sniper

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A sniper with an observer
Badge of activity sniper / precision shooter of the Bundeswehr

Snipers , including precision shooters , are shooters who carry out their mission through selective, targeted use of firearms .

Origin of the term

The word “ shooter ” originated in the German-speaking world as an expression for “transmitter for projectiles”, although there was no reference to the shape of the projectile or the firearm. The Brothers Grimm as authors of the German dictionary derive the development of this term from the Old High German "scuzzo" and refer to the related words in other language areas, "skut" in Anglo-Saxon , "skytt" and "skytte" in Norwegian , Swedish and Danish . Based on this, later linguists refer to the close relationship with the Frisian “sketta” and the Low German “schütte”, from which the Middle High German word “schütze ” arose.

The French language gets its word for shooter, French shooter , from the verb " tirer ", d. H. "Pulling", and thus describes the activity of firing a bow , a crossbow (string) or a firearm (trigger), while the Latin archer looks for his weapon or projectile as "sagittarius" (arrow shooter) or "ballistarius" (slingshot) was designated.

The term for a particularly good shooter originated in the German colloquial language in connection with the word "sharp", which also has a special meaning with "sharp eye", "sharp eye", but also with "live ammunition". The French only knows the enhancement of the " tireur d'élite ", the master or elite shooter . The most informative are the terms that emerged in English: This is how English marksman describes someone who hits the “ mark ” (target) with accuracy .

The "sharpshooter" originated as a loan translation of the German term and has been known since the 17th century at the latest. The derivation of American " Sharpshooters ", the rifle units with long-range Sharps rifles , is also possible.

In addition, the term " sniper " came up for the military specialist. In this case it comes from hunting. Someone who is a " snipe " ( snipe ) with a rifle ball, not with this usual shotgun could hit, had to be already a very good shot, because these birds are very shy, well camouflaged and very turned in flight. Sniper is now a common name for snipers in Germany. The Russian took the English word: russian Снайпер Snajper .

The swear word " sniper " developed from the colloquial language of the Middle Ages and is related to the " hedge robbers" lurking in ambush. It found its way into military parlance in another context: The Prussian drill regulations of 1714 provided for "hedge fire" to ward off roaming cavalry. From every half peloton (type of formation during a battle) two squads emerged, released their volleys and stepped back again. They often came up to the "hedge", a tangle of wood scrub, felled trees and branches called "abatis", which was the first obstacle placed in the enemy's path. The hedge fire was not a single fire, but volley shooting , with aiming being of secondary importance.

history

Roots and first beginnings

Sharpshooter or arquebusier at the beginning of the Thirty Years War
Wilhelm V (Hessen-Kassel) had the first hunter units set up, which had the tasks of today's snipers
Union Forces Sharpshooter in the American Civil War. Painting by Winslow Homer .

The historical roots of the snipers go back to the 15th century, to the soldiers armed with arquebuses who fought in front of the strictly ordered violence in order to be able to aim better. The skirmishers or skirmishers and Hunter led the airborne command post in the 18th century. The German hunter and rifle battalions , equipped with rifles , were recruited from foresters, forest workers and hunters and received better shooting training than the regular line infantry .

Under Wilhelm V (Hessen-Kassel) , a troop of hunters was set up in Hesse in 1631 , the majority of which consisted of volunteer hunters and foresters . These often brought their own hunting weapons with rifled barrels (rifles) with which they could shoot much further and, above all, more precisely. The disadvantage of the muzzle loading rifles was the significantly longer loading process and the more expensive production. The hunters' troops had the task of clearing up and weakening the enemy with targeted shots at selected targets (especially officers and gunners). This took place outside of the regular order of battle, independently and without direct contact with the leadership ( mission tactics ). With the formation of special hunter troops, Bavaria followed in 1645 , Brandenburg in 1674 and Prussia in 1744 .

During the American Revolutionary War , soldiers from such units in British service faced the rebel settlers, some of whom were armed with rifles. The British Army also drew on this experience and role models during the Napoleonic Wars . In Great Britain, an experimental sniper unit was set up in 1800, which was accepted into the regular field army as the 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot in 1802 . They were armed with the Baker Rifle , a rifle in the style of German hunter rifles, and wore dark green uniform skirts and dark green or gray trousers instead of the striking red uniform skirts and white trousers of the line infantry.

Similar units were also found on the French side with the Tirailleurs , but after initially being equipped with rifles carabine de Versailles, they were later armed with muskets again for organizational and tactical reasons. In France, however, the snipers could not prevail in the 19th century.

Hunter and rifle units were also set up in all German armies and in the Russian Empire . In the Austro-Hungarian army , even wind rifles (early compressed air rifles) were issued as sniper rifles.

In the southern European armies, as in Spain and Italy , no particular importance was attached to the development at first. In Italy, however, there were snipers with rifles within the Bersaglieri . In the Portuguese army ( Exército Português ), hunter units ( Caçadores ) were set up according to the British model.

In the American Civil War , independent sniper units were set up, such as the volunteers of the "Berdan Sharpshooters" ( English 2nd United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiment ) of the northern states. They wore dark green uniform skirts , trousers, and field caps instead of the usual dark blue uniform skirts and light blue trousers of the line infantry. The hat badge was a hunting horn. The snipers of the northern states were mostly equipped with the Sharps Rifle .

During the Boer War , the British Army suffered heavy losses from Boer snipers.

Beginning of the modern sniper trade

The development of the modern sniper system in the strict sense began with the First World War . Hunting weapons equipped with telescopic sights were initially used here, but as early as 1916, the targeted selection of particularly suitable barrels from current rifle production began in Great Britain and Germany.

First World War

British soldiers use a dummy head to determine the position of enemy snipers (graphic by Major H. Hesketh-Pritchard from the book: Sniping in France , 1920)

From July 1915 telescopic rifles were assigned to the hunter battalions and snipers were set up. The German snipers changed position after a few shots, which made them particularly difficult to spot. In response to the German snipers, who were particularly used in trench warfare , the British major Hesketh Hesketh-Pritchard founded a sniper school in France during World War I. He pursued a new tactic: the Allied snipers should work in groups of two; an observer ( spotter ) with binoculars / telescope to assign targets and a shooter to neutralize them. This tactic still applies today.

Second World War

Soviet postage stamp from 1943
German sniper 1943

As at the beginning of the First World War, leading officers were opposed to equipping the infantry with rifles with telescopic sights. In the Wehrmacht, comparative shooting between the well-trained infantrymen with the 98k with open sights and with a telescopic sight did not produce significantly better shooting results; an introduction was therefore rejected. Only in the further course of the Second World War were snipers used in all armed forces of the nations involved in the war, but most heavily by the Red Army and the US Army . The Red Army became particularly aware of the value of these specialists in the Finnish-Soviet winter war of 1939–1940, when Finnish snipers, such as Simo Häyhä , who were employed with judicious tactics , inflicted heavy losses on the Soviet units. As a consequence of these experiences, sniping was promoted in the Soviet armed forces.

In the German Reich, this type of weapon was initially given little importance. Only because of the losses suffered in the war against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 by opposing snipers, special sniper schools were set up. The sniper badge was highly regarded, and the Nazi regime instrumentalized the snipers by exploiting outstanding shooters for propaganda purposes through honors. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, in his role as "Reichsjägermeister", insisted on inviting snipers to hunt in person after their fiftieth confirmed kill, with appropriate photos and film recordings for the newsreel . A confirmed kill must have been seen and confirmed by an officer with his own eyes. Since the snipers mostly operated individually and on their own, the actual number of kills should be far higher than the number of confirmed kills.

In addition to members of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS such as Matthäus Hetzenauer, the female snipers of the Red Army are particularly well known .

Red Army snipers in World War II

Soviet badge "Snajper"

The famous noble shooters (designation of a sniper of the Red Army with more than 40 fatal hits) included Lyudmila Pavlitschenko with 309 confirmed fatal hits, Vasily Saizew with 252 German soldiers killed, “Schigan” (Russian Жиган) with 224 killed German soldiers and officers, Nikolai Ilin (185), Unteroffizier Studentow (170), Sergeant Passar (103), Viktor Medvedev, Anatolij Chekov (17 Germans killed within two days), Tanja Chekova (40), the Ukrainian Kucherenko (19) and a Uzbek by name unknown who shot five Germans in three days.

Each of these precision shooters had his own way of working: the Ukrainian sniper Kowbasa operated from various trenches (fire trenches and positions for rest breaks) and on the flanks of neighboring infantry platoons, where he dug up a pretended position of his own and provided it with a lever mechanism for a white flag . Curious German soldiers who lifted their heads out of the trenches could be killed with a single targeted shot. Danielow also raised positions for camouflage and equipped them with scarecrows and the uniforms of the Red Army. Inexperienced German soldiers could easily be lured out of their cover and killed. Noble sniper Ilin often lurked in an old barrel or tunnel near the “Red October” steelworks for enemy artillery observers, detectors, cable laymen or food carriers, who were the preferred targets of the Soviet snipers. Saizew operated primarily on the border with no man's land between Mamayev Hill and the “Red October” steelworks, where the 6th Army suffered most of the casualties from sniper fire. On the factory site, riflemen positioned themselves on the highest points of factory halls or water towers in order to be able to work in the depths of the site.

"Every guardsman has the talent of a sniper and would thus force the Germans from their upright posture to crawl." Viktor Medvedev and Anatoly Chekhov spread a lot of fear among the German infantrymen, who rarely dared to raise their heads from the shelters during the day. War participant Vincenz Griesemer on the threat posed by Soviet snipers: “For example, they sat on the roofs of the factory hall of the 'Red October' steelworks with their felt boots and cotton suits, their faces as brown as the rust on the corrugated iron roofs. And whoever stuck his head out of us was gone. ”() VI Tschuikow , Commander of the 62nd Army emphasized the importance of his snipers:“ We have to give every German soldier the feeling that he is looking into the muzzle of a Russian rifle. ” ()

The great success of the Soviet snipers in Stalingrad was due to the fact that they succeeded in camouflaging themselves perfectly, adapting to the most varied of terrain forms and blurring their own contours. The ideal position often turned out to be a white background, as well as empty window sockets, remains of walls, burned-out tanks, cellars and similar locations that were difficult to see from the enemy. The muzzle of the rifle was covered with a flash hider or wrapped in a cloth to avoid any mirror reflections. An immediate change of position after the first shot was mostly necessary, since suspected sniper positions were often fought with area fire from artillery . The fighting style of Soviet snipers was familiar to the German troops from the glorification of military propaganda (army newspaper Na Sashchitu Rodiny ). In the Battle of Stalingrad, a real cult of "sniperism" arose, which was ideologically disguised and romanticized in military propaganda as a war adventure. Well-known individual shooters were revered by the population like sports idols and received a large number of volunteers. Due to their importance and their special status, snipers received better individual training and were much better fed and cared for than the mass army.

German propaganda Soviet snipers were as cold-blooded murderer and cowardly snipers shown, actually it was mostly simple factory workers and employees who are specially trained for their specific tasks. The Red Army had learned from its experiences in the winter campaign against Finland, when they were inflicted extremely heavy losses by Finnish snipers ( Simo Häyhä ). For this reason, sniper techniques were further developed during the Battle of Stalingrad in order to sensitively disrupt communication of the enemy, to interrupt the flow of combat and to demoralize the enemy.

Snipers always operated in pairs or in separate groups, a shooter and an observer, with roles often changing after a precision shot was fired. They were used both for battlefield reconnaissance and for the targeted elimination of enemy officers and NCOs. A successful killing of the enemy was recorded in diaries, where the date, time, weather conditions, position and other data of the combat mission were noted.

Initially, snipers were organized at platoon level, and during the Battle of Stalingrad also at division or even army level. In particular, they were used for flank protection in order to prevent the enemy from quickly encircling the area. The fighting distance in the open forest area was less than 400 meters, in localities mostly less than 100 meters. The deployment mostly took place in the early morning hours, during the day in safe hiding places or camouflaged shelters, and at night they worked as close as possible to the German positions.

More recent development until today

A sniper of the Bundeswehr in 2015

During the Korean and Vietnam wars, the understanding of the importance of specialized snipers gained acceptance when it was recognized that the ratio of fired ammunition to actual hits was too great. So -called sniper schools were created in the United States to train soldiers in efficient shooting.

With the adjustment of the German armed forces to the requirements of foreign missions as in the war in Afghanistan since 2001 after the end of the Cold War, is also in the Bundeswehr the importance of sniper grown significantly and will create appropriate efforts to training and equipment taken.

Deployment concepts

Snipers

Sniper in Ghillie camouflage suit

Sniper (Engl. Sniper ) are combat soldiers involved enemy in a company, usually at long range, day and night soldiers. They monitor and secure rooms and objects with fire, clear up enemies and fight them. Snipers fight in teams of two from rear firing positions, integrated into the troop, rarely behind enemy lines, and also deep in the enemy hinterland. Group riflemen are integrated into their sub-unit.

The 2-man sniper squad - a shooter (English shooter or sniper ) and an observer (English spotter ) who supports the shooter - usually take turns in the function of shooter and observer. The use of snipers lowers the fighting morale of the enemy, binds or hampers enemy forces, and eliminates military equipment or key personnel. These include primarily enemy snipers, enemy leaders, operators of guns and machine guns , radio operators, but also radar systems and electronic target systems.

Measures against snipers are change of position, if one's own position has been recognized, the use of smoke bodies and one's own snipers in counter-sniping . If the approximate location of a sniper is known, artillery and especially mortars, which are under the command, can be used with fragmentation grenades. A preventive measure for executives is to hide external references to military ranks . There is no military salute or wearing of officers' uniforms. Thus Horatio Nelson shot in 1805 by a French sniper because he on his uniform and his medals as commanding admiral was detected.

The range of snipers can be up to 2,500 meters in exceptional cases. It depends on the weapon , the ammunition used and the weather conditions. The usual operating range is around 600 to 800 meters. The smallest distance depends on the options for hiding and camouflaging. There have been successful missions from 90 meters away. The furthest confirmed hit was 3,540 meters in May 2017 in the war against the so-called " Islamic State ". The shot was fired by a member of a Canadian special forces unit. The projectile was fired from a McMillan Tac-50 rifle and flew over 10 seconds before hitting its target.

The survival of the military sniper depends primarily on his camouflage through the use of terrain when approaching and motionless as well as evasive action and correct behavior in the terrain, with the presence of sufficiently camouflaged and covered attainable changing positions. This is supported by self-made camouflage suits, which are also called ghillie suit . The rule for camouflage is 80% of the camouflage material from nature (visual coverage by branches, grass, earth and immobility) and 20% artificial camouflage material (camouflage suit and camouflage throw).

The equipment of snipers also includes other specific equipment such as a spotting scope , an anemometer and a barometer / altimeter, as the wind strength as well as the air temperature and air density through height above ground influence the ballistics of the sniper weapon, as well as a laser rangefinder and underlay mats the hours of observation. Group scopes are usually only equipped with binoculars for observation .

Group snipers

Designated Marksmen of the Marines during an exercise

"Group snipers" or telescopic sighters are soldiers integrated into a group who fight targets up to 600 meters away with targeted single fire. This form was already known in the Wehrmacht and was also adopted by the infantry group of the Bundeswehr . In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps , these are referred to as Squad Designated Marksman and they directly support their squad .

These soldiers fight as part of their group, but have completed an additional course. In the Bundeswehr, the group ZF shooters, today group snipers, were equipped with the G3 A3 ZF , today mostly HK MR308 . Their training took place within the company and was primarily designed for shooting. In the US Army they are available with the modified variant Mk 12 SPR of the regular M16 ( telescopic sight , heavy barrel , bipod) or, e.g. B. in the Marines, equipped with special rifles, so-called Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR). In the Israeli army these ZF shooters are called Kalat Saar . The main difference between a sniper and a group rifle scope shooter is that the former is tactically ordered to an operational area, and the group scope shooter a position.

The Designated Marksman was probably "invented" during the Second World War , when snipers were tied into infantry groups on the German side so that they could better defend themselves against Soviet snipers. The same was then done by the Americans in response to German snipers on the Western Front. After the war, this principle was continued as standard in the Soviet Army , in which each infantry group had a rifle armed with a Dragunov sniper rifle in the 7.62 × 54 mm R caliber . In the Bundeswehr , the infantry (grenadiers, hunters, paratroopers and mountain fighters) concept with two telescopic sighters per group with HK G3 A3ZF, telescopic sight rifle from series production, was continued.

Precision shooters

A police marksman is now called a precision marksman who, thanks to his equipment and training, is able to hit targets precisely at greater distances. However, he does not have and does not need the "lone fighter training" of a military sniper.

Snipers of the police and military police / the military police are mandated to avert targeted shots extremely dangerous situation, ie for. B. Saving crime victims. In addition, they serve as observers, which in most cases remains their only function, and help in planning security measures in the event of hazardous events. Compared to military snipers, there are completely different restrictions and legal bases for their use , due to the differences between police law and martial law .

The actual deployment also differs fundamentally: Police shooters shoot at comparatively short distances between 50 and 120 meters so as not to endanger bystanders or hostages, while military snipers cover distances of up to 2,500 meters. You are in constant contact with the operations command, who also clearly defines the target and the time of the shot. In addition, precision shooters of the police must absolutely prevent the offender from continuing his act with the first shot. For this purpose, the offender's brainstem is targeted if possible . If the brainstem is destroyed, the person affected is instantly incapable of acting ( man-stopping effect ) and is no longer capable of reflex reactions.

Camouflage does not play as important a role as it does with the armed forces, since police shooters are usually not threatened by enemy reconnaissance and fire and do not have to remain hidden after the shot has been fired. Likewise, a police precision shooter operation only lasts a few hours, during which the shooters can take turns. A problem for police precision shooters in Germany is the sometimes different legal situation with regard to the final rescue shot (see there) in the individual federal states. Even if the final rescue shot is stipulated by police law, proportionality must then be checked by the judiciary.

The development of the police sniper system can be set with the advent of terrorism and serious crime in the 1970s.

Psychological requirement profile

Marines during an exercise in 2000 in Slunj ( Croatia )

Snipers are said to be particularly stress-resistant, balanced, patient and intelligent. These skills are required because snipers are mostly left to their own devices, often pursue a very monotonous task and operate independently in small groups or alone. Therefore they have to be able to make decisions themselves, to react to new situations and to evaluate a lot of information.

The special type of use of the sniper, to kill from ambush and not from a specific self-defense situation, can cause special psychological problems.

For example, during an observation , which can last hours or days , the Sagittarius gets to know the target with all its human peculiarities (laughing, eating and other things of normal life) and can see its facial expressions. At the same time, the people observed do not represent a personal threat and usually do not know about the presence of the shooter. A subjectification can set in, in which the target person becomes a person you think you know. Therefore, the shooter should be able to pull the trigger even when the target person is individualized, without suffering excessively from the death of the person killed by him. Because of this individualization, psychological support is often required after an assignment.

Known snipers

Media reception

Numerous films are devoted to the subject of the sniper:

See also

literature

Monographs

  • Charles Henderson: Death Trap. The real story of a sniper in Vietnam. (Via Carlos Hathcock). Heyne, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-453-03687-5 .
  • Jan Boger: hunters and hunted. The history of the snipers. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-87943-373-9 .
  • Eric L. Haney: Delta Force - On Action Against Terror. A soldier of the American elite unit reports. Goldmann, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-442-15215-1 . (On the subject of the psychological requirement profile on p. 162 ff.)
  • Peter Brookesmith: Snipers. History, tactics, weapons. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-02247-8 .
  • Ian V. Hogg (text), Ray Hutchins (photos): Modern sniper rifles. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-02014-9 .
  • David L. Robbins: War of the Rats. Heyne, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-453-19001-7 . (About building a sniper school in Stalingrad during World War II)
  • Peter Senich: German sniper weapons 1914-1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01732-6 .
  • Mark Spicer: Snipers. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-30586-1 .
  • Stefan Strasser: Sniper. Military and police sniper knowledge compact. 2nd Edition. Ares Verlag, Graz 2011, ISBN 978-3-902475-63-3 .
  • Siegfried F. Huebner: Sniper shooting technique: shooting training for snipers. Verlag Kienesberger, 1999, ISBN 3-923995-16-4 .
  • Jack Coughlin: Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper. Amistad 2005, ISBN 0-06-447290-6 .
  • Martin Pegler: Out of Nowhere: A History of the military sniper. Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-854-5 .
  • H. Hestketh-Prichard: Sniping In France 1914-18 - With Notes on the Scientific Training of Scouts, Observers, and Snipers. Helion and Company Verlag, 2004, ISBN 1-874622-47-7 .
  • Reinhard Scholzen : The infantry of the Bundeswehr. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03293-4 .
  • Chris Kyle (with Jim DeFelice, Scott McEwen): Sniper: 160 fatal hits - The best sniper in the US military unpacks. Riva, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86883-245-7 . (Autobiography of Chris Kyle during the Iraq War )

Magazines

Service regulations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg Heinz Wetzel: The Hessian hunters. A German troop history in the process of political change over four centuries (1631–1987) . George, Kassel 1987.
  2. ^ David Payne, The British 'School Of Sniping' On The Western Front. (English, accessed August 19, 2009).
  3. ↑ a b russian-mosin-nagant.com
  4. ↑ Preferred targets were also water carriers, because eliminating them forced the enemy to drink contaminated or spoiled water. See: Antony Beevor: Stalingrad. Orbis-Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002, ISBN 3-572-01312-7 , p. 242.
  5. ^ A b Antony Beevor: Stalingrad. Orbis-Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002, ISBN 3-572-01312-7 , p. 242.
  6. ↑ conversation with Viktor Kidjarow on November 22, 1995. In: Antony Beevor: Stalingrad. Orbis-Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002, ISBN 3-572-01312-7 , p. 171.
  7. ^ William E. Craig: The Battle of Stalingrad. Factual report. 8th edition. Heyne, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-453-00787-5 , pp. 135 f. (Original title: Enemy at the gates, The Battle for Stalingrad. Translated by Ursula Gmelin and Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel).
  8. ↑ Guido Knopp: Stalingrad. The drama. Goldmann, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-15372-7 , p. 141.
  9. ↑ Guido Knopp: Stalingrad. The drama. Goldmann, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-15372-7 , p. 143.
  10. ^ Militarybooks.tripod.com
  11. ↑ The rat war in the Battle of Stalingrad was characterized by the sniper fights in: Major John Plaster: The Ultimate Sniper .
  12. ↑ Alexander Przewdzick, Björn Jüttner: Ready to shoot. In: Y - The Bundeswehr magazine. Bundeswehr, December 4, 2013, accessed on February 7, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Wolf Schneider : Schlagschatten - Nelson, victor in death. In: NZZ Folio . September 2009.
  14. ↑ Canadian sniper 'kills IS militant two miles away'. BBC News, June 22, 2017, accessed June 22, 2017 .
  15. ↑ “ Intelligence . A sniper's duties require a wide variety of skills. [...] Emotional balance . The sniper must be able to calmly and deliberately kill targets that may not pose an immediate threat to him. It is much easier to kill in self-defense or in the defense of others than it is to kill without apparent provocation. The sniper must not be susceptible to emotions such as anxiety or remorse. Candidates whose motivation toward sniper training rests mainly in the desire for prestige may not be capable of the cold rationality that the sniper's job requires. " On US Army Field Manual 23-10: Sniper Training and Deployment
  16. ↑ Eric L. Haney: Delta Force - In Action Against Terror. A soldier of the American elite unit reports . Goldmann, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-442-15215-1 , p. 164 .

Web links

Wiktionary: sniper  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Snipers  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files