Military Sniper Since 1914, The

Description:
It was only in World War I that the combination of high quality service nifles 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. In 1939-45 most anmies had to train and equip snipers from scratch, but they were to play a major role in all theatres of wan on the Russian Front, famously, it was a role in which women excelled. Fireams specialist Martin Pegler's detailed but accessible text recounts the development of weapons, sights, tactics and clothing in all major armies, illustrated by some 50 photographs: and Ramiro Bujeiro's 12 striking colour plates put the sniper vivdly in the context of the battlefield, from Flanders to the Gulf.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Historic Background; World War I; World War II; Snipers since 1945; Commentary on the colour artwork; Index

Author Biography:
Martin Pegler was born in 1954, and educated at Hampton School and London University. He is Senior Curator of Weapons at the Royal Anmouries, 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.