Eastern Front Sniper

Books on sniping hold a fascination for long-range target shooters, especially from the period of WWII.

This work is a curious mixture of history, training manual techniques for snipers and biography. It focuses on the wartime experiences of Matthaus Hetzenauer who won the Iron Cross First Class and accounted for around 346 confirmed kills. Hetzenauer grew up in the Alps where he learned the skills to hunt deer and other game. These skills were later put to good use as a sniper, when he joined the German army. The author explains Hetzenhauer’s early life and wartime service and his capture by the Russians in 1945 and then his post-war life. Part of the book comprises of training techniques and illustrations from the manuals and is fascinating stuff. If you are interested in the history of sniping, this is a book for you.