Interviews with soviet soldiers in this case snipers.
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Initially the exercises were easy. The size of a target – full-length, half-length, and running targets. Then they complicated the exercises gradually. The most difficult thing was to fire at a “head” target that suddenly appeared for several seconds at a distance about 300-400 meters.
More about distances.
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There was another episode when we executed a specific task. A German sniper appeared at our sector of defense and started troubling us. Volodia and I used the same tactics of hunting. There was, however, only one difference: the day was sunny, therefore I slightly rocked my rifle with the optical sight over the parapet to motivate the German to fire.
As a rule, sniper's position lay a bit into the no man's zone. The best distance to fire was some 300–500 meters. We took our positions in the dark. We were allowed to leave them in the daytime only if it was possible to do it imperceptibly. If not – we sat until dark.
To execute a specific order we spent as long time as needed to liquidate the appointed target. More frequently we had free daily hunting and we liked it. You continue fighting from the same position as long as you are sure that it hasn't been discovered. Otherwise you should make off quickly.
Another interview by a female sniper:
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But the Germans also put a sniper to watch us. And so I was watching, observing during my shift (because the eyes would get tired), and Marusia said: "Let me take the watch now." She got up, it was a sunny day, and she apparently moved the lens. As soon as she got up, there was a shot, and she fell. Oh, how I cried! The German was 200 meters away from us. I screamed so loud it could be heard all over the trenches, soldiers ran out: "Quiet, quiet, or they'll open mortar fire!" But how could I be quiet? She was my best friend. We sat until the evening, and I kept crying all that time. Then we buried her. I remember there were many wildflowers. It was at Orsha, at the 3rd Belorussian Front. Later her grave was moved to Mogilev, that's where she had been born. Later Nadia Lugina was also wounded from among us. My second partner was also named Marusia, last name Guliakina.
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A.D. What were you taught at the school?
They taught us tactics, how to shoot, how to camouflage. Also ballistics, how the bullet flies. Here it flies, here it hits -- I forgot everything already.
A.D. Sniping partner couples were formed at the school?
At the school. When we came as civilians, Marusia Chikhvintseva and I stood next to each other, so we remained partners with her.
A.D. And did you train as partners?
Yes.
A.D. So it seems that the entire group was sent to one sector of the front?
No. Many of us graduated, I couldn't say how many now, but they sent us to all fronts.
A.D. But your group was constant? You had six pairs, right?
About 12 of us, six pairs. Simultaneously. A squad was 10 soldiers, but there were more of us.
A.D. What was the total number of Germans you killed?
I don't remember, Germans killed in battle weren't counted, only in the defense.
A.D. How did you count the kills?
The commander in whose trench we were would write a note. And we would return with it.
A.D. Then it's not clear, what if you only wounded him?
Yes, it could be, but we counted as killed.
A.D. So if he fell, that's a kill?
Yes. How would you check?
A.D. What was the usual distance you fired from?
At the school or at the front?
A.D. At the front.
1200 meters, and 200 meters. Our lines were close. Once Germans attacked our trench and took some girls prisoner, and killed them there. They killed Klava Monakhova. Only one soldier survived, there was an abandoned dug-out, simply a hole in the soil covered with a ground-sheet with snow on top, he hid there. Germans held out for a day, so he spent the day there.
A.D. What was the standard distance from which you fired? Or an optimal one?
Well, what's there to say? The rifle could shoot two kilometers in a straight line. But you could observe up to 800 meters. At the school we fired at 200, and 300. There was night target practice. Different kinds of shooting.
A.D. Even at night?
Even at night. How else?
A.D. Did you shoot at night at the front?
No.
A.D. And in the moonlight?
No. As soon as it dawned we went to our position, as soon as it got dark we returned. We stayed not in the trenches, but at the regiment commander's command post.
A.D. How many shots did you fire from one position?
One. You couldn't do two.
A.D. Or else you'd get killed?
Of course!
A.D. So, in practice that would amount to one shot per day?
Yes, if you kill, otherwise you might not have even one.
A.D. And partners were always next to each other?
Yes, at arm's length. Together all the time. Some went outside the defenses, but we didn't. Why? Because minefields had to be cleared, and that was very difficult and dangerous for the sappers. Then again, we stood as soldiers in the daytime, while the soldiers were resting. There were fifty soldiers in a trench. Ten of them, no more, stood watch at night
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A.D. Did you use binoculars?
No, only the optical sight.
A.D. But the sight doesn't have a good field of view?
You could see 800 meters very well. You would sit there without moving, and if you moved, then you were noticed. A sniper would lie there quietly and see to the distance of two kilometers, 800 meters wide. He would observe everything. When I got tired, I would say "Marusia, I'm done," -- she would start observing. Because sniper's task was to eliminate commanders, machine gun emplacements, messengers that would be running around. They also had to be eliminated. Soldiers were not necessary, mostly -- officers, commanders. You would fire one shot, let go of the rifle, and lie there. You would wait until your partner fired her shot. When it became dark, we left our position. During the day we walked around, looked for a good spot to lie in wait. Sometimes picked a spot in front of our trenches. After picking a spot, took up the position when it was dark. Then we lay there without moving a muscle until the next evening, because you couldn't crawl away in the daylight. If there was an attack, that was different, then you would get up and run. Otherwise, you would lie in that spot to the end.
A.D. Did you have hand grenades?
Yes. We carried two hand grenades on our belt. One for the fascists, one for yourself, so you wouldn't be captured by the fascists. It was necessary.
A.D. Did you fire in the crosswind?
Yes, we were trained to do that. And firing at moving targets as well. Different things. Some fired, others spun those targets. At our school, there was one good trench, and one small one. God save you from being sent there, you would spend the entire day in the snow. After you returned, you would literally tear your foot bindings off your feet. Everyone's feet hurt.
A.D. Because you had to lie in the snow?
Yes. At the front we also lay in the swamps. Near Leningrad, there were only swamps. If a horse passed by, there was water under the hoofs. You would wash yourself with it, and even drink from that hoof print.
A.D. Did you have a regular Mosin rifle?
Yes, a three-line rifle (line=1/10 inch, 3 lines=7.62 mm - trans.) with a bayonet. Regular one. Always with a bayonet and an optical sight.
A.D. Why the bayonet?
Just in case, if you go on the attack. An entrenching tool, a mess tin, two grenades, ammo, first aid kit.
A.D. What was the farthest target you hit?
Near the Dnieper, a machine gunner and a sniper.
A.D. What was the distance there?
Across a field, they were sitting in a shed. Probably a kilometer, if not more. A target could be hit up to two kilometers.
A.D. You were attached to a regiment? A sniper squad was attached to a regiment?
To a regiment. A trench was given to us. That was the place we went until the offensive began. In a designated area.
A.D. What was the sense in that? If you couldn't occupy the same position?
There was a lot of room there. We had 500 meters, and there were two of us.
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A.D. Maybe there were some incidents you could talk about in detail?
How I killed? It was horrible. Better not. I told you, Olga and I lay at arm's length from each other. We spoke quietly because the German would be there not far in front of us. They were listening to everything. Their outposts were better organized, after all. We tried not to move, to say something quietly, find a target. Everything would grow so numb! For example, I would say: "Olia, mine." She would already know -- she wouldn't kill that one. After the shot I would only help her observe. I would say, for example: "There, behind that house, behind that bush", and she would already know where to look. We took turns shooting. During the daytime we were always in position, came and left at night. Every day. No days off.
A.D. So you're saying, you couldn't move the rifle?
Absolutely no!
A.D. So how did it lie? Simply against the shoulder?
Against the shoulder and your finger was always on the trigger. Because you might've had to pull it at any moment. The sector of fire was 800 m. And so you would look, and suddenly a target would appear. When the target reached the crosshairs, then I fired. This means that the target walked into the shot on its own. And, of course, that spot would've been ranged.
There is certainly far more to good shooting in war than markmanship...
Firn