully trained in the art of sniper. When these “children of Hitler” later entered the army, they received full-fledged sniper training. In particular, the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" that fought in Normandy was staffed with soldiers from members of this organization, and officers from the SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler", notorious for its atrocities. In the battles in the Cannes region, these teenagers received a baptism of fire.

In general, Cannes was an almost ideal place for sniper warfare. Working together with artillery spotters, German snipers completely controlled the area around this city, British and Canadian soldiers were forced to carefully check literally every meter of the territory to make sure that the area was truly cleared of enemy "cuckoos".
On June 26, an ordinary SS man named Peltzmann, from a well-chosen and carefully camouflaged position, destroyed Allied soldiers for several hours, holding back their advance in his sector. When the sniper ran out of cartridges, he got out of his “bed”, smashed his rifle against a tree and shouted to the British: “I finished off enough of yours, but I’m out of cartridges - you can shoot me!” He probably didn’t have to say this: the British infantrymen gladly complied with his last request. The German prisoners present at this scene were forced to collect all those killed in one place. One of these prisoners later claimed to have counted at least thirty dead Englishmen near Peltzmann's position.

Despite the lesson learned by the Allied infantry in the first days after the Normandy landings, there were no effective means against the German “super sharpshooters”; they became a constant headache. The possible presence of invisible shooters, ready to shoot anyone at any moment, was nerve-wracking. Clearing the area of ​​snipers was very difficult, sometimes requiring a whole day to completely comb the area around the field camp, but without this no one could guarantee their safety.

The Allied soldiers gradually learned in practice the basic precautions against sniper fire that the Germans themselves had learned three years earlier, finding themselves in the same situation at the gunpoint of Soviet fighter shooters. In order not to tempt fate, the Americans and British began to move, bending low to the ground, dashing from cover to cover; the rank and file stopped saluting the officers, and the officers, in turn, began to wear a field uniform, very similar to a soldier's - everything was done in order to minimize the risk and not provoke the enemy sniper to shoot. Nevertheless, the feeling of danger became a constant companion for the soldiers in Normandy.

German snipers disappeared into the difficult landscape of Normandy. The fact is that most of this area is a real labyrinth of fields surrounded by hedges. These hedges appeared here during the Roman Empire and were used to mark the boundaries of land plots. The land here was divided into small fields by hedges of hawthorn, bramble and various creeping plants, much like a patchwork quilt. Some such enclosures were planted on high embankments, in front of which drainage ditches were dug. When it rained - and it rained often - the mud would stick to the soldiers' boots, the cars would get stuck and had to be pulled out with the help of tanks, and all around there was only darkness, a dim sky and shaggy hedge walls.

It is not surprising that such terrain provided an ideal battlefield for sniper warfare. Moving into the depths of France, the units left many enemy riflemen in their tactical rear, who then began the systematic shooting of careless rear soldiers. The hedges made it possible to view the terrain at only two to three hundred meters, and from such a distance even a novice sniper could hit the head figure with a rifle with a telescopic sight. Dense vegetation not only limited visibility, but also allowed the “cuckoo” shooter to easily escape return fire after several shots.

The battles among the hedges were reminiscent of Theseus' wanderings in the labyrinth of the Minotaur. Tall, dense bushes along the roads made the Allied soldiers feel like they were in a tunnel, in the depths of which there was an insidious trap. The terrain presented numerous opportunities for snipers to select positions and set up shooting cells, while their enemy was in exactly the opposite situation. Most often, in the hedges along the paths of the most likely movement of the enemy, Wehrmacht snipers set up numerous “beds” from which they fired harassing fire, and also covered machine-gun positions, laid surprise mines, etc. - in other words, there was a systematic and well-organized sniper terror. Single German riflemen, finding themselves deep in the rear of the Allies, hunted enemy soldiers and officers until they ran out of ammunition and food, and then... simply surrendered, which, given the attitude of the enemy military personnel towards them, was quite a risky business.

However, not everyone wanted to surrender. It was in Normandy that the so-called “suicide boys” appeared, who, contrary to all the canons of sniper tactics, did not at all strive to change their position after several shots, but, on the contrary, continued to fire continuously until they were destroyed. Such tactics, suicidal for the riflemen themselves, in many cases allowed them to inflict heavy losses on the Allied infantry units.

The Germans did not only set up ambushes among hedges and trees - road intersections, where important targets such as senior officers were often encountered, were also convenient places for ambushes. Here the Germans had to fire from fairly large distances, since the intersections were usually tightly guarded. Bridges were exceptionally convenient targets for shelling, since infantry were crowded here, and just a few shots could cause panic among the unfired reinforcements heading to the front. Isolated buildings were too obvious places to choose a position, so snipers usually camouflaged themselves away from them, but numerous ruins in villages became their favorite place - although here they had to change position more often than in normal field conditions, when it is difficult to determine the location of the shooter .

The natural desire of every sniper was to position himself in a place from which the entire area would be clearly visible, so water pumps, mills and bell towers were ideal positions, but it was these objects that were primarily subject to artillery and machine-gun fire. Despite this, some German “high marksmen” were still stationed there. Norman village churches destroyed by Allied guns became a symbol of German sniper terror.

Like snipers of any army, German riflemen tried to hit the most important targets first: officers, sergeants, observers, gun personnel, signalmen, tank commanders. One captured German, during interrogation, explained to interested British how he could distinguish officers at a great distance - after all, British officers had long worn the same field uniform as privates and did not have insignia. He said, "We just shoot people with mustaches." The fact is that in the British army, officers and senior sergeants traditionally wore mustaches.
Unlike a machine gunner, a sniper did not reveal his position when shooting, therefore, under favorable circumstances, one competent “super marksman” could stop the advance of an infantry company, especially if it was a company of unfired soldiers: having come under fire, the infantrymen most often lay down and did not even try to shoot back . A former commanding officer in the US Army recalled that “one of the main mistakes that recruits constantly made was that under fire they simply lay down on the ground and did not move. On one occasion I ordered a platoon to advance from one hedge to another. While moving, the sniper killed one of the soldiers with his first shot. All the other soldiers immediately fell to the ground and were almost completely killed one after another by the same sniper.”

In general, 1944 was a turning point for sniper art in the German troops. The role of sniping was finally appreciated by the high command: numerous orders emphasized the need for the competent use of snipers, preferably in pairs of “shooter plus observer,” and various types of camouflage and special equipment were developed. It was assumed that during the second half of 1944 the number of sniper pairs in the grenadier and people's grenadier units would be doubled. The head of the “Black Order” Heinrich Himmler also became interested in sniping in the SS troops, and he approved a program of specialized in-depth training for fighter shooters.

In the same year, by order of the Luftwaffe command, educational films “Invisible Weapon: Sniper in Combat” and “Field Training of Snipers” were filmed for use in training ground units. Both films were shot quite competently and of very high quality, even from the heights of today: here are the main points of special sniper training, the most important recommendations for actions in the field, and all this in a popular form, with a combination of game elements.

A memo, widely circulated at the time, called “The Ten Commandments of the Sniper” read:
- Fight selflessly.
- Fire calmly and carefully, concentrate on each shot. Remember that rapid fire has no effect.
- Shoot only when you are sure that you will not be detected.
- Your main opponent is the enemy sniper, outsmart him.
- Don’t forget that the sapper shovel prolongs your life.
- Constantly practice determining distances.
- Become a master at using terrain and camouflage.
- Train constantly - on the front line and in the rear.
- Take care of your sniper rifle, don’t give it to anyone.
- Survival for a sniper has nine parts - camouflage and only one - shooting.

In the German army, snipers were used at various tactical levels. It was the experience of applying such a concept that allowed E. Middeldorff in his book to propose the following practice in the post-war period: “In no other issue related to infantry combat are there such great contradictions as in the issue of the use of snipers. Some consider it necessary to have a full-time platoon of snipers in each company, or at least in the battalion. Others predict that snipers operating in pairs will have the greatest success. We will try to find a solution that satisfies the requirements of both points of view. First of all, one should distinguish between “amateur snipers” and “professional snipers.” It is advisable that each squad have two non-staff amateur snipers. They need to be given a 4x optical sight for their assault rifle. They will remain regular shooters who have received additional sniper training. If using them as snipers is not possible, they will act as regular soldiers. As for professional snipers, there should be two of them in each company or six in the company control group. They must be armed with a special sniper rifle with a muzzle velocity of more than 1000 m/sec, with a 6-fold high-aperture optical sight. These snipers will typically "free hunt" the company area. If, depending on the situation and terrain conditions, the need arises to use a platoon of snipers, then this will be easily feasible, since the company has 24 snipers (18 amateur snipers and 6 professional snipers), who in this case can be united together.” . Note that this concept of sniping is considered one of the most promising.

Allied soldiers and lower-ranking officers, who suffered most from sniper terror, developed various methods of dealing with enemy invisible shooters. And yet the most effective way was still to use their snipers.

According to statistics, during the Second World War it usually took 25,000 shots to kill a soldier. For snipers, the same number was on average 1.3-1.5.

Regarding the topic of the army of Nazi Germany, I can remind you of the history of such figures as The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Highly skilled snipers were worth their weight in gold during World War II. Fighting on the Eastern Front, the Soviets positioned their snipers as skilled marksmen, noticeably dominant in many ways. The Soviet Union was the only one that trained snipers for ten years, preparing for war. Their superiority is confirmed by their “death lists.” Experienced snipers killed many people and, undoubtedly, were of great value. For example, Vasily Zaitsev killed 225 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Maxim Alexandrovich Passar(1923-1943) - Soviet, during the Great Patriotic War he destroyed 237 enemy soldiers and officers.
In February 1942, he volunteered to go to the front. In May 1942, he underwent sniper training in units of the North-Western Front. Killed 21 Wehrmacht soldiers. Joined the CPSU(b).
Since July 1942, he served in the 117th Infantry Regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division, which fought as part of the 21st Army of the Stalingrad Front and the 65th Army of the Don Front.
He was one of the most effective snipers of the Battle of Stalingrad, during which he destroyed more than two hundred enemy soldiers and officers. For the liquidation of M.A. Passar, the German command assigned a reward of 100 thousand Reichsmarks.

He made a great contribution to the development of the sniper movement in the Red Army and took an active part in the practical training of shooters. The snipers of the 117th Infantry Regiment trained by him destroyed 775 Germans. His speeches on sniper tactics were repeatedly published in the large-circulation newspaper of the 23rd Infantry Division.
On December 8, 1942, M. A. Passar received a shell shock, but remained in service.

On January 22, 1943, in a battle near the village of Peschanka, Gorodishchensky district, Stalingrad region, he ensured the success of the offensive of the regiment's units, which was stopped by enemy flank machine-gun fire from camouflaged fortified positions. Secretly approaching to a distance of about 100 meters, Senior Sergeant Passar destroyed the crews of two heavy machine guns, which decided the outcome of the attack, during which the sniper died.
M.A. Passar was buried in a mass grave on the Square of Fallen Fighters in the workers' village of Gorodishche, Volgograd Region.

Mikhail Ilyich Surkov(1921-1953) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 1st battalion of the 39th rifle regiment of the 4th rifle division of the 12th army, sergeant major.
Before the war, he lived in the village of Bolshaya Salyr, now the Achinsk district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. He was a taiga hunter.
In the Red Army since 1941 - drafted by the Achinsky (in the award list - Atchevsky) RVC. Candidate for the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1942. At the end of the war he was transferred to the rear to train snipers.
After the war, Mikhail Ilyich returned to his native village. Died in 1953.

The best Soviet sniper of the Great Patriotic War, the number of destroyed enemies according to Soviet sources is 702. A number of Western historians question this figure, believing that it was fabricated by Soviet propaganda in order to neutralize the result of the Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, which he achieved during the Soviet-Finnish War wars of 1939-1940. However, Simo Häyhä became known in the USSR only after 1990.

Natalya Venediiktovna Kovshova(November 26, 1920 - August 14, 1942) - Hero of the Soviet Union, sniper during the Great Patriotic War.

Natalya Venediktovna Kovshova was born on November 26, 1920 in Ufa. Subsequently, the family moved to Moscow. In 1940, she graduated from Moscow school No. 281 in Ulansky Lane (now No. 1284) and went to work at the Orgaviaprom aviation industry trust, created in the late autumn of the same year. She worked as an inspector in the HR department. In 1941, she was preparing to enter the Moscow Aviation Institute. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she volunteered for the Red Army. Completed sniper courses. At the front since October 1941.
In the battle of Moscow she fought in the ranks of the 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division. (The division was formed in the critical days for Moscow in the fall of 1941 from volunteer battalions, which included students, professors, elderly workers, and schoolchildren). Since January 1942, a sniper in the 528th Infantry Regiment (130th Infantry Division, 1st Shock Army, Northwestern Front). On the personal account of sniper Kovshova there are 167 exterminated fascist soldiers and officers. (According to the testimony of her fellow soldier Georgy Balovnev, at least 200; the award sheet specifically mentions that among Kovshova’s hit targets were “cuckoos” - enemy snipers and enemy machine gun crews). During her service, she trained soldiers in marksmanship.

On August 14, 1942, near the village of Sutoki, Parfinsky district, Novgorod region, together with her friend Maria Polivanova, she entered into battle with the Nazis. In an unequal battle, both were wounded, but did not stop fighting. Having shot through the entire supply of ammunition, they blew themselves up with grenades along with the enemy soldiers who surrounded them.
She was buried in the village of Korovitchino, Starorussky district, Novgorod region. At the Novodevichy cemetery there is a cenotaph in the grave of her father.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously on February 14, 1943 (together with M. S. Polivanova) for dedication and heroism shown in battle.

Zhambyl Yesheevich Tulaev(May 2 (15), 1905, Tagarkhai ulus now Tunkinsky district, Buryatia - January 17, 1961) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 580th Infantry Regiment of the 188th Infantry Division of the 27th Army of the North-Western Front, sergeant major

Born on May 2 (15), 1905 in the Tagarkhai ulus, now a village in the Tunkinsky district of Buryatia, in a peasant family. Buryat. Graduated from 4th grade. Lived in the city of Irkutsk. Worked as manager of a container depot. In the Red Army since 1942. In the active army since March 1942. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1942. Sniper of the 580th Infantry Regiment (188th Infantry Division, 27th Army, Northwestern Front), Sergeant Major Zhambyl Tulaev, killed two hundred and sixty-two Nazis from May to November 1942. He trained three dozen snipers for the front.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 14, 1943, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, foreman Tulaev Zhambyl Yesheevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 847).
Since 1946, Lieutenant Zh. E. Tulaev has been in reserve. Returned to his native Buryatia. He worked as chairman of a collective farm and secretary of the local village council. Died on January 17, 1961.

Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko September 12, 1919, Chantsovo village, Smolensk province - February 19, 1994, Kizlyar - Soviet sniper who destroyed about 500 enemy soldiers and officers during the Great Patriotic War. Hero of the Soviet Union

Participant of the Great Patriotic War since November 1941. He fought as part of the 4th Shock Army of the Kalinin Front. He was a mortarman. In the winter counter-offensive of 1942, Lieutenant Sidorenko’s mortar company fought from the Ostashkovo bridgehead to the city of Velizh, Smolensk region. Here Ivan Sidorenko became a sniper. In battles with the Nazi invaders he was seriously wounded three times, but returned to duty each time.
Assistant Chief of Staff of the 1122nd Infantry Regiment (334th Infantry Division, 4th Shock Army, 1st Baltic Front), Captain Ivan Sidorenko, distinguished himself as the organizer of the sniper movement. By 1944, he killed about 500 Nazis with a sniper rifle.

Ivan Sidorenko trained more than 250 snipers for the front, most of whom were awarded orders and medals.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 4, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed, Captain Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. "(No. 3688).
I. M. Sidorenko finished his combat career in Estonia. At the end of 1944, the command sent him to preparatory courses at the military academy. But he didn’t have to study: old wounds opened up, and Ivan Sidorenko had to go to the hospital for a long time.
Since 1946, Major I.M. Sidorenko has been in reserve. Lived in the city of Korkino, Chelyabinsk region. He worked as a mining foreman at a mine. Then he worked in various cities of the Soviet Union. Since 1974 he lived in the city of Kizlyar (Dagestan), where he died on February 19, 1994.

Fedor Matveevich Okhlopkov(March 2, 1908, village of Krest-Khaldzhay, Bayagantaisky ulus, Yakut region, Russian Empire - May 28, 1968, village of Krest-Khaldzhay, Tomponsky district, YASSR), RSFSR, USSR - sniper of the 234th rifle regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union .

Born on March 2, 1908 in the village of Krest-Khaldzhay (now located in the Tomponsky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) in the family of a poor peasant. Yakut. Primary education. He worked as a miner hauling gold-bearing rocks at the Orochon mine in the Aldan region, and before the war as a hunter and machine operator in his native village.
In the Red Army since September 1941. From December 12 of the same year at the front. He was a machine gunner, a squad commander of a company of machine gunners of the 1243rd Infantry Regiment of the 375th Division of the 30th Army, and from October 1942 - a sniper of the 234th Infantry Regiment of the 179th Division. By June 23, 1944, Sergeant Okhlopkov killed 429 Nazi soldiers and officers with a sniper rifle. Was wounded 12 times.
On June 24, 1945, he took part in the Victory Parade over Nazi Germany on Red Square in Moscow.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin were awarded only in 1965.

After the war he was demobilized. Returned to his homeland. From 1945 to 1949 - head of the military department of the Tattinsky RK CPSU. On February 10, 1946, he was elected as a deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. From 1949 to 1951 - director of the Tattinsky procurement office for the extraction and procurement of furs. From 1951 to 1954 - manager of the Tattinsky district office of the Yakut meat trust. In 1954-1960 - collective farmer, state farm worker. Since 1960 - retired. Died on May 28, 1968. He was buried in the cemetery of his native village.

It should be noted that in the list of the 200 best snipers of the Second World War there are 192 Soviet snipers, the first twenty snipers of the Red Army destroyed about 8,400 enemy soldiers and officers, and the first hundred accounted for about 25,500. Thanks to our grandfathers for the Victory!

The best snipers of World War II. German, Soviet, Finnish riflemen played quite an important role in wartime. And in this review an attempt will be made to consider those of them that have become the most effective.

The emergence of sniper art

Since the emergence of personal weapons in armies, which provided the opportunity to hit the enemy at long distances, accurate shooters began to be distinguished from soldiers. Subsequently, separate units of rangers began to form from them. As a result, a separate type of light infantry was formed. The main tasks that the soldiers received included the destruction of officers of enemy troops, as well as the demoralization of the enemy through accurate shooting at significant distances. For this purpose, shooters were armed with special rifles.

In the 19th century, modernization of weapons occurred. The tactics changed accordingly. This was facilitated by the emergence of During the First World War, snipers were part of a separate cohort of saboteurs. Their goal was to quickly and effectively defeat enemy personnel. At the very beginning of the war, snipers were mainly used by the Germans. However, over time, special schools began to appear in other countries. In conditions of protracted conflicts, this “profession” has become quite in demand.

Finnish snipers

Between 1939 and 1940, Finnish marksmen were considered the best. World War II snipers learned a lot from them. Finnish riflemen were nicknamed “cuckoos”. The reason for this was that they used special “nests” in trees. This feature was distinctive for the Finns, although trees were used for this purpose in almost all countries.

So who exactly do the best snipers of World War II owe to? The most famous “cuckoo” was Simo Heihe. He was nicknamed the "white death". The number of confirmed murders he committed exceeded the mark of 500 liquidated Red Army soldiers. In some sources, his indicators were equal to 700. He was quite seriously wounded. But Simo was able to recover. He died in 2002.

Propaganda played its role

The best snipers of the Second World War, namely their achievements, were actively used in propaganda. Quite often it happened that the personalities of the shooters began to acquire legends.

The famous domestic sniper was able to destroy about 240 enemy soldiers. This figure was average for effective marksmen of that war. But due to propaganda, he was made the most famous Red Army sniper. At the present stage, historians seriously doubt the existence of Major Koenig, Zaitsev’s main opponent in Stalingrad. The main achievements of the domestic shooter include the development of a sniper training program. He personally took part in their preparation. In addition, he formed a full-fledged sniper school. Its graduates were called “hares.”

Top marksmen

Who are they, the best snipers of World War II? You should know the names of the most successful shooters. Mikhail Surkov is in first position. He destroyed about 702 enemy soldiers. Following him on the list is Ivan Sidorov. He killed 500 soldiers. Nikolai Ilyin is in third position. He killed 497 enemy soldiers. Following him with the mark of 489 killed is Ivan Kulbertinov.

The best snipers of the USSR of World War II were not only men. In those years, women also actively joined the ranks of the Red Army. Some of them subsequently became quite effective shooters. About 12 thousand enemy soldiers were destroyed. And the most effective was Lyudmila Pavlichenkova, who had 309 killed soldiers.

The best snipers of the USSR in World War II, of which there were quite a lot, have a large number of effective shots to their credit. More than 400 soldiers were killed by approximately fifteen riflemen. 25 snipers killed more than 300 enemy soldiers. 36 riflemen killed more than 200 Germans.

There is little information about enemy shooters

There is not so much data about “colleagues” on the enemy side. This is due to the fact that no one tried to boast of their exploits. Therefore, the best German snipers of the Second World War are practically unknown in ranks and names. One can only say with certainty about those shooters who were awarded the Knight's Iron Cross. This happened in 1945. One of them was Frederick Payne. He killed about 200 enemy soldiers. The most productive player was probably Matthias Hetzenauer. They killed about 345 soldiers. The third sniper who was awarded the order was Joseph Ollerberg. He left memoirs in which quite a lot was written about the activities of German riflemen during the war. The sniper himself killed about 257 soldiers.

Sniper terror

It should be noted that the Anglo-American allies landed in Normandy in 1944. And it was in this place that the best snipers of the Second World War were located during that period. German riflemen killed many soldiers. And their effectiveness was facilitated by the terrain, which was simply replete with bushes. The British and Americans in Normandy faced real sniper terror. Only after this did the Allied forces think about training specialized shooters who could work with an optical sight. However, the war has already come to an end. Therefore, the snipers of America and England were never able to set records.

Thus, the Finnish “cuckoos” taught a good lesson in their time. Thanks to them, the best snipers of World War II served in the Red Army.

Women fought equally with men

Since ancient times, it has been the case that men are engaged in war. However, in 1941, when the Germans attacked our country, the entire people began to defend it. Holding weapons in their hands, standing at machines and on collective farm fields, Soviet people - men, women, old people and children - fought against fascism. And they were able to win.

The chronicle contains a lot of information about the women who received it. And the best snipers of the war were also present among them. Our girls were able to destroy more than 12 thousand enemy soldiers. Six of them received a high rank, and one girl became a full holder of the soldier's

Legend girl

As mentioned above, the famous sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenkova killed about 309 soldiers. Of these, 36 were enemy riflemen. In other words, she alone was able to destroy almost an entire battalion. A film was made based on her exploits called “The Battle of Sevastopol.” The girl went to the front voluntarily in 1941. She took part in the defense of Sevastopol and Odessa.

In June 1942, the girl was wounded. After that, she no longer took part in hostilities. The wounded Lyudmila was carried from the battlefield by Alexei Kitsenko, with whom she fell in love. They decided to file a report on marriage registration. However, the happiness did not last too long. In March 1942, the lieutenant was seriously wounded and died in the arms of his wife.

In the same year, Lyudmila became part of the delegation of Soviet youth and left for America. There she created a real sensation. After returning, Lyudmila became an instructor at a sniper school. Under her leadership, several dozen good shooters were trained. This is how they were - the best snipers of the USSR in World War II.

Creation of a special school

Perhaps Lyudmila’s experience was the reason why the country’s leadership began to teach girls the art of shooting. Courses were specially formed in which girls were in no way inferior to men. Later, it was decided to reorganize these courses into the Central Women's Sniper Training School. In other countries, only men were snipers. During World War II, girls were not taught this art professionally. And only in the Soviet Union did they comprehend this science and fight on an equal basis with men.

The girls were treated cruelly by their enemies

In addition to the rifle, sapper shovel and binoculars, the women took grenades with them. One was intended for the enemy, and the other for oneself. Everyone knew that German soldiers treated snipers cruelly. In 1944, the Nazis managed to capture domestic sniper Tatyana Baramzina. When our soldiers discovered her, they could recognize her only by her hair and uniform. The enemy soldiers stabbed the body with daggers, cut out the breasts, and gouged out the eyes. They stuck a bayonet into my stomach. In addition, the Nazis shot at the girl point-blank with an anti-tank rifle. Of the 1,885 graduates of the sniper school, about 185 girls could not survive to Victory. They tried to protect them and did not throw them into particularly difficult tasks. But still, the glare of optical sights in the sun often gave away the shooters, who were later found by enemy soldiers.

Only time has changed the attitude towards female shooters

The girls, the best snipers of World War II, whose photos can be seen in this review, experienced terrible things in their time. And when they returned home, they sometimes encountered contempt. Unfortunately, in the rear, a special attitude was formed towards girls. Many unfairly called them field wives. This is where the contemptuous looks that female snipers received came from.

For a long time they did not tell anyone that they were at war. They hid their rewards. And only after 20 years did attitudes towards them begin to change. And it was at this time that the girls began to open up, talking about their many exploits.

Conclusion

In this review, an attempt was made to describe those snipers who became the most productive during the entire period that the Second World War was going on. There are quite a lot of them. But it should be noted that not all arrows are known. Some tried to talk about their exploits as little as possible.

Before we begin the story about the legendary snipers of the Second World War, let us briefly dwell on the very concept of “sniper” and the essence of the mysterious profession of a sniper, the history of its origin. Because without this, much of the story will remain a secret behind seven seals. Skeptics will say: “Well, what’s mysterious here?” A sniper is a sharp shooter. And they will be right. But the word “snipe” (from the English snipe) has nothing to do with shooting. This is the name of the swamp snipe - a small harmless bird with an unpredictable flight path. And only a skilled shooter can hit it in flight. That’s why snipe hunters are called “snipers.”

The use of long-barreled hunting rifles in battles for accurate shooting was recorded during the English Civil War (1642 -1648). The most famous example was the murder of the commander of the Parliamentary army, Lord Brooke, in 1643. A soldier on duty on the roof of the cathedral shot at the lord when he carelessly leaned out of cover. And it hit my left eye. Such a shot, fired from a distance of 150 yards (137 m), was considered extraordinary with a normal aimed shooting range of about 80 yards (73 m).

The British Army's war with the American colonists, many of whom included hunters, exposed the vulnerability of regular troops to skilled marksmen who hit targets at twice the effective range of musket fire. This turned combat units in the intervals between battles and during movements into a target for hunting. Convoys and individual detachments suffered unexpected losses; there was no protection from fire from the hidden enemy; the enemy remained inaccessible, and in most cases simply invisible. From that time on, snipers began to be considered a separate military specialty.

By the beginning of the 19th century, shooters with rifled guns were able to hit enemy personnel at a distance of 1,200 yards (1,097 m), which was an incredible achievement, but not fully realized by the military command. In the Crimean War, single Englishmen using long-range guns with custom-made sights killed Russian soldiers and officers at a distance of 700 yards or more. A little later, special sniper units appeared, which showed that a small group of skilled shooters scattered throughout the area could withstand units of the enemy’s regular army. Already at this time, the British had a rule: “Do not light a cigarette with one match,” which was relevant before the advent of night sights and thermal imagers. The first English soldier lit a cigarette - the sniper noticed them. The second Englishman lit a cigarette - the sniper took the lead. And already the third received an accurate shot from the shooter.

Increasing the shooting distance revealed a significant problem for snipers: it was extremely difficult to combine the figure of a man and the front sight of a gun: for the shooter, the front sight was larger in size than the enemy soldier. At the same time, the quality indicators of the rifles already made it possible to conduct aimed fire at a distance of up to 1800 m. And only during the First World War, when the use of snipers at the front became widespread, the first optical sights appeared, almost simultaneously in the armies of Russia, Germany, Britain and Austria. Hungary. As a rule, three to five times optics were used.

The First World War was the heyday of sniper shooting, which was determined by positional, trench warfare, on thousands of kilometers of front. Huge losses from sniper fire also required significant organizational changes in the rules of warfare. The troops switched en masse to khaki uniforms, and the uniforms of junior officers lost their distinct insignia. There was also a ban on performing a military salute in combat conditions.

By the end of the first year of the war, the German troops numbered about 20 thousand snipers. Each company had 6 full-time riflemen. German snipers, in the first period of trench warfare, incapacitated the British along the entire front, several hundred people a day, which within a month gave a loss figure equal to the size of an entire division. Any appearance of a British soldier outside the trench guaranteed instant death. Even wearing a wristwatch posed a great danger, since the light they reflected immediately attracted the attention of German snipers. Any object or body part that remained outside cover for three seconds drew German fire. The degree of German superiority in this area was so obvious that, according to eyewitnesses, some German snipers, feeling their absolute impunity, amused themselves by shooting at all sorts of objects. Therefore, snipers were traditionally disliked by infantrymen and, when detected, were killed on the spot. Since then, there has been an unwritten tradition - do not take snipers prisoner.

The British quickly responded to the threat by creating their own sniper school and eventually completely suppressed the enemy shooters. In British sniper schools, Canadian, Australian and South African hunters began to teach snipers, who taught not only shooting, but also the ability to remain unnoticed by the object of the hunt: camouflage, hide from the enemy and patiently guard targets. They began to use camouflage suits made of light green material and tufts of grass. English snipers developed a technique for using “sculpture models” - dummies of local objects, inside which arrows were placed. Invisible to enemy observers, they conducted visual reconnaissance of enemy forward positions, revealed the location of fire weapons and destroyed the most important targets. The British believed that having a good rifle and shooting accurately from it was not the only difference between a sniper. They believed, not without reason, that observation, brought to a high degree of perfection, “sense of terrain,” insight, excellent eyesight and hearing, calmness, personal courage, perseverance and patience were no less important than a well-aimed shot. An impressionable or nervous person can never become a good sniper.

Another axiom of sniping was established during World War I - the best antidote to a sniper is another sniper. It was during the war that sniper duels first took place.

The best sniper in those years was the Canadian Indian hunter Francis Peghmagabow, who had 378 confirmed victories. Since then, the number of victories has been considered the criterion for sniper skill.

Thus, on the fronts of the First World War, the basic principles and specific techniques of sniping were determined, which were the basis for today's training and functioning of snipers.

In the interwar period, during the war in Spain, a direction that was not typical for snipers appeared - the fight against aviation. In the units of the Republican army, sniper squads were created to combat Franco aircraft, primarily bombers, which took advantage of the Republicans’ lack of anti-aircraft artillery and bombed from low altitudes. It cannot be said that this use of snipers was effective, but 13 aircraft were still shot down. And even during World War II, cases of successful shooting at aircraft were recorded on the fronts. However, these were just cases.

Having learned the history of sniping, let's consider the essence of the sniper profession. In the modern understanding, a sniper is a specially trained soldier (an independent combat unit) who is fluent in the art of marksmanship, camouflage and observation; usually hits the target with the first shot. The sniper’s task is to defeat command and communications personnel, enemy secrets, and destroy important emerging, moving, open and camouflaged single targets (enemy snipers, officers, etc.). Sometimes marksmen in other branches of the military (forces) (artillery, aviation) are called a sniper.

In the process of “work” of snipers, a certain specificity of activity developed, which led to the classification of the military profession. There are saboteur snipers and infantry snipers.

A saboteur sniper (familiar from computer games, movies and literature) operates alone or with a partner (providing fire cover and target designation), often far from the main body of troops, in the rear or on enemy territory. Its tasks include: covertly incapacitating important targets (officers, patrolmen, valuable equipment), disrupting an enemy attack, sniper terror (inducing panic among ordinary personnel, making observation difficult, moral suppression). In order not to give away his position, the shooter often fires a shot under the cover of background noise (weather phenomena, third-party shots, explosions, etc.). The destruction distance is from 500 meters and above. The sniper-saboteur's weapon is a high-precision rifle with an optical sight, sometimes with a silencer, usually with a longitudinally sliding bolt. Masking the position plays a big role, so it is done with special care. As camouflage, improvised materials (branches, bushes, earth, dirt, garbage, etc.), special camouflage clothing, or ready-made shelters (bunkers, trenches, buildings, etc.) can be used.

An infantry sniper operates as part of a rifle unit, sometimes paired with a machine gunner or a pair of machine gunners (cover group). Objectives - increasing the radius of infantry combat, destroying important targets (machine gunners, other snipers, grenade launchers, signalmen). As a rule, does not have time to choose a goal; shoots at everyone in sight. The combat distance rarely exceeds 400 m. The weapon used is a self-loading rifle with an optical sight. Extremely mobile, changes position frequently. As a rule, he has the same means of camouflage as other soldiers. Often, ordinary soldiers without special training who knew how to shoot accurately became field snipers.

The sniper is armed with a special sniper rifle with an optical sight and other special devices that make aiming easier. A sniper rifle is a bolt-action rifle, self-loading, repeating or single-shot, the design of which provides increased accuracy. The sniper rifle went through several historical stages in its development. At first, rifles were selected from a batch of conventional weapons, choosing those that gave the most accurate combat. Later, sniper rifles began to be manufactured on the basis of serial army models, making minor changes to the design in order to increase shooting accuracy. The very first sniper rifles were slightly larger than regular rifles and were designed for long-range shooting. It was not until the outbreak of World War I that specially adapted sniper rifles began to play an important role in warfare. Germany equipped hunting rifles with telescopic sights to destroy British signal lights and periscopes. During World War II, sniper rifles were standard battle rifles equipped with a telescopic sight with 2x or 3x magnification and stocks for shooting prone or from cover. One of the main tasks of the 7.62-mm army sniper rifle is to defeat small targets at ranges of up to 600 m and large ones - up to 800 m. At a range of 1000-1200 m, a sniper can conduct harassing fire, limiting the movement of the enemy, preventing mine clearance work, etc. .d. Under favorable circumstances, long-range sniping was possible, especially if equipped with an optical sight with 6x or higher magnification.

Special ammunition for snipers was produced only in Germany, and in sufficient quantities. In other countries, snipers, as a rule, selected cartridges from one batch, and, having shot them, determined for themselves the tactical and technical capabilities of their rifle with such ammunition. German snipers sometimes used sighting cartridges or tracer bullets to determine distance, or less often to record a hit. However, such operations were carried out only if the sniper was completely safe.

Snipers of all warring armies used special camouflage clothing, practical and comfortable. Depending on the time of year, clothing had to be both warm and waterproof. The most convenient camouflage for a sniper is shaggy. The face and hands were often painted, and the rifle was camouflaged to suit the season. There were no insignia or any symbols on the snipers’ clothing. The sniper knew that he had no chance of surviving if captured if he was identified as a sniper. And so, by hiding the optical sight, he could still pass himself off as an ordinary infantryman.

In a mobile war, snipers tried not to burden themselves with equipment. The necessary equipment for snipers was binoculars, since the view through the optical sight had a narrow sector, and prolonged use of it led to rapid eye fatigue. The greater the magnification of the device, the more confident the sniper felt. If available and possible, telescopes and periscopes, stereo tubes were used. Mechanically, remote-controlled rifles could be installed in distracting, false positions.

To “work”, the sniper chose a comfortable, protected and invisible position, and more than one, since after one or three shots, the place had to be changed. The position must provide for observation, a firing location, and a safe escape route. Whenever possible, snipers always tried to set up positions in elevated places, as they were more convenient for observation and shooting. Setting up positions under the walls of buildings that covered the position from the rear was avoided, since such buildings always attracted the attention of enemy artillerymen for shooting. Equally risky places were individual buildings that could provoke enemy mortar or machine gun fire “just in case.” Good shelters for snipers were destroyed buildings, where they could easily and secretly change positions. Even better are groves or fields with tall vegetation. It is easy to hide here, and the monotonous landscape tires the observer's eyes. Hedges and bocages are ideal for snipers - from here it is convenient to conduct targeted fire and easily change positions. Snipers have always avoided road intersections, since they are periodically fired from guns and mortars as a precaution. The favorite position of snipers is damaged armored vehicles with emergency hatches in the bottom.

A sniper's best friend is a shadow, it hides the outline, the optics do not shine in it. Typically, snipers take up their positions before sunrise and remain there until sunset. Sometimes, if the path to one's own position was blocked by the enemy, one could remain in that position for two or three days without support. On dark nights, snipers did not work; on moonlit nights, only a few did, provided they had good optics. Despite the existing techniques for sniping in windy conditions, most snipers did not work in strong winds, nor did they work in heavy precipitation.

Camouflage is the key to a sniper's life. The main principle of camouflage is that the observer’s eye should not dwell on it. Garbage is best suited for this, and snipers often set up their positions in landfills.

An important place in the “work” of a sniper was occupied by decoys. A great way to get a target into the kill zone is with a weapon. The sniper tries to shoot the enemy soldier so that his machine gun remains on the parapet. Sooner or later someone will try to take it and get shot too. Often, at the request of a sniper, scouts during a night raid leave a damaged pistol, a shiny watch, a cigarette case or other bait in his field of activity. Whoever crawls after her will become the sniper’s client. A sniper only tries to immobilize a soldier in an open area. And he will wait for someone to come to his aid. Then he will shoot the assistants and finish off the wounded man. If a sniper shoots at a group, then the first shot will be at the one walking behind, so that the others do not see that he has fallen. By the time his colleagues figure out what’s what, the sniper will shoot two or three more.

For anti-sniper combat, dummies dressed in military uniforms were often used; the higher the quality of the mannequin and the system for controlling its movement, the higher the chances of catching someone else’s, experienced shooter. For novice snipers, a helmet or cap raised on a stick above the parapet was enough. In special cases, specially trained snipers used entire systems of covert surveillance through stereo pipes and remote fire control with their help.

These are just a few rules of sniping tactics and techniques. A sniper must also be able to: aim correctly and hold his breath when shooting, master the technique of pulling the trigger, be able to shoot at moving and air targets, determine the range using the reticle of binoculars or a periscope, calculate corrections for atmospheric pressure and wind, be able to draw up a fire map and conduct counter-sniper duel, be able to act during the enemy’s artillery preparation, correctly disrupt the enemy’s attack with sniper fire, correctly, act during the defense and when breaking through the enemy’s defense. A sniper must have the skills to act alone, in pairs and as part of a sniper group, be able to interview witnesses during an attack by an enemy sniper, be able to detect him, promptly see the appearance of an enemy counter-sniper group and be able to work in such groups himself. And many many others. And this is what the military profession of a sniper consists of: the knowledge, skills and, of course, the talent of a hunter, a hunter of people.

With the end of the First World War, most countries neglected the costly experience of sniper shooting. In the British Army, the number of sniper sections in battalions was reduced to eight people. In 1921, optical sights were removed from SMLE No. 3 sniper rifles that were in storage and put on open sale. There was no formal sniper training program in the US Army; only the Marine Corps had a small number of snipers. France and Italy did not have trained snipers, and Weimer Germany was prohibited by international treaties from having snipers. But in the Soviet Union, shooting training, called the sniper movement, acquired the widest scope following the instructions of the Party and Government “...to hit the hydra of world imperialism not in the eyebrow, but in the eye.”

We will consider the use and development of sniping during the Second World War using the example of the largest participating countries.