SCHARFSCHUTZEN DER WAFFEN-SS

In the beginning of W.W.II the German war-machine all but abandoned the sniper tactics that served so well in the trench warfare of W.W.I. The Blitzkrieg moved to fast so even though the wehrmacht had the sniper capability the high command saw little need to use that resource until the soviet snipers took such great tolls at Stalingrad.
(1) With the great interest in reenacting of the wehrmacht late in its infancy the high command of German reenacting units have not set forth in active pursuit of a sniper program which takes a way from the unit's authenticity sense there were six snipers attached to each Kompanie.
(2) The sniper programs could be easily started and maintained through a cadre of qualified U.S. Marine Corps Scout Snipers or U.S. Army Snipers with basic study of the scharfschutzen techniques because much of this country's sniper system was based off of the German style. A two day course could prepare a scharfschutzen kanidat to become a sniper for reenactment in fact that was as much training as the Russian snipers had for combat.
(3) The proper weapon could be the K98k in the sniper configuration or the Moisin-Nagant which was carried throughout the war by many German sharpshooters because of its superior long range accuracy due to its longer barrel.

The course of study for the school should concentrate mainly on camouflage and fieldcraft. Range estimation and marksmanship should be taught also but only as familiarization not to actually be used in reenactment. The course could be used at the same time to train the sniper team observers who would usually carry a MP 40 or a K98k and binoculars. This school would also teach stalking techniques which are extremely important in turning the sturmmann into a Kopfjager. The need for this training is best validated once it has been implemented.

The wehrmacht saw the need for snipers so great that they had 30 schools to train their scharfshcutzen with a monthly quota of 25,000 4X scopes. The Waffen-SS thought so highly of snipers that on the 50th kill the sniper was awarded a watch and reported to Himmler's Field Headquarters, the 100th received a hunting rifle, and on the 150th kill was invited to go hunting with Himmler himself. If sniping was that important to the Waffen-SS our legacy should not be denied and the LAH should lead the way.

Kanidat J.C. Miller Scout Sniper U.S.M.C.