TRAINING AS SNIPERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1940, Page 3

TRAINING AS SNIPERS

’ A HAZARDOUS TASK. I SYDNEY, November 7. Specially selected men from A.I.F. battalions in the Western Desert, Egypt, are being’trained as snipers, wrote the war correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald from Alexandria, on November 4. The training consists not only of marksmanship, for which a special sniper’s rifle is used, but also of what is termed “fieldcraft.” This involves a knowledge of camouflage, the use of ground, and the best methods of concealment. Some attributes which a good sniper must possess cannot be taught. Chief among these is infinite patience. He must have the ability to remain motionless, perhaps for hours on end, until a suitable target'presents itself.

The sniper fights an individual war. He is a hunter, whose quarry is not beasts, but humans. Skilfully concealed, camouflaged, and armed with a rifle in whose use he is expert, he watches enemy positions until he sees a target. Then he fires a single shot, and the vigil recommences. If an incautious move betrays his- location he will probably pay for it. with his life, for a wellplaced sniper is worth the attention of a machine-gun or even heavier armamgnt. It is a hazardous job, calling for plenty of nerve and coolness. The sniper’s task is to embarrass the enemy as much as possible, and to prevent accurate observation by forcing them' to keep their heads down. In positional warfare, ' one good sniper may well be as effective as 1 a platoon of riflemen. The effective use made of snipers by both sides in the war of 1914-18 will be recalled. Australians then showed that they had a peculiar aptitude for this work; Both at Gallipoli and in France, the A.I.F. produced many famous exponents of the craft.