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Military snipers are highly trained marksmen who target individual enemy soldiers. They are regarded as vital specialists in modern warfare, and their role evolved throughout the Great War. As Martin Pegler shows in this wide-ranging, authoritative study, the technique of sniping adapted rapidly to the conditions of static warfare that prevailed through much of the conflict.His account follows the development of sniping from the early battles of 1914, through the trench fighting and the attributional offensives of the middle years, to the renewed open warfare of 1918. He concentrates on the continuous British and German sniping war on the Western Front, but he also looks at how snipers operated in other theaters, at Gallipoli and Salonika and on the Eastern Front. Sniper training, field craft and counter-sniping measures are described in detail. There is a full reference section giving the specification of the sniping rifles of the period and assessing their effectiveness in combat. Also featured are vivid memoirs and eyewitness accounts that offer a fascinating insight into the lethal skill of Great War snipers and their deadly trade.

"Following the success of Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper, sniper expert Martin Pegler gives us an in-depth study of the emergence of American rifleman, sharpshooter and sniper, examining the evolution of the rifle in America from the earliest firearms of the 15th century to the highly accurate sniping rifles of the 21st century. Pegler analyses the technological development of the rifle, sighting systems and ammunition and uses contemporary accounts to describe how the use of the rifle during the Revolutionary War, Civil War and the conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries have impacted on US military history. This detailed account concludes with a study of the American sniper in modern warfare, including Afghanistan and the ongoing conflict in Iraq, providing an overview of the march of weapons technology, as well as an unusual insight into the lives and the motives of the men who used them."--Bloomsbury Publishing