THE SNIPER.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 217, 13 October 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE SNIPER.

SMASHING A LEAD PENCIL AT 200 YARDS. A paper on "The Work of Sniping in the War," defining the importance (if the use of marksmanship which takes its name, as a military term, from the South African War, appears in the "Windsor Magazine" for August. In the course of his narrative, the autho \ Mr. Walter G. Ford, says: " 'To snipe' is a verb of grim and fateful mejining which was added to the military vocabulary during the Boer War. For it was dour marksmen of tlio veldt who taught our army the value of cover in the advance. It was the Afro-Dutchman who showed how deadly an acquisition the prowling rifleman could bo—the fily duellist of dark or day, knowing no will hut his own, carrying optical aids and ample store:,- for the long and luring game of man stalking, with a thousand weapons pitted against his own. "In this war of wars every wile and guile of hushcraft has l>een tried by snipers of all ranks and races, from the- German to the Gurkha, from tht man of Anzac to the Turk —not to mention Tommy of our on rank and file, who absorbed the lessons of them all, and sprang a tow of his own with ?n artless art which utterly confounded the foe. Of all the dread noises of the war, none : s more feared or more sinister and sure, than the zip and whine or put-t-t of the sniper's bullet. For the man who counts exacts close obedience of his machine. "A special section of trench was reserved for the exclusive use of one 'star' Australian, and he had observers ever on the watch for possible prey. He had the patience of Job, this g'ant of quiet eye, with his telescopic sights and sensitive finger which never lefc the trigger. No cat ever watched tha mouse-hoLo more intently than did that man of Anzae, standing on the firestep of his trench, with every rango measured to a yard. So accurate was his aim that he could smash a lead-pen-cil at 200 yards."

CUNNING POSITIONS. "Haystacks and trees arc common porches for the solitary marksman; but thero was a crack Prussian guardsman whose lair was a cemetery grave with a hinged lid over it, an in.scribed cross, with pathetic wreaths to turn away the eyes of inquisitive fury and i\venge. "Tin's man did shocking execution ov,e.ry evening, and organised hunts were without avail. His bullets were examined. They were from the German service Mauser, probably with a silencer attachment, for each report was curiously faint. How a party *f Pathan pioneer-s, lay;ng telephone wires at night, tracked down this living occupant of a grave Js a thrilling detective tale though much too long to bo told. Certainly the cemetery sniper had a whole arsenal of ammunition in his 'coffin,' and no fewer than 117 identification disc}-;, taken from men ho had killed.

"Beyond all doubt it was experts like this who initiated the Turk into the aro of sniping as practised in this war. And many a desperate duel did tho Auzac-s fight with wily Jacko, as they called the Moslem, accepting r, s a challenge the first mysterious shot from the scrubby nullahs of that terrible peninsula. Many of the Turkish snipers wore elaborately painted so as to harmonise with the hillside desert on 'protective resemblance' lines. Some wore, clothed with leaves and gorse. A Syrian sergeant who tumbled out of a trc-e was green all over —cap, uniform, face, hands, and rifle! And they approached our trenches in similar disguise, either to shoot or throw bombs. 'Tho Turks aire brave and clever snipers.' is the testimony of LieutenantColonel Leslie Wilson, D.5.0., M.P. 'They often put small trees on their backs, and so ere op up to us. I watched a bush which I thought shook unduly, though there was not a breath of wind. We got on to it with massed volleys, and that bush quivered fof the last tuna.' "Strangest of all were the Turkish women snrpers, of whom m.nny were brought in."