Snipers. Do you love them or hate them?

[plant-pilot]

Originally Posted by T. A. Gardner

Snipers? Annoying, little more. Really good snipers? Really annoying. Snipers don't win battles and are mostly a very, very tactical methodology with extremely limited impact on a battlefield.

Not exactly true. Losing men is, in a real situation, more serious than being just 'annoying'. The loss of any human life should have more worth than just being an annoyance, which is where the 'games generation' loses their grasp on how serious a real battle is. If you are hit, it hurts and will have consequences fro the rest of your life (ask Sapper). Don't forget, 'the rest of your life' could mean anything from 80 years plus to now. If your mates are hit, they are gone...... it's not just a case of re-spawning and carrying on. War is pain, sweat, blood and fear.

As for a sniper's effect on the battle field, it may be true that a sniper cannot make an advance or capture ground. A good sniper however, when employed properly, can 'punch well above his own weight' in the effect he has on the enemy. By targeting radio operators and officers they can effect the command and control of a unit, to the extent that small units can become ineffective if only for short periods. By engaging targets that feel safe (resting, eating and even going to the toilet) they can have a very serious effect on the moral of their enemy. It's hard to rest when you don't feel safe and troops who aren't rested become ineffective. If you engage a section's gun group you can reduce a section's firepower by almost half.

For these reasons, if you are being engaged by effective sniper fire, an inappropriate amount of firepower is used to destroy even suspected sniper hides in order to neutralize the sniper threat. Recent footage of AT missiles being used to take out a bush 1.5 Km away in Afghanistan can be given as an example.

What I'm basically saying is that any death or injury is very serious, not an annoyance and that if snipers had no real effect they wouldn't have built up the ethos that the have.

[marcus69x]

Good post Plant pilot.

[von Poop]

Isn't a lot of modern sniping focused on destroying materiel (communications stuff, dishes, masts etc.) with large calibre things like that accuracy international monster and the Barrett?
Friend of a friend (never really the best kind of source) used to train British bods in Wales and implied this was increasing in importance.

[Gerry Chester]

Hi Marcus,

Neither - perhaps just a little peeved since one damaged my persona in Tunisia!

Cheers, Gerry

[marcus69x]

Hi Gerry. Are you able to tell us what happened in Tunisia?

[Gerry Chester]

Hi Gerry. Are you able to tell us what happened in Tunisia?

Hi Marcus,

There's the relevant extract from my narrative:

"Early Sunday morning, 28th March Bangor, her turret repaired, was in action supporting infantry to clear Djebel Abiod of the enemy, during which time I received an insult to my tender persona. While spotting for enemy targets a sniper shattered the binoculars which I was using. Fortunately, other than several cuts on the face and some embedded fragments in the arms, no serious damage was done. Roy expertly removed the debris then, to staunch the flow of blood, he liberally painted face and arms with one of the Army's cure-alls - Gentian Violet. Despite Roy's ministrations, a few days later, I awoke drenched in sweat and with painful lumps in my armpits. Despite having faithfully taken the daily dose of Mepacrine tablets I was sure that I was suffering from an attack of malaria, however, after the MO had examined me he said it was not so but hospitalisation was necessary. Cpl Billy Cleghorne, of his Medical Group, then took me to the hospital in Beja where, following tests, the diagnosis was some form of poisoning."

Actually it was stupid of me as we were attacking eastwards in the early morning - the binoculars must have seemed a pair of searchlights. The only mementos are a scar just left of my right eye and a small chunk out the tip of my nose.

Regards, Gerry

[MyIdolRommel]

Also i would assume that Snipers greatly effect enemy moral by slowly picking off there mates.

Also what do you guys think of the "All snipers Are Cowards" quote from Enemy at the Gates

[Cpl Rootes]

I love sniping games coz i done a snipers course (short one).
I wait (in game) for up to 1 hour take about 2 or 3 shots then bu**er off.

[marcus69x]

Excellent account Gerry. Thanx for that.

[plant-pilot]

Originally Posted by Cpl Rootes

I love sniping games coz i done a snipers course (short one).

Oh really? A short one? Sounds like a tall one to me.