Well, it has been a while since I did something
on snipers. A while ago I stumbled across
an interesting leaflet from the German Army
High Command from May 1943 with the title:
"Instructions for the training and employment
of snipers"
„Anleitung für die Ausbildung und den Einsatz
von Scharfschützen“
So, let’s head on in.
The leaflet starts with the purpose of sniper
training:
"The purpose of sniper training is to educate
and encourage individual riflemen to achieve
maximum performance in firing with the rifle.”
It is immediately followed with a short description
about the task of a sniper:
"The sniper's role is to find small targets
that are hard to identify and hit them with
a well-aimed single shot."
Now, the section on the training starts immediately
with the statement that only the best marksmen
should be trained, yet more interesting is
the follow-up sentence that states that the
best marksmen should get their hands on sniper
rifle without any regards toward the rank.
As required characteristics are explicitly
noted:
hunter-like behavior (jägermäßiges Verhalten)
patience
endurance and cunning (List).
Note that the word “List” was used, which
can also be translated as deceitfulness, yet,
the Germans also have “Hinterlist”, which
is usually translated with deceitfulness or
insidiousness.
Why do I mention this? Well, somebody commented
on my lessons learned from the Eastern Front
video that the Germans classifying the Soviet
Soldier as “hinterlistig” – deceitful
should not be seen as negative, since that
is a good quality in war. Well, I disagree,
because in German with have “listig” and
“hinterlistig”, the first having a positive
or neutral connotation the second has a negative
connotation.
The leaflet continues:
"Cold-blooded consideration, skillful use
of the terrain and all camouflage possibilities
as well as excellent powers of observation
must distinguish him both in sneaking up to
the enemy position and in attacking the enemy.”
Additionally, it is noted in bold:
"Being a sniper is a distinction."
The next part deals with the instructor, it
is noted that he is the prerequisite for any
good sniper training. The instructor must
be experienced and capable of teaching, additionally
he must be himself an excellent shot. As characteristics,
it is noted that he must be calm, patient
and be to adapt to the distinctive features
of the marksman. It is noted that squad and
other leaders that are not qualified should
not conduct the training.
The training includes also general lessons
that are less practical:
"The practical training in firing shall be
prepared according to their progress by teaching
about the gun, the scope, the shooting theory
and the employment of the sniper with the
sandbox. The instruction must be simple, short
and clear, and limited to the essentials."
Note that the last line is quite common from
my experience, at least for mid to late war-time
instructions. It might also have appeared
earlier as well, but I can’t recall it.
And I know that one army regulation on small
arms training from 1944 specifically notes
that the instructor should not overestimate
the importance of theory and forget what he
previously thought should be taught in that
regard and only focus on practical aspects
of firing.
The part of aiming talks about the how the
scope works. It particularly notes that temperature
and weather affect the shot and refers to
the appendix in regards to specific tables
for proper leads.
The part about aiming notes:
"Aiming with the scoped rifle and the shooting
positions must be practiced often. Uniform
practice of attacks and boring aiming kill
the joy of shooting. Therefore, the training
must be transferred to the terrain at an early
stage."
The last sentence was in bold and is also
a very common phrase in instructions and regulations,
one of you might remember it from the the
“training order” from October 1944 for
the Volkssturm, where the exact phrase was
noted.
The leaflet continues to note that all shooting
positions must be trained, e.g., stances within
cover, open field or on frozen ground. Furthermore,
it is noted that the sniper should strive
to always shoot in a way that the rifle is
supported by ground or obstacles, as such:
"He must be practiced in the making of a good
rifle rest. It facilitates the delivery of
a well-aimed shot. The use of an accompanying
branch fork may be appropriate."
It is noted that the proper firing position
is crucial and that many riflemen only fire
badly due to an incorrect breathing technique.
As such it is vital that the trainer pays
attention to this detail, especially with
young students.
To increase the joy of the training for the
marksmen, it is recommended to combine the
exercises for shooting positions with sneaking
exercises.
"By two detachments sneaking up against each
other, the sniper finds opportunity to aim
at live and moving targets."
Now, it is important to add here that “Abteilung”
is usually translated with “Battalion”.
Since the Germans used this term for many
non-infantry units in battalion size, yet,
the word can also translated as department
or detachment. Due to the specialty of this
training, I assume this refers to smaller
and special unit and thus translated it with
detachment. There are two more reasons for
this assumption, a) the document was from
the general of the infantry in the German
Army’s general staff and infantry units
used “Batallion” not “Abteilung”.
b) According to Tessin the training and replacement
units for the infantry were called “Ausbildungs-Bataillone”
and not “Abteilung”. Hence, I assume it
was called an Abteilung due to its size or
special purpose or both.
Of course, this could be also be a misprint.
The next section is about spotting the enemy.
It notes that the enemy that uses all kinds
of camouflage and also the entrenching tool
is hard to spot:
"Therefore, scheduled training of the sniper
in observation through visual exercises and
exercises in marking targets in all postures
is necessary. The target presentation must
initially be simple and gradually become more
difficult."
It is recommended to use various targets that
are static, then in motion and in various
different circumstances, e.g., sunlight, dusk,
dawn, night and different terrain as well.
These should provide the sniper with some
general ideas for his own. Additionally, training
with two different units against each other
is recommended since it is more dynamic and
also provides plenty examples of “DO’s”
and “DON’T’s”.
Another point is about estimating the range
of targets, since this is the foundation for
firing accuracy. Hence, it is recommended
to perform exercises in changing terrain,
time and weather. Additionally:
"Estimates of distance in all postures must
be demanded. The sniper must be able to estimate
distances of up to 500 meters [that is 0.31
Miles] with certainty."
It includes a list at what range what features
can be detected, at 300 m one can see parts
of the clothes, at 250 the color of the cloths,
at 150 details of the equipment like belt
buckles, at 100 faces and at 60 eyes.
Furthermore, it is noted which factors lead
to the under- and overestimation of ranges:
"It's underestimated:
Object clearly visible, in sunshine - sun
in the back - especially above water, snow,
plains - if individual sections are not visible
- with bright under- and background.
It is estimated too far:
In gloomy, foggy, rainy weather - at dusk
- against the sun - in the forest - with dark
under- and background - on long straight roads
- uphill."
As such, for training targets such optical
illusions should be added as well. Additionally,
it is pointed out that it is crucial that
the sniper remembers these ranges again and
again.
Practical guidelines are included as well,
one is to estimate the target range by using
a reference point in the terrain and then
to translate it to the target. For longer
distances, it can be useful to break up the
distance into several sections and estimate
them individually.
Next aspect is about camouflage and the use
of the entrenching tool. The sniper should
be a master in the exploitation of terrain
and concealment.
"The sniper must choose or construct his positions
so that he can stand, sit or lie comfortably.
Nothing reveals more than careless movement."
Additionally, it is crucial that a sniper
can disappear quickly, no matter if it is
in grass, bushes, trees, snow, farm houses,
etc. and also find proper firing positions
there as well. When it comes to houses, it
is crucial to use the depth of the room in
order to prevent smoke and muzzle blast to
be easily visible. Furthermore,
"If the enemy target, e.g. a sniper, cannot
be seen immediately because of his good camouflage,
the sniper must not be discouraged and must
always try to pick out targets."
Needless to say, sneaking is also a fundamental
skill for the sniper. Hence,
"All types of preparatory work, the different
ways of carrying the rifle are to be practiced
drill-wise in changing terrain, preferably
in the form of small competitions by several
riflemen next to each other or in two detachments,
e.g. jumping – crouched walking - advancing
on knees (rifle hung around the neck) – crawling
forward - rolling away into a cover - crawling
or jumping/advancing from shell crater to
shell crater.”
The manual notes that exercising sneaking
in the forest is particularly useful for training
the eyes and ears. The importance of patience
and endurance are particularly noted, since
sneaking slowly across difficult terrain for
hours or even days to then reach the necessary
position. Of course, after reaching his position,
it is not over. The position is likely not
particularly pleasant and to conduct his mission
the sniper has to stay there for hours or
even days, observing and waiting for the right
moment.
The next section is about the sniper rifles.
It is noted that the ideal firing range is
400 m, so about 0.25 Miles. Additionally,
“Newly assigned scoped rifles are to be
shot before being issued to the riflemen.
For the carbines and semi-automatic rifles,
for which the scope is to be designed, the
shot must be fired with at least 3 rounds
within a circle of 7 cm [2.76 in].”
Although, after long transports it is required
to adjust the rifle again and that if possible
the accuracy of the weapon should be verified
when possible. For the training it is crucial
to first achieve consistent hits under ideal
conditions, where the target is clearly visible.
After this was achieved, the switch to more
difficult targets and weather conditions is
justified. As such the conditions increase
in difficulty over time and must be adapted
to the requirements of combat. Furthermore,
"It is not important for the sniper to make
a quick succession of shots, but to score
hits."
For the final firing exercises, it is noted
that they should be conducted after previous
exercises or after an initial exhausting march
or orientation training. After all,
"The sniper must be used to shoot well even
when exhausted."
Finally, it is pointed out that it is important
that during training the sniper fires a few
shots each day, whereas firing a lot of shots
for a short period is seen as less effective.
Well, not much to add here, I hope you learned
something new. Special thanks to Roman for
discussing the “Abteilung” aspect, Andrew
for reviewing the script and to my discord
crew on discussing various English terminology.
A big thank you to all my supporters on Patreon.
As always sources are linked in the description.
I hope you enjoyed this episode, thank you
for watching and see you next time.
