Snipers

A distinguishing feature of Allied snipers was that their role was originally confined exclusively to hostile fire suppression and the visual reconnaissance of advance enemy positions.

Unlike the sides who already understood the advantages of using snipers, the Allies barely even trained their expert shooters until the landing at Normandy.

Only when they faced the “sniper terror” in Europe were they forced to select and train snipers.

The situation in the Pacific Theatre was not much better: small mobile groups of Japanese kamikaze snipers set ambushes in the jungle, resulting in the Allies being more afraid of them than of large-scale attacks.

However, despite their very small amount of professional training, Allied snipers proved effective enough on the field.