Interview with three snipers of the 3.Geb.Div.

This is a summary of an interview with two of the „most successfull“ snipers within the Wehrmacht. To obtain a wide coverage of experiences a third also very good sniper joined.

The fact that those three soldiers had a really good training and many experiences they are able to give exact and informative answers to the questions.

During the interview they will be named A, B and C. They were all in the 3.Gebirgsdivision during the war.

Short information about the interrogated.

A:           Matthias H. from Tirol was from 1943 to end of war on the Eastern front, with 345 confirmed kills the most successfull sniper in the Wehrmacht.

B:           Sepp A. from Salzburg was from December 1942 to the end of war on the eastern front, with 257 confirmed kills the second in the ranking.

C:           Helmut W. from Styria was from September 1942 to the end of war on the eastern front, with 64 confirmed kills. (after he was wounded he was an instructor)

What equipment did you use?:

A: K 98 with 6x telescope, G 43 with 4x telescope

B: captured russian sniper rifle with telescope, K 98 with 6x

C: K 98 with 1 ½x and 4x telescope, G 43 with 4x telescope.

What scopes did you use?

A: a 4x scope was usefull up to 400m, a 6x was good up to 1000m

B: had 2 years a russian sniper rifle and can´t remember the exact type of the scope and worked well. On the K 98 I used a 6x.

C: The 1 ½x was not efficient and was replaced by the better working 6x.

What do you think about a high magnification?

A,B: 6x is enough, there was no need for a higher one and no experience with higher.

C: 4x is sufficient for the most missions.

Up to what distances you could hit the following targets easily?

Head: A,B,C:  up to about 400m

Breast: A: up to 600m B,C: up to 400m

person standing: A: 700m to 800m B,C: about 600m

Are these distances valid for you personaly, just the best or all snipers?

A,B: just for the best snipers

C: for me in person but also for most of the german snipers. Some cracks hit also at higher distances.

B: says additionally: a real 100% hit is just possible up to 600m.

What was the most far away target you shot at and what was it?

A: It was a standing soldier in about 1100m distance. At this distance it was unlikely to hit but we wanted to show the enemy that he was not save at this distance. Also we wanted to proof our skill to the officers.

B: 400m to 700m

C: 600m, if there was a target further away I waited until it got in range because it was easier to hit and the confirmation was better to get. The G 43 had a poor balistic and so I fired just up to 500m with it.

How many second shots were necessary out of ten?

A: nearly no second shot ever needed.

B: 1 or 2. a second shot was very dangerous in situations with enemy snipers

C: . 1 or 2 at highest.

If you could choose. What rifle would you prefer?

a)       multiloading rifle like K 98:

A: K98 because of the high long term precision.

B: K98

C: K98

b)       self loading rifle like G43:

A: No G43 because just good up to 400m and no good precision.

B: No G43, too heavy.

C: Yes, because it was reliable and not more bad than the K98.

If you could choose today between a self loading rifle with the same precision than the K98 and the K98 what would you choose?

A: I would choose the K98 because a sniper that is brought into action as a sniper does not need a self loading rifle.

B: If it has the same weight....self loader.

C: self loader could fire faster when attacked.

How were you attached to your units?

All of them belonged to the snipergroup of the Btl.; C was the commander of it. It was up to 22 men strong of which six were permanent with the Btl., the rest was attached to the companies. observation results, use of ammo and kills were reported daily to the Btl.HQ.

In the beginning the missions were ordered by the Btl. during the war when good snipers got lesser they were sometimes ordered by the division HQ.

In every company there were some soldiers equiped with scopes but had no special training. They hit reliable up to 400m and did a very good job Those soldiers didi their normal duty within the companies and were not able to get that high „kill-rate“ than the real snipers.

Tactics and targets?

a)       Attack:

A,B,C: always in teams of two men. One shoots the other observing. Most common missions: destroying enemy observers (hevy weapons), commanders. Sometimes targets like AT-positions, M.G.-positions and so on. The snipers followed the attacking forces and fighted the hardest enemy positions. (guncrews and so on).

A: saya aditionally: I had to sneak through the enemy HKL prior to our attack to fight enemy commanders and guncrews during our own artillery preparation fire.

b)       attack by night:

A,B,C: We did not fight during night because snipers were too precious.

c)       attack in winter:

A: I went behind the attacking forces with a winter-camo-suite to fight against M.G. and A.T. positions that hold the attack.

B,C: Good camo-suite and warm clothing needed otherwise no longer observation possible.

d)       defense

A,B,C: mostly free „hunting“ in the company sector. The order was either to fight all targets or just „worth it“ targets. When the enemy attacked their commanders were easily to identify because they had different equipment, camo-uniforms and so on. So we shot them at high distances and so the enemy attack was stopped. (On one day A remembers that he shot the commanding officers of eight attacks).

As soon as enemy snipers appear fight them until destroyed. These fights against enemy snipers caused many losses within our ranks.

Snipers go on their position before sunrise and stay there wih short breaks until sunset.

Sometimes if the way to the own position was exposed to the enemy two or three days in this position without supply.

e)       defense by night

A,B,C: No snipers were used during night. They were not issued to guarding duties or something. Sometimes they built up a position during the night to be ready by day.

f)        did you have a kill by moonlight?

A: Yes if the moonlight was strong enough and I used the 6x scope it was possible. Not with the backsight.

B,C: No

g)       delaying fight:

A,C: mostly 4 to 6 snipers that shot at every enemy soldier that appeared. At these rear guards the machine-guns were not often used because one or two shots from a sniper delayed the enemy for a long time and the own positions were not so easily seen.

B: No experience. In this situation everybody shoots at everything.

With what tactic did you have the most success?

A: The success of a sniper was not mesured by the men he killed but on the effect he caused to the enemy. For example if the enemy looses the commanding officers of the attack the attack must be stopped. The highest number of kills we had of course in defense positions when the enemy attacked several times a day.

B: in defense because the other kills were not confirmed.

C: biggest success at longer period static warfare due to good observation possibilities.

Percentage of kills for each distance:

up to 400m: A: 65% C: 80%

up to 600m: A: 30% C: 20%

up to 800m: rest

A: says aditionally: The 65% percent under 400m were not because of the shooting range but it was easier to see if it is a „worth-it“ target or not.  So I often waited until I could indentify the target.

B: cannot remember the percentage but most of the targets were under 600m.

C: did most shots under 400m because this was a secure distance and it was easy to see if it was a hit or not.

How many shots did you fire from one position?

a)       attack:

A,B,C: as many as necessary

b)       defense from built position:

A,B,C: 1 to 3 at highest.

c)       enemy assault:

A,B,C: every „worth-it“ target.

d)       fight against enemy snipers:

A,B,C: 1 or 2

e)       delaying fight

A,B,C: 1 or 2 were enough because the sniper was not alone.

B: says aditionally: on attack or enemy attack no kills were confirmed.

What else is important besides excellent shooting?

A: besides the normal skills of a sniper the cleverness always wins. The „small-tactic“ of a man wins in in battle. To get a high kill rate it is also important that the sniper is not used for other duties besides sniping.

B: calmness, superiority, courage.

C: patience and endurance, excellent ability of observation.

Out of what persons snipers were recruited?

A: just born „single-fighters“ like hunters, poachers and so on.

B: Can´t remember. I had 27 kills with my russian rifle before I was issued to the sniper training.

C: just combat experienced soldiers with excellent shooting skills and two year duty were issued to the sniper training.

What sniper-courses did you attend?

A,B,C: The sniper course on the Tüpl Seetaleralpe.

C: I was there as an instructor then.

Was the binocular usefull and what magnification did it have?

A: It was a 6x30 but that was not enough for higher distances. Got a 10x50 lateron and this was good.

B: The binocular is as necessary as the scope on the rifle.

C: Each sniper had a binocular and that was necessary. Up to 500m the 6x30 was enough.

Would you prefer a periscope to observe out of a trench?

A: it was a good addition. we had a russain one.

B: No

C: if captured it was used.

Were there scissor-telescopes in use?

A,C: Yes sometimes we used it with the artillery observer.

B: No

What kind of camouflage did you use?

A,B,C: Camo-suites, painted face and hands, rifle camo in winter with blenket and paint.

B: says aditionally: I used a umbrella for two years. I painted it like the sorrounding. In the beginning I painted my hands and the face very carefully, at the end not any more.

Did you use other things to deceive the enemy?

A: Yes, for example puppets and so on.

B: Yes, for example fake positions with rifles fired by a wire construction.

C: No

Did you use some kind of shield?

A,B,C: No

What do you think about light cartridges?

A,B,C: should not be used in combat because the own position should not be shown.

They were used in training and to test the rifle. Also some were with every sniper to test the range.

Did you use so called observer cartridges, that means cartridges that explode when they hit the ground?

A,B,C: Yes, a small flame appears when it hits so you could see were you shot. We used them also to inflame wooden building to get the enemy out of it.

They were used up to a range of 600m.

How did you handle the sidewind?

A: feeling and experience, sometimes checked with light cartridges. The training on the Seetaleralpe was very good because there was very often wind.

B: feeling, if there was to heavy wind we did not shoot.

C: we didn´t shoot if there was wind.

Do you still remember the guidelines for firing on moving targets?

A,B,C: No, feeling, experience, fast targeting and fast shot.

Did you use AT-rifles?

A: Yes, knocked out some guncrews through their shield. It was possible to hit a target up to 300m because it was not so precise. Very heavy and not usefull for snipers. Did not use it against soft targets.

B,C: No

How did you get a kill confirmed?

A,B,C: Either through a officer or two soldiers that observed the kill.

So the number of confirmed kills is much lower than the real number of kills.

                                HOME