Heroes of the Great Patriotic War became many soldiers and officers of the Red Army. It is perhaps difficult to single out military specialties that would stand out especially when awarding military awards. Among the famous Heroes of the Soviet Union are sappers, tankmen, pilots, sailors, infantrymen and military doctors.

But I would like to highlight one military specialty, which occupies a special place in the category of feat. These are snipers.

A sniper is a specially trained soldier who is fluent in the art of marksmanship, camouflage and observation, striking targets from the first shot. Its task is to defeat the command and communications staff, to destroy camouflaged single targets.

At the front, when special military units (companies, regiments, divisions) act against the enemy, the sniper is an independent combat unit.

We'll tell you about the hero snipers who made a significant contribution to the common cause of victory. You can read about female snipers who participated in the Great Patriotic War in our.

1. Passar Maxim Alexandrovich (08/30/1923 - 01/22/1943)

A participant in the Great Patriotic War, a Soviet sniper, during the fighting, he destroyed 237 enemy soldiers and officers. Most of the enemies were eliminated by him during the Battle of Stalingrad. For the destruction of Passar, the German command appointed a reward of 100 thousand Reichsmarks. Hero Russian Federation (posthumously).

2. Surkov Mikhail Ilyich (1921-1953)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 1st battalion of the 39th rifle regiment of the 4th rifle division 12th Army, foreman, holder of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star.

3. Kovshova Natalia Venediktovna (11/26/1920 - 08/14/1942)

Participant of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union.

On the personal account of the sniper Kovshova, 167 killed Nazi soldiers and officers. During the service, she taught the fighters the skill of marksmanship. On August 14, 1942, near the village of Sutoki, Novgorod Region, she died in an unequal battle with the Nazis.

4.Tulaev Zhambyl Yesheevich (02 (15) .05.1905 - 17.01.1961)

Member of the Great Patriotic War. The hero of the USSR.

Sniper of the 580th Infantry Regiment of the 188th Infantry Division of the 27th Army Northwestern Front... Petty officer Zhambyl Tulaev exterminated 262 Nazis from May to November 1942. Prepared more than 30 snipers for the front.

5.Sidorenko Ivan Mikhailovich (09/12/1919 - 02/19/1994)

Captain Ivan Sidorenko, assistant chief of staff of the 1122th Rifle Regiment, distinguished himself as the organizer of the sniper movement. By 1944, he personally destroyed about 500 Nazis from a sniper rifle.

Ivan Sidorenko trained more than 250 snipers for the front, most of whom were awarded orders and medals.

6. Okhlopkov Fedor Matveevich (03/02/1908 - 05/28/1968)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union.

By June 23, 1944, Sergeant Okhlopkov destroyed 429 Nazi soldiers and officers from a sniper rifle. He was wounded 12 times. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin were awarded only in 1965.

7. Moldagulova Aliya Nurmukhambetovna (10/25/1925 - 01/14/1944)

Participant of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously), corporal.

Sniper of the 54th separate rifle brigade of the 22nd army of the 2nd Baltic front. Lance corporal Moldagulova in the first 2 months of participation in the battles destroyed several dozen enemies. On January 14, 1944, she took part in the battle for the village of Kazachikha, Pskov region, and drew the soldiers into the attack. Bursting into the enemy's defenses, she destroyed several soldiers and officers from a machine gun. She died in this battle.

8. Budenkov Mikhail Ivanovich (05.12.1919 - 02.08.1995)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant.

By September 1944, Guard Senior Sergeant Mikhail Budenkov was a sniper of the 59th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 21st Guards Rifle Division of the 3rd Shock Army of the 2nd Baltic Front. By that time, he had 437 enemy soldiers and officers destroyed by sniper fire. He entered the top ten snipers of the Great Patriotic War.

9. Etobaev Arseny Mikhailovich (09/15/1903- 1987)

Participant of the Great Patriotic War, the Civil War of 1917-1922 and the conflict on the Sino-Eastern Railway in 1929. Knight of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star, full knight of the Order of the Patriotic War.

The sniper destroyed 356 German invaders and shot down two planes.

10. Salbiev Vladimir Gavrilovich (1916- 1996)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, twice holder of the Orders of the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree.

On the sniper account of Salbiev 601 killed enemy soldiers and officers.

11. Pchelintsev Vladimir Nikolaevich (08/30/1919- 27.07.1997)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 11th Infantry Brigade of the 8th Army of the Leningrad Front, Hero of the Soviet Union, sergeant.

One of the most successful snipers of the Second World War. Destroyed 456 soldiers, non-commissioned officers and enemy officers.

12. Kvachantiradze Vasily Shalvovich (1907- 1950)

Participant of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, foreman.

Sniper of the 259th Infantry Regiment of the 179th Infantry Division of the 43rd Army of the 1st Baltic Front.

One of the most effective snipers of the Great Patriotic War. Destroyed 534 enemy soldiers and officers.

13. Goncharov Pyotr Alekseevich (15.01.1903- 31.01.1944)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Senior Sergeant.

On his sniper account there are more than 380 killed enemy soldiers and officers. Killed on January 31, 1944 while breaking through enemy defenses near the village of Vodyanoe.

14. Galushkin Nikolay Ivanovich (07/01/1917- 22.01.2007)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Russian Federation, lieutenant.

Served in the 49th Infantry Regiment of the 50th Infantry Division. Reportedly killed 418 German soldiers and officers, including 17 snipers, and trained 148 snipers. After the war, he conducted active military-patriotic work.

Member of the Great Patriotic War, commander of a sniper company of the 81st Guards Rifle Regiment, Guard Lieutenant.

By the end of June 1943, already the commander of a sniper company, Golosov personally destroyed about 420 Nazis, including 70 snipers. In his company, he trained 170 snipers, who in total killed more than 3,500 fascists.

He died on August 16, 1943 in the midst of battles for the village of Dolgenkoye, Izyumsky district, Kharkov region.

16. Nomokonov Semyon Danilovich (08/12/1900 - 07/15/1973)

Member of the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet-Japanese War, twice holder of the Order of the Red Star, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner.

During the Great Patriotic War, he destroyed 360 German soldiers and officers, including one major general. During the Soviet-Japanese War, he destroyed 8 soldiers and officers of the Kwantung Army. The total confirmed score is 368 enemy soldiers and officers.

17. Ilyin Nikolay Yakovlevich (1922 - 04.08.1943)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, foreman, deputy political instructor.

In total, the sniper had 494 killed enemies. On August 4, 1943, in a battle near the village of Yastrebovo, Nikolai Ilyin died, struck by a machine-gun burst.

18. Antonov Ivan Petrovich (07.07.1920 - 22.03.1989)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, shooter of the 160th separate rifle company of the Leningrad Naval Base of the Baltic Fleet, Red Navy, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Ivan Antonov became one of the founders of the sniper movement in the Baltic.

From December 28, 1941 to November 10, 1942, he killed 302 Nazis and taught 80 snipers the art of marksmanship at the enemy.

19. Dyachenko Fedor Trofimovich (16.06.1917 - 08.08.1995)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, major.

By February 1944, Dyachenko had destroyed 425 enemy soldiers and officers with sniper fire, including several snipers.

20. Idrisov Abukhadzhi (Abukhazhi) (05/17/1918- 22.10.1983)

Member of the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 1232th rifle regiment of the 370th rifle division, senior sergeant, Hero of the Soviet Union.

By March 1944, he had 349 killed Nazis on his account, and he was nominated for the title of Hero. In one of the battles in April 1944, Idrisov was wounded by a fragment of a mine exploding nearby, and he was covered with earth. His comrades dug him up and sent him to the hospital.

After the start Great Patriotic War hundreds of thousands of women went to the front. Most of them became nurses, cooks, and more than 2000 - snipers... The Soviet Union was almost the only country that attracted women to carry out combat missions. Today I would like to recall the shooters who were considered the best during the war.

Rose Shanina

Rose Shanina was born in 1924 in the village of Edma, Vologda province (today Arkhangelsk region). After 7 classes of training, the girl decided to enter a pedagogical school in Arkhangelsk. The mother was against it, but her daughter's perseverance was not to be missed from childhood. Buses did not go past the village at that time, so the 14-year-old girl walked 200 km through the taiga before reaching the nearest station.

Rosa entered the school, but before the war, when tuition became paid, the girl was forced to go to work in kindergarten educator. Fortunately, then the employees of the institution were given housing. Rosa continued her studies at the evening department and successfully completed the 1941/42 academic year.

At the beginning of the war, Roza Shanina applied to the military registration and enlistment office and asked to volunteer for the front, but the 17-year-old girl was refused. In 1942, the situation changed. Then in the Soviet Union, active training of female snipers began. It was believed that they are more cunning, patient, cold-blooded, and their fingers squeeze the trigger more smoothly. At first, Rosa Shanina was taught to shoot at the Central Women's Sniper Training School. The girl graduated with honors and, having abandoned the position of an instructor, went to the front.

Three days after arriving at the location of the 338th Infantry Division, 20-year-old Rosa Shanina fired the first shot. In her diary, the girl described the sensations: "... her legs weakened, slipped into a trench, not remembering herself:" She killed a man, a man ... "Alarmed friends, running up to me, reassured:" You finished off a fascist! " Seven months later, the sniper girl wrote that she was killing enemies in cold blood, and now this is the whole meaning of her life.

Among other snipers, Rosa Shanina stood out for her ability to make doublets - two shots following one after the other, hitting moving targets.

Shanina's platoon was ordered to move in the second turn, behind the infantry detachments. However, the girl constantly rushed to the front line to "beat the enemy." Rosa was strictly cut off, because in the infantry any soldier could replace her, but no one in a sniper ambush.

Rosa Shanina took part in the Vilnius and Insterburg-Koenigsberg operations. In European newspapers she was called "the invisible terror of East Prussia." Rose became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Glory.

On January 17, 1945, Rosa Shanina wrote in her diary that she could soon die, because in their battalion there were only 78 fighters left. Due to the incessant fire, she could not get out of the self-propelled gun. On January 27, the unit commander was wounded. In an attempt to cover him up, Rosa was wounded in the chest by a shell fragment. The brave girl was gone the next day. The nurse said that before her death, Rose regretted that she had not had time to do more.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Western press nicknamed yet another Soviet female sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko... She was named "Lady Death". Lyudmila Mikhailovna remained famous in world history as the most successful female sniper. On account of her 309 killed enemy soldiers and officers.

From the very first days of the war, Lyudmila went to the front as a volunteer. The girl refused to be a nurse and demanded to be recorded as a sniper. Then Lyudmila was given a rifle and ordered to shoot two prisoners. She coped with the task.

Pavlichenko took part in the defense of Sevastopol, Odessa, in battles in Moldova. After the female sniper was seriously wounded, she was sent to the Caucasus. When Lyudmila recovered, she flew as part of the Soviet delegation to the United States and Canada. Lyudmila Pavlichenko spent several days at the White House at the invitation of Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Soviet sniper made many speeches at numerous congresses, but her speech in Chicago was most memorable. Lyudmila said: “Gentlemen, I am twenty-five years old. At the front, I have already managed to destroy three hundred and nine fascist invaders. Don't you feel, gentlemen, that you've been hiding behind my back for too long? " In the first seconds, everyone froze, and then a flurry of approving applause burst out.

On October 25, 1943, the female sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Nina Petrova

Nina Petrova is the oldest female sniper. She was 48 years old when the Great Patriotic War began, but her age did not affect her accuracy in any way. A woman in her youth was engaged in bullet shooting. She worked as an instructor at a sniper school. In 1936, Nina Pavlovna released 102 Voroshilov riflemen, which testifies to her highest professionalism.

Behind Nina Petrova's shoulders are 122 killed enemies during the war and training of snipers. The woman did not live to see the end of the war for only a few days: she died in a car accident.

Claudia Kalugina

Claudia Kalugina was named one of the most productive snipers. She joined the ranks of the Red Army as a 17-year-old girl. On account of Claudia 257 killed soldiers and officers.

After the war, Claudia shared her memories of how at first she missed the target in the sniper school. They threatened to leave her in the rear if she did not learn to shoot accurately. And not going to the front line was considered a real shame. For the first time, finding herself in a blizzard in a snow-covered trench, the girl got cold feet. But then she overpowered herself and began to make accurate shots one after another. The hardest thing was to drag a rifle with you, since the growth of thin Claudia was only 157 cm.But the sniper girl overcame all adversity, and over time she was described as the most well-aimed shooter.

Female snipers

This photograph with the image of female snipers is also called "775 committed murders in one picture", because in total they destroyed just so many enemy soldiers.

During the Great Patriotic War, not only female snipers terrified the enemy. because the radars did not detect them, the noise of the engines was practically inaudible, and the girls dropped the bombs with such pinpoint accuracy that the enemy was doomed.

The best snipers of World War II. German, Soviet, Finnish riflemen played a rather important role in wartime. And in this review, an attempt will be made to consider those of them that have become the most effective.

The emergence of sniper art

Starting from the moment of the appearance in the armies of personal weapons, which made it possible to hit the enemy at long distances, they began to allocate well-aimed shooters from the soldiers. Subsequently, separate divisions of rangers began to form from them. As a result, a separate type of light infantry was formed. The main tasks that the soldiers received were the destruction of the officers of the enemy troops, as well as the demoralization of the enemy due to marksmanship at considerable distances. For this, the shooters were armed with special rifles.

In the 19th century, weapons were modernized. Tactics have changed accordingly. This was facilitated by the appearance of an optical sight. During the First World War, snipers were part of a separate cohort of saboteurs. Their goal was to quickly and effectively defeat enemy personnel. At the very beginning of the war, snipers were mainly used by the Germans. However, over time, special schools began to appear in other countries. In conditions of protracted conflicts, this "profession" has become quite popular.

Finnish snipers

Between 1939 and 1940, Finnish arrows were considered the best. World War II snipers learned a lot from them. Finnish shooters were nicknamed "cuckoos". The reason for this was that they used special "nests" in the trees. This trait was distinctive for the Finns, although trees were used for this purpose in almost all countries.

So who exactly owe the best WWII snipers? The most famous "cuckoo" was considered Simo Hayhe. He was nicknamed "White Death". The number of confirmed murders committed by him exceeded the mark of 500 killed soldiers of the Red Army. In some sources, his indicators were equal to 700. He was seriously injured. But Simo was able to recover. He died in 2002.

Propaganda played its part

The best snipers of the Second World War, namely their achievements, were actively used in propaganda. It often happened that the personalities of the shooters began to grow into legends.

The famous Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev was able to destroy about 240 enemy soldiers. This figure was the average for effective riflemen of that war. But due to propaganda, he was made the most famous Red Army sniper. At the present stage, historians seriously doubt the existence of Major Koenig, Zaitsev's main opponent in Stalingrad. The main merits of the domestic shooter include the development of a sniper training program. He personally took part in their preparation. In addition, he formed a full-fledged sniper school. Its graduates were called "rabbits".

Top scoring shooters

Who are the best snipers of World War II? The names of the most successful shooters should be known. The first position is occupied by Mikhail Surkov. He killed about 702 enemy soldiers. Ivan Sidorov is next on the list. He killed 500 soldiers. Nikolay Ilyin is in third position. He killed 497 enemy soldiers. Ivan Kulbertinov follows him with a mark of 489 killed.

The best snipers of the USSR during World War II were not only men. In those years, women also actively joined the ranks of the Red Army. Some of them later became quite effective shooters. Soviet women killed about 12 thousand enemy soldiers. And the most productive was Lyudmila Pavlichenkova, on whose account there were 309 killed soldiers.

The best snipers of the USSR in World War II, of which there were a lot, have a large number of effective shots to their account. More than 400 soldiers were killed by about fifteen riflemen. 25 snipers killed over 300 enemy soldiers. 36 shooters killed more than 200 Germans.

Little information about enemy shooters

There is not so much information about "colleagues" from the enemy side. This is due to the fact that no one tried to boast of their exploits. Therefore, the German best snipers of World War II are practically unknown in ranks and names. One can reliably say only about those shooters who were awarded the Knight's Iron Crosses. It happened in 1945. One of them was Friedrich Paine. He killed about 200 enemy soldiers.

The most productive was, most likely, Mathias Hetzenauer. He killed about 345 soldiers. The third sniper to be awarded the order was Joseph Ollerberg. He left a memoir in which a lot was written about the activities of German riflemen during the war. The sniper himself killed about 257 soldiers.

Sniper terror

It should be noted that the Anglo-American allies landed in Normandy in 1944. And it was in this place that the best snipers of the Second World War were at that period. The German arrows killed many of the soldiers. And their effectiveness was facilitated by the area, which was simply replete with bushes. The British and the Americans in Normandy faced real sniper terror. Only after that did the allied forces think about training specialized shooters who could work with a telescopic sight. However, the war has already come to an end. Therefore, the snipers of America and England were never able to set records.

Thus, the Finnish "cuckoos" taught a good lesson in their time. Thanks to them, the best snipers of the Second World War served in the Red Army.

Women fought on a par with men

For a long time, it has happened that men are engaged in war. However, in 1941, when the Germans attacked our country, the whole people began to defend it. Holding weapons in their hands, being at the machines and on the collective farm fields, Soviet people fought against fascism - men, women, old people and children. And they were able to win.

There is a lot of information in the annals about women who received combat awards... And the best snipers of the war among them were also present. Our girls were able to destroy more than 12 thousand enemy soldiers. Six of them received the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And one girl became a full knight of the soldier's Order of Glory.

Legendary girl

As mentioned above, the famous sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenkova killed about 309 soldiers. Of these, 36 were enemy riflemen. In other words, she alone was able to destroy almost an entire battalion. A film entitled "The Battle of Sevastopol" was shot based on her exploits. The girl went to the front voluntarily in 1941. She took part in the defense of Sevastopol and Odessa.

In June 1942, the girl was wounded. After that, she no longer took part in hostilities. The wounded Lyudmila was carried from the battlefield by Alexei Kitsenko, with whom she fell in love. They decided to submit a marriage registration report. However, the happiness did not last too long. In March 1942, the lieutenant was seriously wounded and died in the arms of his wife.

In the same year, Lyudmila became a member of the delegation of Soviet youth and left for America. There she made a splash. After returning, Lyudmila became an instructor at the sniper school. Several dozen good shooters were trained under her leadership. That's how they were - the best snipers of the USSR in World War II.

Creation of a special school

Perhaps Lyudmila's experience was the reason that the country's leadership began to teach girls the art of shooting. Courses were specially formed in which girls were in no way inferior to men. Later, it was decided to reorganize these courses into the Central Women's School of Sniper Training. In other countries, only men were snipers. In World War II, girls were not professionally trained in this art. And only in the Soviet Union did they comprehend this science and fought on an equal basis with men.

There was a cruel attitude towards girls from enemies

In addition to a rifle, a sapper shovel and binoculars, the women took grenades with them. One was for the enemy, and the other was for oneself. Everyone knew that snipers were mistreated by German soldiers. In 1944, the Nazis managed to capture the domestic sniper Tatyana Baramzina. When our soldiers found her, they could only recognize her by her hair and uniforms. Enemy soldiers stabbed the body with daggers, cut out their breasts, gouged out their eyes. They stuck a bayonet in the stomach. In addition, the Nazis shot at point-blank at the girl with an anti-tank rifle. Of the 1885 graduates of the school of snipers, about 185 girls could not survive until Victory. They tried to save them, they did not throw them on especially difficult tasks. But still, the glare of telescopic sights in the sun often gave out shooters, who were then found by enemy soldiers.

Only time has changed attitudes towards women shooters

Girls - the best snipers of the Second World War, whose photos can be seen in this review, at one time experienced terrible. And when they returned home, they sometimes faced contempt. Unfortunately, in the rear to the girls was formed special attitude... Many of them were unfairly called field wives. Hence the contemptuous glances that female snipers were awarded.

For a long time they did not tell anyone that they were at war. They hid their awards. And only after 20 years the attitude towards them began to change. And it was at this time that the girls began to open up, talking about their many exploits.

Conclusion

In this review, an attempt was made to describe those snipers who became the most effective during the entire time that the Second World War was going on. There are a lot of them. But it should be noted that not all arrows are known. Some tried to spread as little as possible about their exploits.

Date: 2011-03-22

In the first world war the work of a sniper has grown and developed into a whole independent branch of combat activity, in conditions of positional standing; but the experience of 1918 made it possible to evaluate the sniper in a field war. The Germans, the inventors of sniping, introduced one shooter with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight into each light machine-gun link. German snipers, in the first period of trench warfare, incapacitated the British, along the entire front, several hundred people a day, which within a month gave a loss figure equal to the number of an entire division. The British quickly reacted to the threat by creating their own sniper school and ultimately completely suppressing the enemy shooters. Almost all participants in the world war, especially in the German sectors of the front, had to deal with one or another manifestation of the work of a German sniper. "I, personally, remember well what a difficult atmosphere created in the regiments of the 71st Infantry Division, in the winter of 1916-1917, German snipers (I think, the German 208th division), literally making "Paradise valleys" from some parts of our trenches on the left bank of the Seret River (in Romania) .Located in groups of trees on the opposite bank of the river, some of them even on trees (judging by the depth of the defeat of the trench), they literally did not allow to show half a head, not only because of the parapet, but even into the hole of the disguised under-belly machine-gun nest, not to mention the breaks of the trenches flanking from their position. also suggested, even then, the idea that someone was beating them, as they say, “at choice” - of course, they were beaten by snipers. "(E. N. Sergeev). It was on the fronts of the First World War that the basic principles and specific methods of sniping were determined (for example, sniper pairs - "fighter shooter" and an observer-target designator).

It was only later, in the Red Army, that it was possible to create our own Russian sniper school, putting the training of shooters on stream.

Despite the fact that during the First World War the Germans were the first to take the initiative in using specially trained soldiers and rifles with a telescopic sight, active work in the field of sniping began in the Wehrmacht only after the collision with the Soviet tactics of "sniper terror". In the winter of 1941-1942. snipers appeared on the Russian positions and the sniper movement began to actively develop, supported by the political directorates of the fronts. The German command remembered the need for training and its "super-sharp shooters". In the Wehrmacht began to organize sniper schools and front-line courses, gradually began to grow the "proportion" of sniper rifles in relation to other types of small arms.

In the 1930-1940s, the German army used a 7.92-mm Mauser rifle of the 1935 model (K98) with a one and a half-time sight of the 1941 model or a four-time Zeiss sight. In terms of its main combat properties, this weapon did not particularly differ from the Soviet Mosin rifle, so in terms of armament, the forces of the parties were approximately equal.

The sniper version of the 7.92-mm Mauser 98K carbine was tested back in 1939, but this version began to be mass-produced only after the attack on the USSR. Since 1942, 6% of all carbines produced have had a telescopic sight bracket, but throughout the war, there was a shortage of sniper weapons in the German troops. For example, in April 1944, the Wehrmacht received 164,525 carbines, but only 3276 of them had optical sights, i.e. about 2%. However, according to the post-war assessment of German military experts, “Type 98 carbines equipped with standard optics could in no way meet the requirements of the battle. Compared to Soviet sniper rifles ... they were significantly different for the worse. Therefore, every Soviet sniper rifle captured as a trophy was immediately used by the Wehrmacht soldiers "(R. Lidshun, G. Vollert." Small arms yesterday ").
By the way, the ZF41 optical sight with a magnification of 1.5x was attached to a guide specially carved on the aiming block, so that the distance from the shooter's eye to the eyepiece was about 22 cm.German optics specialists believed that such an optical sight with a small magnification, installed at a considerable distance from the shooter's eye to the eyepiece, should be quite effective, since it allows you to direct the crosshair to the target, without stopping the observation of the terrain. At the same time, the small magnification of the sight does not give a significant discrepancy in scale between objects observed through the sight and over it. In addition, this option for the placement of optics allows you to load the rifle with clips without losing sight of the target and muzzle of the barrel. But naturally, a sniper rifle with such a low-power sight could not be used for long-range shooting. However, such a device was still not popular among Wehrmacht snipers - often such rifles were simply thrown onto the battlefield in the hope of finding something better for themselves.

Arsenal of the German sniper: rifle "Mauser-7.92", pistols "Walter PPK" and "Walter P-38"

German sniper scope with an increase of 2.5

German and Finnish snipers on ultra-precise Mauser-7.92 rifles had sights with an increase of only 2.5 times. The Germans (and they were smart people) believed that it was no longer necessary. German snipers had scopes with tenfold magnification, but only virtuosos fired with them. Such a sight was obtained as a trophy by the Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev in a duel with the head of the Berlin school of snipers.

Low to medium shooters hit better with low power scopes. The process of aiming with a telescopic sight is very strict, when aiming one must be very collected and very attentive. The optical sight does not so much facilitate aiming as it mobilizes the efforts of a trained shooter to aim and hold the weapon. It is in this regard that the optical sight allows highly trained shooters to realize their reserve capabilities. The optical sight is a means of realizing the training of the shooter. And the greater the degree of training and the acquired stability the shooter has, the greater the increase in the sight he can afford. Only professional snipers with a well-set preparation, developed stability, with a nervous system balanced to complete indifference, with no pulsation and possessing hellish patience, can afford to work with a sight magnification of 6 times and higher. For such shooters, the target in the sight behaves calmly and does not try to control the shot. (A. Potapov "The Art of a Sniper")

Since 1943, the Wehrmacht has used a Walther system self-loading carbine (model 1943), the 7.92-mm self-loading rifle G43 (or K43) had its own sniper version with a 4x telescopic sight. However, due to its low reliability and low accuracy, the Walther was not popular among the troops, just like the Tokarev SVT rifle in the Red Army. The German military leadership required all G43 rifles to have a telescopic sight, but this was no longer possible. Nevertheless, out of 402,703 issued before March 1945, almost 50 thousand had an already installed optical sight. In addition, all rifles had a bracket for mounting optics, so in theory any rifle could be used as a sniper weapon.

1944 was a turning point for the art of sniper in the German army. The role of sniping was finally appreciated by the high command: numerous orders emphasized the need for the competent use of snipers, preferably in pairs "shooter plus observer", various types of camouflage and special equipment were developed. It was assumed that during the second half of 1944, the number of sniper pairs in the grenadier and people's grenadier units would be doubled. Heinrich Himmler also became interested in sniping in the SS troops, he approved a program for specialized in-depth training of fighter shooters.
In the same year, by order of the Luftwaffe command, the training films "Invisible weapons: a sniper in battle" and "Field training of snipers" were filmed for use in training ground units.

A fragment from the educational film "Field training of snipers: masters of disguise".

Fragment from the training film "Invisible Weapon: Sniper in Battle"

Both films were shot quite competently and very high quality, even from the height of today: here are given the main points of special sniper training, the most important recommendations for action in the field, and all this in a popular form, with a combination of game elements.
The memo, widely circulated at this time, entitled "The Ten Commandments of the Sniper" read:
- Fight selflessly.
- Fire calmly and carefully, concentrate on each shot. Remember that fast firing has no effect.
- Shoot only when you are sure you will not be detected.
- Your main enemy is an enemy sniper, outsmart him.
“Don't forget that the sapper's shovel prolongs your life.
- Constantly practice measuring distances.
- Become a master in terrain and camouflage.
- Train constantly - on the front line and in the rear.
- Take care of your sniper rifle, don't give it to anyone.
- Survival for a sniper in nine parts - camouflage and only one - shooting.
In the German army, snipers were used at various tactical levels. It was the experience of applying this concept that allowed E. Middeldorf in his book to offer the following practice in the post-war period: “There are no other issues related to infantry combat operations as big as the issue of using snipers. Some consider it necessary to have a regular platoon of snipers in each company, or at least in the battalion. Others predict that snipers in pairs will be most successful. We will try to find a solution that satisfies both points of view. First of all, one should distinguish between "amateur snipers" and "professional snipers". It is desirable that each squad has two non-standard amateur snipers. They need to be given a 4x telescopic sight to the assault rifle. They will remain regular shooters with additional sniper training. If using them as snipers is not possible, then they will act like regular soldiers. As for professional snipers, there should be two in each company or six in the company command group. They must be armed with a special sniper rifle with a muzzle velocity of more than 1000 m / sec., With a 6x high aperture optical sight. These snipers, as a rule, will conduct "free hunting" in the company area. If, depending on the situation and terrain conditions, the need to use a platoon of snipers arises, it will be easily feasible, since the company has 24 snipers (18 amateur snipers and 6 professional snipers), which in this case can be combined together " ... Note that this concept of sniping is considered one of the most promising. (Oleg Ryazanov "Super Sharp Shooters" from the Wehrmacht)

Matthaus Hetzenauer (1924-2004) with a Kar98k rifle with a 6x telescopic sight.
Sniper of the 3rd Mountain Rifle Division (Geb.Jg. 144/3. Gebirgs-Devision). From July 1944 to May 1945 - 345 confirmed killed soldiers of the Red Army. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with swords and oak leaves. One of the most productive snipers in Germany.

In World War II, "the Russians were superior to the Germans in the art of night combat, combat in wooded and swampy terrain and combat in winter, in training snipers, as well as in equipping the infantry with machine guns and mortars" (Eike Middeldorf "Tactics in the Russian Campaign").

German snipers:

Erwin Konig 400 / Heinz Thorvald

Matthаus Hetzenauer 345

Josef Sepp Allerberger257

Bruno Sutkus 209

Friedrich Pein 200

Gefreiter Meyer 180

Helmut Wirnsberger 64

An extremely interesting interview with three former Wehrmacht snipers gives some idea of \u200b\u200bthe German riflemen (Sniper's Notebook):

This is a shared interview with two of the most successful Wehrmacht snipers. Added an interview with a third, also very good sniper, to gain a broader overview of the experience.

The fact is that these three soldiers had really good training and a lot of experience to give accurate and informative answers to questions.

During the interview they will be named A, B and C. During the war they were all at 3. Gebirgsdivision.

Brief information about the respondents.

A: Matthaus H. from Tyrol, on the Eastern Front from 1943 until the end of the war, the most successful sniper in the Wehrmacht with 345 confirmed killed.

B: Sepp A. from Salzburg, on Eastern Front was from December 1942 until the end of the war, second in rank with 257 confirmed.

C: Helmut W. of Styria, on the Eastern Front from September 1942 until the end of the war, with 64 confirmed destroyed. After he was injured, he was an instructor.

What weapon did you use ?:

A: K98 with 6x telescopic sight, G43 with 4x telescopic sight

B: Trophy Russian scoped sniper rifle, K98 with 6x

C: K98 with 1 1 / 2x and 4x telescopic sights, G43 with 4x telescopes.

What scopes did you use?

A: 4x scope was used up to 400m, 6x was good up to 1000m

B: I had a Russian sniper rifle for 2 years, and I don't remember exactly the type of sight, but it worked well. On the K98 I used 6x.

C: 1 1 / 2x was not efficient enough and was replaced by a better performing 6x.

What do you think about the high magnification?

A, B: 6x is enough, there was no need for a higher one.

C: 4x is enough for most missions.

The maximum shooting distance at which you could hit the following targets?

Head: A, B, C: up to 400m

Embrasure: A: up to 600m

Human figure: A: 700m - 800m

B, C: about 600m

Are these distances, which are acceptable for you personally, typical only for the best or for all snipers?

A, B: only for the best snipers

C: For me personally, but also for most German snipers. Some also hit targets at longer distances.

B: Complements: really 100% defeat is possible only up to 600m.

What was the most distant target you hit and what was it?

A: It was a standing soldier about 1100m away. This distance is unlikely to reach, but we wanted to show the enemy that he was not safe at this distance. We also wanted to demonstrate our skills to the officers.

C: 600m, if there was a target further away, I waited until it closed the distance, because it was easier to shoot and it was easier to confirm. The G43 had insufficient ballistic capabilities, so I only shot up to 500m with it.

How many second shots were needed?

A: Almost never needed a second shot.

B: 1 or 2. The second shot was very dangerous due to enemy snipers.

C: 1 or 2 at most.

If you could choose which rifle would you prefer?

a) a manual reloading rifle like the K98:

A: K98 due to high precision

b) Self-loading rifle similar to the G43:

A: Not the G43 because it is only good up to 400m and lacks precision.

B: Not G43, too heavy.

C: Yes, because it was reliable and not much worse than the K98.

If you could choose between a self-loading rifle today with the same precision as the K98 and K98, which one would you choose?

A: I would choose the K98 because a sniper that is used as a sniper does not need a self-loading rifle.

B: If it has the same weight .... self-loading.

C: Self-loading can fire faster when attacking.

How were you attached to your units?

All of them belonged to the snipergroup Btl .; C was the commander of this unit. This unit numbered up to 22 soldiers, of whom six were permanently with Btl., The rest were attached to companies. The results of observation, on the use of ammunition and destroyed targets were reported daily to the Btl headquarters.

At the beginning of the mission, Btl. During the war, when there were fewer good snipers, they were sometimes ordered by the division headquarters.

In each company, some soldiers were equipped with rifles with telescopic sights, but they did not have any special training. They shot reliably up to 400m and did a very good job. These soldiers served in their normal duty within the companies and were not able to obtain that high "lethality" as real snipers.

Tactics and goals?

A, B, C: always in a team of two. One shoots, the other is watching. The most common missions are: kill enemy observers (for heavy weapons), commanders. Sometimes targets like anti-tank gun crews, machine gun crews, and so on. Snipers followed the attacking forces and fought against the most fortified enemy positions (with heavy weapons crews, and so on).

A: I had to make my way through the enemy line of defense before our attack to destroy the enemy commanders and crews during our artillery barrage.

b) Attack at night:

A, B, C: We didn't fight during the night because the snipers were too precious.

c) Winter attack:

A: I walked behind the attacking forces in a winter camouflage suit to counter the machine gun and anti-tank positions that opposed our attack.

B, C: A good camouflage suit and warm clothing are necessary, otherwise long-term observation is reduced.

d) Defense

A, B, C: mainly free hunting in the company defense sector. Usually all targets or only the most important targets were to be destroyed. When the enemy attacked, their commanders were easy to identify, because they had different equipment, camouflage uniforms, and so on. So we shot them at great distances and in such a way that the enemy offensive stopped. (In one day, A remembers that he killed the commanders of eight attacks).

As soon as enemy snipers appear, they are fought with until they are destroyed. These battles against enemy snipers caused many casualties in our ranks.

The snipers take their positions before sunrise and stay there until sunset.

Sometimes, if the path to your own position was blocked by the enemy, you had to stay for two or three days in this position without support.

e) Defense at night

A, B, C: The sniper was not used during the night. They were not admitted to the security service or anything like that. Sometimes during the night, they would create their position to be ready during the day.

f) Did you use moonlight when shooting?

A: Yes, if the moonlight was strong enough and I used a 6x telescopic sight it was possible.

g) Deterrent Combat:

A, C: Usually 4 to 6 snipers would shoot at every enemy soldier that appeared. In these rear units, machine guns were not often used, so one or two sniper shots detained the enemy for a long time, and their own positions were not unmasked.

B: No experience. In this situation, everyone shoots at everything.

What tactics have you had the most success with?

A: The success of a sniper is not measured by the people he killed, but by the influence he had on the enemy. For example, if the enemy loses commanders in an offensive, the offensive must be stopped. We had the highest rates of destroyed, of course, in defensive battles, when the enemy attacked several times a day.

B: On the defensive, because other destroyed ones have not been confirmed.

C: Greatest success in the longest period of trench warfare due to good observation capabilities.

Percentage of destroyed for each distance:

Up to 400m: A: 65%

Up to 600m: A: 30%

Up to 800m: rest

A: 65% up to 400m was not because of the shooting distance, but because of the ability to identify the target as "worth it." So, I often waited until I could identify the target.

B: Doesn't remember the percentage, but most of the targets were hit up to 600m.

C: Did most of the shots up to 400m because it was a safe distance and it was easy to see if there was a hit or not.

How many shots did you fire from one position?

A, B, C: as much as needed

b) Defense in equipped position:

A, B, C: 1 to 3 at most.

c) Enemy attack:

A, B, C: for each worthwhile goal.

d) Confronting enemy snipers:

A, B, C: 1 or 2

e) delaying fight

A, B, C: 1 or 2 was enough because the sniper was not alone.

B: complements: during an attack or an enemy attack, the killed are not confirmed.

What else is important besides superb shooting?

A: Apart from normal sniper skills, mind always wins. Man's "little tactics" wins the battle. In order to obtain a high kill rate, it is also important that the sniper is not used for other types of service besides shooting from cover.

B: Calm, superiority, courage.

C: Patience and durability, excellent observation ability.

Who were the snipers recruited from?

A: Only born to "solo fighters" like hunters, poachers and so on.

B: I don't remember. I had 27 killed with my Russian rifle before I was admitted to sniper training.

C: Only soldiers with combat experience, superior shooting skills and a two-year service life have been admitted to sniper training.

What sniper courses did you take?

A, B, C: sniper course at Toepl Seetaleralpe.

C: I was there as a teacher (instructor).

Have you used binoculars and what amplification?

A: It was 6x30, but it wasn't enough for longer distances. Got 10x50 lateron and this one was good.

B: Binoculars as needed as an addition to the rifle scope.

C: Every sniper had binoculars and it was necessary. Up to 500m 6x30 was enough.

Would you rather watch from a trench through a periscope?

A: It was a nice addition. We had one Russian.

C: If caught among the trophies, then it was used.

Did you have scissor telescopes in use?

A, C: Yes, sometimes we used it with an artillery observer.

What camouflage did you use?

A, B, C: Camouflage suits, painted face and hands, camouflage on a rifle in winter with blenket and coloring.

B: I have been using an umbrella for two years. I painted it similar to my surroundings. At the beginning I painted my hands and face very carefully, at the end less.

Have you used other things to deceive the enemy?

B: Yes, for example fake stance with rifles that shoot with wire structures.

Have you used some kind of screen?

What do you think of tracer cartridges?

A, B, C: should not be used in combat, because you cannot unmask your own position.

They were used in training and rifle testing. Also, each sniper had a few to check the distance.

Have you used so-called sighting cartridges that explode when they hit the ground?

A, B, C: Yes, small flames appear when they hit the target, so you can see if there was a hit. We also used them to set fire to a wooden building in order to smoke the enemy out of it. They were used up to 600m away.

How did you work with a crosswind?

A: Feeling and experience sometimes tested with tracer cartridges. The training at Seetaleralpe was very good because there was a lot of wind there.

B: Feeling if there was a strong wind, we didn't shoot.

C: We didn't shoot if there was wind.

A, B, C: No, feeling, experience, fast aiming and fast shooting.

Have you used anti-tank rifles?

A: Yes, I disabled some weapon crews through their screen. It was possible to shoot at targets up to 300m because it was not a sufficiently accurate weapon. Very heavy and not used by snipers. Didn't use it against light targets.

How did you confirm the destroyed?

A, B, C: Either through an officer or two soldiers who watched the destruction.

So, the number of confirmed destroyed is much lower than the real number.

H. Hesketh-Pritchard: "Sniping in France" (SUPER SIGHTING SERVICE IN THE WORLD WAR ON WESTERN EUROPEAN FRONT). Translation from English edited and prefaced by E.N. SERGEEVA, 1925
http://www.snipercentral.com/snipers.htm#WWII
Oleg Ryazanov "History of sniper art" http://www.bratishka.ru/zal/sniper/
A. Potapov "The Art of the Sniper", 2002

Well-trained snipers have always been valued in all armies of the world, but especially the importance of snipers increased during the Second World War. The results of this war showed that the most prepared and effective in their overwhelming majority were the snipers of the Red Army. Soviet sniper fighters in many respects were noticeably superior to snipers of the German Wehrmacht and not only them.

And this was not surprising, it turns out that the Soviet Union was almost the only country in the world where training in small arms business was put on stream, it practically covered the wide strata of the population of the whole country, trained citizens in shooting business even in peacetime, as part of pre-conscription training , the older generation probably still remembers the sign "Voroshilovsky shooter".

Soviet snipers practice ambush actions

The high quality of this training was soon tested by the war, during which Soviet snipers showed all their skills, this skill is confirmed by the so-called sniper "death lists", from which it can be seen that only one top ten Soviet snipers killed (according to confirmed data) 4200 soldiers and officers, and the top twenty - 7400, the Germans did not have such a dozen and twenty.

Despite the hardest defeats of the first months of the war, the training of the best riflemen in units and formations of the front line continued at an accelerated pace and did not stop for a minute. In addition, snipers were trained in reserve training units and on short-term courses directly in the combat formations of the troops.

However, the military command understood the need for centralized training of "super-sharp shooters". As early as September 18, 1941, a decree was issued on universal compulsory military training for citizens of the USSR, which made it possible to organize military training of the population without interrupting production. The training program was designed for 110 hours. In addition to other military specialties (machine gunner, mortarman, signalman), training was also carried out along the line of sniping.

Sniper cadets in a practical lesson

Still, it was extremely difficult to train snipers in such a tight timeframe, so soon it was decided to open special "schools of excellent sniper training" (SHOSSP) in the military districts. The training went on for 3-4 months already with a break from production. The Moscow Military District alone had three such schools. The instructors involved were sniping instructors from OSOAVIAKHIM, who, as in peacetime, continued to train sniper cadres in their schools.

In addition, it was decided to organize a centralized training of highly qualified snipers with instructor skills. For this, on March 20, 1942, a school of sniper instructors was created in Veshnyaki near Moscow.

Red Army snipers take position

Our opponents, the Germans, also had special sniper schools, but the Germans did not have such a wide coverage and such a serious approach to training snipers, and they ended up far behind the Red Army in the sniper business.

During World War II, much attention was paid to the sniper business in the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition, but the results of the Anglo-American snipers were much more modest than those of the Russians, Germans and Finns. The most trained snipers among the allies were mainly from the British, American snipers, in the main, distinguished themselves in battles with the Japanese in the Pacific.

Sniper labor was hard and dangerous, for hours, or even days, the soldiers had to lie in the snow or swamp, in constant tension and attention, the equipment of the Soviet sniper during the Great Patriotic War was rather stingy. In addition to an optical sight for monitoring targets, they had a variety of field binoculars (usually 6- and 8-fold) and trench periscopes TR and TR-8.

For self-defense in close combat, the sniper often took several hand grenades, a pistol and a knife with him on a mission. If a sniper group was ambushed, then the armament was also supplemented with a PPSh or PPS submachine gun. Throughout the war and after it, up to the adoption of the SVD (in 1963), the standard sniper rifle in our army remained the rifle arr. 1891/30 with a PU sight.

Unknown Soviet female snipers at the dugout. On overcoats sergeant shoulder straps, in the hands of a Mosin rifle with a PU telescopic sight (Sight Shortened)

In total, from 1941 to 1945, 53,195 sniper rifles of the 1891/30 model were produced in the USSR. and 48.992 SVT sniper rifles. For wartime, this is a rather large figure, but if you look at the real number of personnel snipers trained during the same time and make an allowance for the natural loss of weapons during hostilities, it becomes clear that all front-line "super-sharp shooters" simply could not be provided with special sniper weapon.

By the middle of 1942, Soviet snipers were actively working on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War, they unleashed a real sniper terror against the German troops, our snipers had a huge moral impact on the enemy soldiers, and this is understandable why, since our enemy soldiers were shot by our snipers almost every day and almost every minute.

The most famous Soviet sniper is undoubtedly the Hero of Stalingrad Vasily Zaitsev, who killed 242 German soldiers and officers, including the head of the Berlin sniper school, Major Konings. In total, Zaitsev's group destroyed 1,126 enemy servicemen in four months of fighting. Zaitsev's companions in arms were Nikolai Ilyin, who had 496 Germans on his account, Pyotr Goncharov - 380, Viktor Medvedev - 342.

It should be noted that the main merit of Zaitsev is not so much in his personal combat account as in the fact that he became a key figure in the deployment of the sniper movement among the ruins of Stalingrad, of course, the entire Soviet agitprop worked for Zaitsev's group, so he was familiar.

Soviet sniper V.A. Sidorov at a firing position in August 1941. The Red Army soldier is armed with a Mosin sniper rifle with a PE telescopic sight of the 1931 model, it is also worth noting the "Halkingolka" helmet SSh-36 (Steel helmet 1936)

And the main record holder for the destruction of enemy soldiers according to the "death list" was the sniper Mikhail Ilyich Surkov (4th rifle division), 702 killed enemy soldiers and officers were recorded on his account, then by the number of destroyed enemy soldiers in the top ten go:

- Vladimir Gavrilovich Salbiev (71 Guards SD and 95 Guards SD) - 601 people.
- Vasily Shalvovich Kvachantiradze (259th rifle regiment) - 534 people.
- Akhat Abdulkhakovich Akhmetyanov (260 joint venture) - 502 people.
- Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko (1122 rifle regiment) - 500 people. + 1 tank, 3 tractors
- Nikolay Yakovlevich Ilyin (50th Guards rifle regiment) - 494 people.
- Ivan Nikolaevich Kulbertinov (23 separate ski brigades; 7 Guards air-des.p.) - 487 people.
- Vladimir Nikolaevich Pchelintsev (11th brigade) - 456 people (including 14 snipers)
- Nikolay Evdokimovich Kazyuk - 446 members
- Petr Alekseevich Goncharov (44th Guards rifle regiment) - 441 people.

In total, there are 17 Soviet snipers, whose number of killed enemy soldiers exceeds 400 people. Over 300 killed enemy soldiers were recorded at the expense of 25 Soviet snipers, 36 Soviet snipers killed more than 200 enemy soldiers.

The best of the enemy snipers are: Finnish sniper Simo Hayha is the fifth in the general list, he has more than 500 killed enemy soldiers on his account, from the Wehrmacht snipers the most productive is Mathias Hetzenauer, the twenty-seventh in the general list, on his account 345 killed enemy soldiers and Sepp Allerberg on his account is 257 enemy soldiers and officers.

According to some researchers, the real accounts of many Soviet snipers are actually more than the confirmed ones. So, for example, Fedor Okhlopkov, a sniper of the 259th rifle regiment, according to some sources, destroyed more than 1000 (!) Germans in total, using a machine gun as well, however, on the official combat account he had only 429 killed enemy soldiers, probably the situation on the battlefield did not always make it possible to calculate their results more accurately.

In the diaries and letters found on the killed soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht, there are such phrases: “ The Russian sniper is something very terrible, you can't hide from him anywhere! You can't raise your head in trenches. The slightest carelessness - and you will immediately get a bullet between the eyes ... Russian snipers lie for hours in one place in ambush and take aim at anyone who appears. Only in the dark can you feel safe».

But it turns out that in the dark, the Germans, too, could not feel safe. So, the sniper of the 1st Guards Art Regiment, Ivan Kalashnikov (it turns out that the artillery also had its own snipers) out of 350 killed soldiers, 45 Nazis were destroyed at night - this shooter had truly cat's eyesight!

By 1943, there were already more than 1,000 women among Soviet snipers, during the war they counted more than 12,000 killed Nazis, the best female sniper is considered Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlyuchenko, a sniper of the 54th rifle regiment, during the war she managed to destroy 309 enemy soldiers of them 36 were themselves snipers.

Soviet sniper Sergeant Tsyrendashi Dorzhiev of the 202nd Rifle Division at a firing position. Leningrad front. The combat score of Ts.Dorzhiev (Buryats by nationality) before his death in January 1943 was 270 killed soldiers and officers.

Adopted by the Red Army in 1942, the "Combat Regulations of the Infantry" defined the range of combat missions to be solved by snipers at the front: " Destruction of snipers, officers, observers, gun and machine-gun crews (especially flanking and dagger crews), crews of stopped tanks, low-flying enemy aircraft, and in general all important targets that appear for a short time and quickly disappear ... The sniper must also be able to show with a tracer bullet and in other ways infantry, artillery, mortars and anti-tank guns, important targets that are not vulnerable to a bullet: tanks, bunkers (bunkers), guns».

And Soviet snipers clearly carried out all these assigned tasks. So the sniper, Marine Rubakho Philip Yakovlevich (393 battalion battalion) destroyed 346 enemy soldiers, 1 tank and put out of action the garrisons of 8 enemy bunkers. Sniper 849 S.p. Ivan Abdulov killed 298 German soldiers, of which 5 people were snipers themselves, plus the brave fighter also destroyed two enemy tanks with grenades. Sniper 283 Guards rifle regiment Anatoly Kozlenkov, in addition to the 194 people he killed. enemy soldiers, knocked out 2 tanks with grenades, and destroyed 3 German armored personnel carriers.

And there are many such examples, our snipers even managed to knock out German planes, it is well known that the sniper of the 82nd rifle division Mikhail Lysov in October 1941 shot down a Ju-87 dive bomber from an automatic rifle with a sniper scope. Unfortunately, there is no data on the number of infantrymen killed by him, and the sniper of the 796th rifle division, Sergeant Major Antonov Vasily Antonovich, in July 1942 near Voronezh, shot down a twin-engine Ju-88 bomber with 4 rifle shots! There is also no data on the number of infantrymen killed by him.

Sniper of the 203rd Rifle Division (3rd Ukrainian Front) Senior Sergeant Ivan Petrovich Merkulov at a firing position. In March 1944, Ivan Merkulov was awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, during the war years the sniper destroyed more than 144 enemy soldiers and officers.

Even Hitler's generals died from the fire of Soviet snipers, so on account of the sniper Semyon Nomokonov among the 367 German soldiers and officers killed by him, one was in the rank of General of the Wehrmacht. On account of the sniper 14 s.p. troops of the NKVD Yevgeny Nikolaev also recorded a German general.

There were even snipers specially designed to fight enemy snipers, so sniper 81 Guards rifle regiment Vasily Golosov killed 422 enemy soldiers in total, 70 of them were snipers themselves.

A special practice of using snipers existed at that time in the NKVD troops. After training and special training, "super-sharp shooters" went on combat training in the army. Such sniper teams usually numbered from 20 to 40 people, the duration of the trip was from 10 days to a month. Thus, a significant part of the personnel not only received special training, but also underwent running-in in real conditions of the front line. For example, in the 23rd division of the NKVD troops for the protection railways 7283 snipers were trained during the war years.

Snipers of the unit of senior lieutenant F.D. Lunina fire salvo at enemy aircraft.

In the memorandum "On the combat activities of snipers of the NKVD troops of the USSR for the protection of important industrial enterprises for the period from October 1, 1942 to December 31, 1943" it says: “... Over the past period, units of the troops have undergone practice in the combat formations of the active Red Army, some of them 2-3 times. As a result of combat work, the snipers of the troops destroyed 39,745 enemy soldiers and officers. In addition, an enemy plane was shot down and 10 stereotubes and periscopes were destroyed. Losses of our snipers: 68 people were killed, 112 people were wounded».

In total, during the war years, a total of 428,335 excellent snipers were trained - this is a huge figure, no other army in the world had such a massive training of snipers, which significantly strengthened the battle formations of rifle units.
In addition, 9534 highly qualified snipers were trained in the training formations of the central subordination.

I would especially like to recall and note Lieutenant General G.F. Morozov, it was he who made a great contribution to the organization of centralized training of sniper personnel, it was he, heading one of the departments of the General Staff, who accumulated and analyzed the combat experience of Soviet snipers throughout the war.

In total, during the war years, 87 snipers became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 39 were full holders of the Order of Glory.

Female snipers of the 3rd Shock Army, 1st Belorussian Front. From left to right:
1st row from the viewer - senior sergeant V.N. Stepanova (on her account - 20 enemies), guard senior sergeant Yu.P. Belousov (80 enemies), senior sergeant A.E. Vinogradov (83 enemies);
2nd row - Guard Junior Lieutenant E.K. Zhibovskaya (24 enemies), guard senior sergeant K.F. Marinkina (79 enemies), guard senior sergeant O.S. Marienkina (70 enemies);
3rd row - guard junior lieutenant N.P. Belobrova (70 enemies), guard lieutenant N.A. Lobkovskaya (89 enemies), guard junior lieutenant V.I. Artamonov (89 enemies), guard senior sergeant M.G. Zubchenko (83 enemies);
4th row - guard sergeant N.P. Obukhovskaya (64 enemies), guard sergeant A.R. Belyakova (24 enemies).

Sniper Rosa Shanina with her rifle. Roza Shanina has been in active service since April 2, 1944. On account of 54 confirmed killed soldiers and officers, including 12 snipers. Chevalier of the Orders of Glory, 2nd and 3rd degree. Killed in action on January 28, 1945, 3 km southeast of the village of Ilmsdorf, Rihau district, East Prussia.

Hero of the Soviet Union, sniper of the 25th Chapaevsk division Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (1916-1974). Destroyed over 300 Nazi soldiers and officers.

Soviet sniper Maxim Alexandrovich Passar. An ethnic Nanaets, a sniper of the 71st Guards Rifle Division, killed over 230 Nazis. He died on January 17, 1943 in a battle near the village of Peschanka, Gorodishchensky district. On February 16, 2010 by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 199 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.