I found this hour long film on youtube a few days ago.  It is dubbed in English and some subtitle translation.  This is a film that was shown in 1944 at their Sniper Schools and features lots and lots of Fieldcraft.  Is any of this still taught today?



Iderp link:

Wehrmact Fieldcraft training film

Looks like lots of good stuff. Thanks!

cool

Interesting video.

Nice find. I was only able to watch the first 13 minutes so far, but I'll definitely finish it. I never knew you shouldn't cut the top of a pine tree off and use it for cover I'll make sure to never do that.

That is very ingenious.

I couldn't help but wonder during the videos if allied forces accidentally stumbled across these setups. I couldn't get the visual of a soldier sitting down on a paper rock out of my mind

I used to have a Werewolf manual with some really cool stuff in it.

Cool video.

Tag

They took a lot of lessons learned from the Great War and applied them to the sniper training program for WWII, which are more applicable in the defense.

The Sniper Training programs the British used were very similar, and had a huge influence on formal sniping programs for the US starting in the 1970's.

A lot has changed since then, while a lot of the principles have stayed the same.

Very curious grain structure on that top rifle.  The rifle is post 1937, and definitely German manufacture-- Waffenampts vs. Weimar eagles.  I'm only aware of European walnut being used up until 1940/1941 where the switch was made over to laminated beech.

It's certainly not a laminate-- looks like Elm.

very cool

I need to find my German Sniper 1914-1945 book, but I know on the Finnish end of things, some guys used their own competition rifles from before the war.



Another book I would reference is:





A famous example of this is Simo Häyhä, who had a custom peep sight on his Finnish M/28-30, which he had used in many match-winning events before the war.

I can imagine the same type of thing happening on the German side, but I'm very rusty on my Wermacht Sniping familiarity as of late.  It's been many years since I have seen that book.

I'm more interested in the techniques, tactics, procedures, cultural nuances, and anecdotal serendipity I find when studying the men of the past and how they dealt with the same challenges we dealt with.  Many things change, but so many stay the same.