Snipers

In contrast to the snipers of most other sides, German snipers were soldiers specially trained for the task. Their training would start in Hitlerjugend, the most gifted being later sent to special courses and provided with comprehensive special training after entering the army. In 1944, the Germans developed the first-ever sniper doctrine, introduced the first special sniper camouflage, and produced The Invisible Weapon, the first sniper training film.

German snipers entered combat on the Western Front with a large amount of experience and caused a lot of trouble for the Allies, who had never been faced with such a large-scale use of snipers and “sniper terror” tactics before. It was on this theatre of operations that the German snipers demonstrated behaviour not typical of such units; they would not change their shooting positions, but even when facing death, they could cause serious damage to Allied troops and stop their advance.