Help support TMP


"German Views on Sniping" Topic


11 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please remember not to make new product announcements on the forum. Our advertisers pay for the privilege of making such announcements.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the WWII Discussion Message Board


Areas of Interest

World War Two on the Land

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Top-Rated Ruleset

Command Decision: Test of Battle


Rating: gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star 


Featured Showcase Article

Christmas Stocking Stuffer for Armor Fans

These "puzzle tanks" are good quality for the cost.


Featured Workbench Article

The Editor Can't Paint Green Vehicles

Does anyone else have trouble with the color green on microscale vehicles?


Featured Profile Article

Report from Gamex 2005

Our Man in Southern California, Wyatt the Odd, reports on the Gamex 2005 convention.


Current Poll


Featured Book Review


Featured Movie Review


813 hits since 25 Jan 2019
©1994-2025 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

Tango01 Supporting Member of TMP25 Jan 2019 9:55 p.m. PST

"A German source reports the following notes dealing with snipers and the use of rifles with telescopic sights….."
More here

link


Amicalement
Armand

Lee49426 Jan 2019 12:46 a.m. PST

One per squad? So they issued 1 sniper scope per squad to the best marksman, but were they specially "trained" or just given a scope and left to their own natural skills? Seems to me that quality and effectiveness might vary greatly, for example a squad of PzGren in the SS might have a much better marksman than a 50 year old Volksgrenadier!

Cheers! (smile)

Katzbalger26 Jan 2019 4:34 a.m. PST

Or the other way around, Lee. Sniping is about patience and body control, the scope going a ways to take care of minor vision problems. Definitely more a "designated marksman" concept than actual sniper, though.

Rob

Blutarski26 Jan 2019 7:14 a.m. PST

Snipers or marksmen or whatever one wants to call them posed a very irksome problem in the Normandy fighting. See General Bradley's thinly disguised comments that (paraphrasing here) … he did not want to hear about any more German snipers being captured.

Germany was very attuned to sniping as a military art. They really introduced sniping as an organized tactic on the Western Front. It became such a nuisance that the British army was forced to implement a program to counter it – Canadian frontiersmen and professional hunters, even a few well-known big game hunters were recruited to the effort.

In fact, one might arguably go all the way back to Frederick's Jaegers as an earlier precedent.

B

JMcCarroll26 Jan 2019 10:09 a.m. PST

" Canadian frontiersmen and professional hunters "
That's why 3 of 5 longest confirmed sniper kills ( including the longest ) are Canadian!

donlowry26 Jan 2019 10:31 a.m. PST

I believe the Russians issued their semi-automatic rifles to "marksmen", who were expected to make better use of them than the average Ivan.

Starfury Rider26 Jan 2019 11:39 a.m. PST
Lion in the Stars26 Jan 2019 1:33 p.m. PST

@Don: plus the SVT40 is a bit finnicky and needs someone to take the time to take care of it.

Nowadays, the Russians issue one SVD per platoon, it's usually with the Platoon Commander's squad.

Personal logo Legion 4 Supporting Member of TMP27 Jan 2019 9:08 a.m. PST

Having one Sniper or Designated Marksman per Plt is a good idea. As we currently see with e.g. the Russians …

As a Mech Inf Co. Cdr I tried to send as many of my troops to Sniper School as I could. Even if you don't have the scopes or weapons, it does make them better "marksmen", etc. And bottom line for an infantryman being able to hit your target is why you are there.

donlowry27 Jan 2019 10:06 a.m. PST

Would confidence in his ability to hit something increase the likelihood that a soldier would actually fire his weapon?

Personal logo Legion 4 Supporting Member of TMP28 Jan 2019 7:49 a.m. PST

Generally I'd say yes …

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.