Sniping in the Great War

Military snipers are highly trained marksmen who target individual enemy soldiers. They are regarded as vital specialists in modern warfare, and their role evolved throughout the Great War. As Martin Pegler shows in this wide-ranging, authoritative study, the technique of sniping adapted rapidly to the conditions of static warfare that prevailed through much of the conflict. His account follows the development of sniping from the early battles of 1914, through the trench fighting and the attritional offensives of the middle years, to the renewed open warfare of 1918. He concentrates on the continuous British and German sniping war on the Western Front, but he also looks at how snipers operated in other theatres, at Gallipoli and Salonika and on the Eastern Front. Sniper training, fieldcraft and counter-sniping measures are described in detail. There is a full reference section giving the specification of the sniping rifles of the period and assessing their effectiveness in combat. Also featured are vivid memoirs and eyewitness accounts that offer a fascinating insight into the lethal skill of Great War snipers and their deadly trade.