Soviet snipers played an important role during World War II (known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, in Russia, and in some other post-Soviet states). It is estimated that these snipers killed or wounded over 40,000 German soldiers during the war. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Eastern Front1 was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ... Post-Soviet states in alphabetical order: 1. ... Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers practice sniper marksmenship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. ... This article is about a military rank. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Doctrine

Soviet and Soviet-derived military doctrines include squad-level snipers, which may be called "sharpshooters" or "designated marksmen" in other doctrines (see the "Sniper" article). They do so because the long-range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when assault rifles (which are optimized for close-range, rapid-fire combat) were adopted. Soviet redirects here. ... A military unit is an organisation within an armed force. ... The Designated Marksman (DM) is a military role in a U.S. infantry squad. ... Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers practice sniper marksmenship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ...

Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long-distance suppressive fire and for eliminating targets of opportunity, especially leaders, because during The Great Patriotic War, Soviet military leaders and combat theorists (Vasily Zaytsev contributed greatly to Soviet sniper doctrine, although he was officially neither of these) found that military organisations have difficulty replacing experienced non-commissioned officers and field officers during times of war. They also found that the more expensive and less rugged sniper rifles could match the cost-effectiveness of a cheaper assault rifle given good personnel selection, training, and adherence to doctrine. For example, the Kremlin Regiment's snipers reportedly killed 1200 enemy soldiers for the loss of less than one hundred men. The Soviet Union also used women for sniping duties extensively, and to great effect, including Lyudmila Pavlichenko (who killed over 300 German soldiers) and Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya. Additionally, they found that sniper duties fit women well, since good snipers are patient, careful, deliberate, can avoid hand-to-hand combat, and need higher levels of aerobic conditioning than other troops. Suppressive fire is a term used in military science for firing weapons at or in the direction of an enemy with the primary goal of reducing their ability to defend themselves or return fire, by forcing them to remain under cover. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev (Russian: IPA: ) (March 23, 1915–December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11... A non-commissioned officer (sometimes noncommissioned officer), also known as an NCO or noncom, is a non-commissioned member of an armed force who has been given authority by a commissioned officer. ... The M40, United States Marine Corps standard-issue sniper rifle. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Ensign of the Kremlin Regiment. ... Lyudmila Pavlichenko. ... Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya was a Russian female who operated as a sniper for the Soviet Red Army during World War II. She was credited with 309 kills during the war, the same as Lyudmila Pavlichenko. ... Mêlée generally refers to disorganized hand-to-hand combat involving a group of fighters. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

After the introduction of the SVD, the Soviet army deployed snipers at platoon level. Those snipers were often chosen from personnel who did well in terms of rifle marksmanship while members of DOSAAF. Such snipers were estimated to have a 50% probability of hitting a standing, man-sized target at 800 m (1/2 mile), and an 80% probability of hitting a standing, man-sized target at 500 m. For distances not exceeding 200 m 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.^[1] The Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Russian: , abbreviated SVD, GRAU index 6V1), is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov in the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1963. ... This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. ... DOSAAF was the name a paramilitary society of the Soviet Union, Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Army, the Air Force and the Navy. ...

Rifles

Two rifles commonly used by Soviet snipers were the SVD and the Mosin-Nagant. The SVD was designed to provide special fire support, not as a standard sniper rifle. Its main role was to extend a squad's range of engagement from 300 metres to 600 metres. The Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Russian: , abbreviated SVD, GRAU index 6V1), is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov in the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1963. ... The Mosin-Nagant (Мосин-Наган) is a military rifle of Russia and later the Soviet Union, in service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s, when it was finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the SVD...

The SVD is a lightweight and quite accurate rifle, capable of semi-automatic fire. It was the response to requests for a new sniper rifle, issued as early as 1958. In 1963, the SVD (Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, or Dragunov Sniper Rifle) was officially adopted by the Soviet Military. The Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Russian: , abbreviated SVD, GRAU index 6V1), is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov in the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1963. ...

The SVD replaced the Mosin-Nagant rifle used before, after, and during The Great Patriotic War. Although the rifle was replaced, the calibre remained unchanged from the 7.62 x 54 mm R. This cartridge is still in use today, not only in sniper rifles, but also in General purpose machine guns, like the PK machine gun. The Mosin-Nagant (Мосин-Наган) is a military rifle of Russia and later the Soviet Union, in service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s, when it was finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the SVD... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... The word caliber (American English) or calibre (British English) comes from the Italian calibro, itself from the Arabic quâlib, meaning mould. ... The 7. ... A U.S. Army soldier peers through a scope mounted atop his M-14 rifle during operations in Iraq A sniper rifle is a type of rifle used for engaging in the act of sniping, most purely a rifle used for shooting with great accuracy. ... The MG 34 - the first Universelles Maschinengewehr forerunner of the modern GPMG, shown here in two different mountings. ... The PK is a 7. ...

In fiction

• A Hollywood film called Enemy at the Gates was made about Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper who fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. 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 German sniper. During the battle, Zaitsev killed 242 Germans. While he is arguably the most famous Russian sniper, there were thousands of snipers in the Russian Army. The battle between the German sniper and Zaitsev was not documented in any reference from the Soviet army, although a similar battle between Zaitsev and German named Heinz Thorvald is recounted personally by Zaitsev.

• The role of a Soviet sniper is also portrayed in the game Call of Duty which contains similar scenes to Enemy at the Gates.

• In Tom Clancy's novel The Bear and the Dragon a veteran WWII Soviet sniper uses his old sniper rifle to take out a Chinese general during a Chinese invasion of Russia.

• Soviet snipers are occasionally encountered in the game Sniper Elite, especially on later levels. Ironically, they are incorrectly portrayed as wearing a sniper mask, a standard gear for Waffen SS snipers.

Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Vasili Grigoryevich Zaitsev Captain Vassiliy Grigoryevich Zaitsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев) (23 March 1915 – 15 December 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who between 10 November and 17 December 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad killed 114 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 snipers. ... Combatants Germany Italy Hungary Romania Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army... William Craig (1929 - 1997) was an American author and historian. ... In russian, word army means armed forces in general. ... Call of Duty (released October 29, 2003) is a first-person shooter video game based on the Quake III engine. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. ... The Bear and the Dragon is a political thriller novel by Tom Clancy featuring Jack Ryan. ... Former crewmembers of the battleship Missouri pose for photos shortly after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony, held aboard the famous ship. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of conquering territory, or altering the established government. ... Sniper Elite is a first/third person shooter developed by UK based video game developer Rebellion Developments. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Famous Soviet snipers

• Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya (WWII, 308 kills)
• Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov (WWII, 429 kills)
• Lyudmila Pavlichenko (WWII, 309 kills)
• Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev (WWII, 257 kills)
• Roza Yegorovna Shanina (WWII, 54 kills)

Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya was a Russian female who operated as a sniper for the Soviet Red Army during World War II. She was credited with 309 kills during the war, the same as Lyudmila Pavlichenko. ... Born in Yakutsk, Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov was a Soviet sniper during the Second World War, credited with as many as 429 kills. ... Lyudmila Pavlichenko. ... Vasili Grigoryevich Zaitsev Captain Vassiliy Grigoryevich Zaitsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев) (23 March 1915 – 15 December 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who between 10 November and 17 December 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad killed 114 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 snipers. ... Roza Yegorovna Shanina (Russian: , 1924 – January 28, 1945) was a Soviet sniper during World War II. She was responsible for 54 confirmed kills, including 12 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Vilnius. ...

External links

• World War 2 Soviet sniper list
• Soviet Snipers in WWII

See also

• Designated marksman, similar role to Soviet sniper.
• Sniper, more specialised role than Soviet sniper.
• Sniper rifles

The Designated Marksman (DM) is a military role in a U.S. infantry squad. ... Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers practice sniper marksmenship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. ... A U.S. Army soldier peers through a scope mounted atop his M-14 rifle during operations in Iraq A sniper rifle is a type of rifle used for engaging in the act of sniping, most purely a rifle used for shooting with great accuracy. ...

References