![Vasili Záitsev](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Vasili_Z%C3%A1itsev.jpg)
Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the
Eastern Front of World War II
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
, apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts. In World War II,
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
s used the
7.62×54mmR
The 7.62×54mmR is a rimmed rifle cartridge developed by the Russian Empire and introduced as a service cartridge in 1891. Originally designed for the bolt-action Mosin–Nagant rifle, it was used during the late tsarist era and throughout th ...
rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
with light, heavy,
armour-piercing
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour.
From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many warsh ...
(B-30), armour-piercing-incendiary (B-32),
zeroing
In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of know ...
-and-incendiary (P3), and tracer bullets. Most Soviet World War II snipers carried a combat load of 120 rifle cartridges in the field.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 428,335 individuals, including
partisans, are believed to have received
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
sniper training, and of those 9,534 obtained higher-level qualifications. Unlike the militaries of other states, these snipers could be men or women. Between 1941–1945, a total of 2,484 Soviet female snipers were functioning in this role, of whom about 500 survived the war.
History
In 1932, the "sharpshooters' movement" started under the supervision of
Kliment Voroshilov
Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...
. In 1938, Red Army snipers took part in the
Battle of Lake Khasan
The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incurs ...
against troops of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
. The most successful Soviet use of snipers during the Second World War was during their defensive stages (1941–1943), after which the advantage of defense shifted to the German side and German snipers became a real danger to the advancing Soviet forces.
Doctrine
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and Soviet-derived military doctrines include
squad
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...
-level snipers, which may be called "sharpshooters" or "
designated marksmen
A designated marksman (DM), squad advanced marksman (AD) or squad designated marksman (SDM) is a military marksman role in an infantry squad. The term ''sniper'' was used in Soviet doctrine although the soldiers using the Dragunov SVD were the f ...
" in other doctrines (see the "
Sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
" article). They do so because the long-range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when
submachine gun
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
s (which are optimized for close-range, rapid-fire combat) were adopted.
Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long-distance
suppressive fire
In military science, suppressive fire is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission". When used to protect exposed friendly troops advancing on the battlefield, it is commonly called cov ...
and for eliminating targets of opportunity, especially leaders, because during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Soviet military leaders and combat theorists (
Vassili Zaitsev contributed greatly to Soviet sniper doctrine, although he was officially neither of these) found that military organisations have difficulty replacing experienced
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s and field officers during times of war. They found that the more expensive and less rugged
sniper rifle
A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...
s could match the cost-effectiveness of a cheaper
assault rifle given good personnel selection, training, and adherence to doctrine. The Soviet Union used women for sniping duties, including
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, (russian: Людми́ла Миха́йловна Павличе́нко; uk, Людмила Михайлівна Павличенко (romanized: Lyudmyla Mykhailivna Pavlychenko), ; 10 October 1974) was a So ...
and
Nina Lobkovskaya
Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya (russian: Нина Алексеевна Лобковская; born 8 March 1925) served as a sniper for the Red Army and attained the rank of Lieutenant in a separate sniper unit of the 3rd Shock Army during World War I ...
.
After the war, the standard Soviet Army
sniper team
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision ri ...
consisted of a shooter and a spotter.
After the introduction of the
Dragunov sniper rifle
The SVD (russian: Сна́йперская Винто́вка систе́мы Драгуно́ва образца́ 1963 года, lit=Sniper Rifle, System of Dragunov, Model of the Year 1963, translit=Snáyperskaya Vintóvka sistém'y Dragunóv ...
, the
Soviet army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
deployed snipers at platoon level. Those snipers were often chosen from personnel who did well in terms of rifle marksmanship while members of
DOSAAF
DOSAAF (russian: ДОСААФ), full name ''Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту), was a parami ...
. Such snipers were estimated to have a 50% probability of hitting a standing, man-sized target at , and an 80% probability of hitting a standing, man-sized target at . For distances not exceeding the probability was estimated to be well above 90%. To attain this level of accuracy the sniper could not engage more than two such targets per minute.
Rifles
in The first Soviet sniper rifle was designed in 1927–1928. It was the
7.62mm
The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for i ...
Mosin Dragoon rifle with a D-III optical sight (''7,62-мм драгунская винтовка обр. 1891 года с оптическим прицелом Д-III на кронштейне А.А. Смирнского'').
[Сергей Монетчиков. Оружие советских снайперов. // журнал «Мастер-ружьё», № 24/25, 1998. стр.74–83]
In 1931, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin sniper rifle with a PE optical sight (''7,62-мм снайперская винтовка обр. 1891/31 гг. c оптическим прицелом ПЕ'') as the standard sniper rifle
[Сергей Челноков. Трёхлинейка против… трёхлинейки // журнал «Мастер-ружьё», № 11 (140), ноябрь 2008. стр.40–46][Снайперская винтовка // Советская военная энциклопедия (в 8 тт.) / под ред. Н. В. Огаркова. том 7. М.: Воениздат, 1979. стр.403]
In 1940, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm
SVT-40
The SVT-40 (Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda, "Tokarev self-loading rifle, model of 1940", Russian: Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года, often nicknamed "'' Sveta''") is a S ...
semi-automatic sniper rifle with a
PU optical sight (''7,62-мм снайперская винтовка СВТ-40 c оптическим прицелом ПУ'') as their second model of standard sniper rifle. Due to several problems, including accuracy issues and muzzle flash, as well as being complex and slow to manufacture, production ceased in October 1941, and work began on developing the PU version of the Mosin–Nagant.
In 1941 several 7.62mm
SVT-40
The SVT-40 (Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda, "Tokarev self-loading rifle, model of 1940", Russian: Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года, often nicknamed "'' Sveta''") is a S ...
semi-automatic sniper rifles with a PU optical sight were converted in full-auto sniper rifles.
In 1942 the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin sniper rifle with a PU optical sight (''7,62-мм снайперская винтовка обр. 1891/30 гг. c оптическим прицелом ПУ на кронштейне Д. М. Кочетова'') as the standard sniper rifle
Later, the Red Army acquired a small number of
AVS-36
The AVS-36 (from ''Avtomaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova 1936 model''; russian: Автоматическая винтовка Симонова образца 1936 года (АВС-36)) was a Soviet automatic rifle which saw service in the early year ...
, which were converted into self-loading sniper rifles with PE optical sights (''АВС-36 с оптическим прицелом ПЕ обр. 1931 года'')
The three most common sniper rifles employed by the Soviet Union were the
Mosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
, the
Tokarev SVT-40, and later in 1963, the
SVD
''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...
, the first purpose built designated marksmen's rifle.
The sniper version of the Mosin–Nagant rifle was used before, during, and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It used the standard
bolt action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
1891/30 infantry rifle as a platform, though rifles destined for conversion were hand-selected for quality and accuracy. Four-power scopes were added, and came in two versions. The PE scope was a copy of a German Zeiss scope, manufactured by Emil Busch AG. The PEM model was later introduced as a more reliable, easier to produce scope. The second version of the Mosin–Nagant sniper rifle with PU optical sight, began production late in 1942. This rifle included a simpler scope design, which was incorporated from the short-lived SVT-40, and was far easier to mass-produce. To this day, it remains the most widely produced and longest serving sniper rifle in the world, and remained the Soviet Union's main sniper rifle until it was superseded in 1962 by the semi-automatic SVD Dragunov rifle.
The
SVD
''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...
(''Снайперская винтовка Драгунова'') was officially adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1963,
though issued as early as 1958. The SVD was the Soviet Union's answer to requests for an updated sniper weapon. The rifle retained the use of the same 7.62×54mmR ammunition, but is a semi-automatic gas-operated rifle with a detachable 10-round box-style magazine. The SVD continues to be the standard sniper rifle of several countries, including those of former
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
countries now
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
members.
Later, the
VSS Vintorez
The 6P29 and 6P30 ( GRAU Indices), commonly known as the VSS "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vint ...
was adopted by Soviet
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .)
Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...
troops in response to urban fighting during the Chechen conflicts.
List of famous Soviet Union snipers
In popular culture
*A Hollywood film called ''
Enemy at the Gates
''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book '' Enemy at the Gates: The Batt ...
'' was made about
Vasily Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper who fought in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
. The plot of the movie is based on a section in the eponymous book by
William Craig, which fictionalizes an alleged duel between Zaitsev and a (possibly) fictional German sniper called Major
König
König (; ) is the German word for "king". In German and other languages applying the umlaut, the transliterations ''Koenig'' and ''Kœnig'', when referring to a surname, also occur. As a surname in English, the use of ''Koenig'' is usual, and som ...
.
*The role of a Soviet sniper is portrayed in the video game ''
Call of Duty: World at War''. On one of the maps, an injured sniper,
Viktor Reznov (who gives the player "Dimitri Petrenko" the job of sniping) runs around to tempt German snipers into opening fire, revealing their position and allowing the player to snipe them.
*In
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...
's novel ''
The Bear and the Dragon
''The Bear and the Dragon'' is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 21, 2000. A direct sequel to '' Executive Orders'' (1996), President Jack Ryan deals with a war between Russia and China, referred respectively ...
'',
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Soviet sniper Pavel Petrovich Gogol, late of the Iron & Steel Division, uses his scoped
Mosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
rifle to kill a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
general during a Chinese
invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
of Siberia at a range of 900 meters—well within the capabilities of the Mosin–Nagant.
*In David L. Robbins novel ''
War of the Rats
''War of the Rats'' is a World War II fiction novel written by David L. Robbins in 1999.
The book has sold worldwide in over 20 languages.
Synopsis
The plot focuses on a 1942 battle between the Nazi Germans and the Soviets set in Stalingra ...
'', the lead character,
Vasily Zaitsev, is a Soviet sniper in World War II.
*
James Riordan
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
's novel ''The Sniper'' tells the story of Tania Chernova and is based on Riordan's interviews with the subject.
[Riordan, James. ''The Sniper''. Frances Lincoln, 2008. ]
*''Four Steps to Death'', a book written by John Wilson, portrays a Soviet sniper, Yelena Pavlova, as a main character in the Battle of Stalingrad
* The ''Forty-First'' (''Сорок первый'') by
Boris Lavrenyov
Boris Andreyevich Lavrenyov (russian: Борис Андреевич Лавренёв) (real name Sergeyev), (July 16 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._July_4.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S._July_4">Old_S ...
is a Soviet novel about a woman sniper in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War that was adopted into a silent film (
''The Forty-First'' (1927 film)) and then into a sound film (
''The Forty-First'' (1956 film)).
*The 2015 film ''
Battle for Sevastopol
''Battle for Sevastopol'' (russian: Битва за Севастополь, lit=Battle for Sevastopol; uk, Незламна, lit=Indestructible) is a 2015 biographical war film about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a young Soviet woman who joined the Re ...
'' is a joint Ukrainian-Russian film biography of Soviet sniper
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, (russian: Людми́ла Миха́йловна Павличе́нко; uk, Людмила Михайлівна Павличенко (romanized: Lyudmyla Mykhailivna Pavlychenko), ; 10 October 1974) was a So ...
, set during the 1941–42 siege of the Crimea. True to life, after being wounded, Lyudmila is evacuated to the United States, where she meets with Eleanor Roosevelt in a public relations campaign.
References
Sources
* Снайперы в ночном поиске // "
Красная звезда", № 201 (4051) от 1 сентября 1938. стр.4
* В. Ильенков. Снайпер Хасана // "Красная звезда", № 257 (4107) от 7 ноября 1938. стр.2
* подполковник П. Клевцов. Из стрелкового оружия на предельные дистанции // "Военный вестник", № 8, 1969. стр.107–112
* Снайпер // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / под ред. А. М. Прохорова. 3-е изд. том 23. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1976. стр.629
* Снайпер // Советская военная энциклопедия (в 8 тт.) / под ред.
Н. В. Огаркова. том 7. М.: Воениздат, 1979. стр.403
External links
World War II sniper listOutstanding female Soviet snipers of World War II{{WWIISniper
Sniper warfare
Military of the Soviet Union