The Military Sniper since 1914

Description

It was only in World War I that the combination of high quality service rifles and new telescopic sights brought the true 'sniper' to the battlefield as a distinct specialist. By 1918 the scout-sniper's value as an observer and gatherer of intelligence was as important as his lethal skills, but these were disregarded in the interwar years. From 1939-45 most armies had to train and equip snipers from scratch, but they were to play a major role in all theatres of war. Famously, on the Russian Front it was a role in which women excelled. This title recounts the development of weapons, sights, tactics and clothing in all the major armies, from Flanders to the Gulf.

Martin Pegler was born in 1954, and educated at Hampton School and London University. He is Senior Curator of Weapons at the Royal Armouries, Leeds; his hobbies include shooting historic firearms, and touring Europe by motorcycle. He has previously written two titles in Osprey's Warrior series: The US Cavalryman 1865-90 and The British Tommy 1914-18. Martin Pegler lives in Yorkshire with his wife and two cats. Ramiro Bujeiro, previously the illustrator of Osprey's Warrior 23, US Marine in Vietnam, is an experienced commercial artist who lives and works in his native city of Buenas Aires, Argentina. His professional background includes many commissions as a figure illustrator and strip cartoonist for clients all over Europe and the Americas, including many years' work for IPC magazines in Great Britain. His main interests are the political and military history of Europe in the first half of the 20th century.