World War II Snipers: The Men, Their Guns, Their Stories

by Gary Yee

Overview

This illustrated military history reveals the untold story of WWII snipers, from training and firearms to combat and field operations.

Though snipers played a significant role in the battlefields of World War II, they are often overlooked by historians. In this volume, military historian and firearms expert Gary Yee offers a comprehensive and fully illustrated narrative of snipers across the major theaters of conflict: Europe, the Eastern Front, and the Pacific. Drawing on memoirs, archives, wartime photographs, and eyewitness accounts, World War II Snipers presents a compelling and authoritative study.

Each of the warring countries had its own unique methodology for selecting and training snipers. They recruited hunters, outdoorsmen, competitive shooters, and military veterans to take on this highly skilled role. They were deployed to ensure battlefield dominance and instill a paralyzing fear among the enemy. Yee tells the stories of these soldiers who were both admired and at times reviled by their own comrades. He also includes a lengthy chapter on the sniper rifles and other equipment issued to snipers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781636240992
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	07/07/2023
Series:	Casemate Illustrated Special
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	51 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Gary Yee has worked as a law enforcement firearms instructor, range master and as an armourer. A guest curator for the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans’ Building firearms collection, he recently curated and conserved La Veta’s Francisco’s Fort firearms collection. He has published internationally and is a life member of The Company of Military Historians, the National Rifle Association and the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.

Table of Contents

Part I: Selection & Training
Chapter 1: Prewar and Early War Years
Chapter 2: Selection
Chapter 3: Training

Part II: Wartime Sniping
Chapter 4: Western Europe, North Africa, and Italy
Chapter 5: Liberation of Northwestern Europe
Chapter 6: To the Rhine and the Elbe
Chapter 7: Drang Nach Osten
Chapter 8: The Stalingrad Kessel
Chapter 9: Nach Berlin!
Chapter 10: Far East
Chapter 11: Southwest Pacific Theater
Chapter 12; The South Pacific Theater and Asia

Part III: The Weapons
Chapter 13: Guns and Equipment

Conclusion
Notes to the text
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

There have been many books written about snipers in WWII, but nothing ever like this superb book which has to be the most comprehensive of its type. If there is any aspect on sniping which is missing from this book, then it is not important. … Highly illustrated throughout, this book is for weapon collectors, shooters, … and general readers with an interest in the subject. There is nothing to criticise about this book and readers will find it compelling.''

Gun Mart

"I think Gary Yee has done an exemplary job in World War II Snipers. It deserves to stand as both an achievement in telling the stories of those most secretive of soldiers, the snipers, whilst at the same time providing a unique historical insight into their tactical employment and effectiveness which is so frequently absent from post-war military histories. No reader buying this book should be disappointed for it deserves a place alongside the very best published work of its type."

Martin Pegler

"Each combatant nation had its own methods of selecting and training snipers, arming and equipping them, and then utilizing them in action. This book goes over the details of these snipers, with sections covering them in action and the weapons they used."

WWII History Magazine

"This is not a dry technical history but a book that will keep the reader’s attention riveted as it has something for everyone interested in this subject."

The GunMag

"If you like history and want to learn about snipers during WWII this is the book for you."

IPMS/USA

"If you have any interest in sniping or World War II, you need to have this book in your library."

A Wargamers Needful Things

"Gary Yee takes what is already a well-researched deep dive into the specifics of sniper training, employment and equipment to a new level."

American Rifleman

"Thanks to Gary Yee’s lifelong fascination-turned scholarly and professional, he has drawn from memoirs, government documents, and interviews to gift us with World War II Snipers incorporating eyewitness accounts to weave a comprehensive narrative of their actions and importance in WWII."

ARGunners.com

"The standout feature of World War II Snipers is undoubtedly its wealth of concise yet informative biographical summaries of individual snipers from the War and the battles they took part in."

Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms

"...most WWII skirmish games include sniper rules. If your rule set doesn't, here's a Casemate Illustrated Special to help you write your own rules."

Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"The breadth of topics covered by this book is outstanding. The level of detail is amazing, given how wide the scope of the volume is. The drawings, images and maps are well rendered, the writing is fluid and immensely descriptive."

AMPS

"This is one neat book about snipers and their exploits."

AMPS Indianapolis