World War II Database

A long list of larger-than-life snipers came out of WW2, ranging from the relatively unknown (in the west) Simo Häyhä of Finland to the celebrated Vasily Zaytsev of the Soviet Union. Venturing a little bit beyond my usual WW2-related territory, I picked up Robert Stirling's Special Forces Sniper Skills to get a better understanding of this specialized role. The author did a good job presenting the history, weapons, techniques, psychology, and a great many other topics that, collectively, provided a multi-angled study of snipers. Although at times I felt that the organization of the content could use some improvement, the author's knowledge in this topic, backed by his own training and experience as a soldier, was apparent. As a WW2 history enthusiast, it was certainly interesting to learn that while sniper rifle technology advanced leaps and bounds after 1945, some of the well-known WW2-era sniper rifles remained in use in the very same roles for some years to come. The author's brief venture in the final chapter into the future of weapons development was a bit off-topic but nevertheless interesting, posing food for thought on whether years from now unmanned aerial vehicles, for example, would ever replace humans in the sniper role. As one with little knowledge on soldiering, I found this book to be an extremely interesting diversion from my typical readings.

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