The work of a sniper became relevant back in the First World War. Quite quickly, it developed into a separate military activity. The creators of sniping were the Germans, who included one fighter armed with a rifle with a telescopic sight in a light machine gun unit. In a day, a German sniper could destroy several opponents, in a month this figure grew many times.
The article will focus on only one sniper. Josef Allerberger is one of the most successful Wehrmacht snipers. Only one soldier who served in the same division managed to surpass him. Two hundred fifty-seven people - the number of killed opponents, according to official figures.
Biography
Josef Allerberger was born on December 24, 1924. Although he himself claimed that his birthday was in September. Place of birth is Styria, Austria. He was a machine gunner for a short time, after which he was transferred to the sniper division.
Family
Josef's family was not much different from other families of that time. The father was a carpenter. The son also wanted to achieve success in this profession. Already at the age of eighteen, Josef managed to master all the intricacies of this case.
World War II
In 1942, Josef Allenberger was drafted into the German army. The Alps became the place of service. The reason was that he came from mountainous regions (Salzburg, Austria). He managed to enter the battle only in the summer of 1943. According to Wacker's book "The German Sniper on the Eastern Front 1942-1945", Josef had to undergo a training course that lasted about six months. All this time he was trained as a machine gunner.
The 3rd Mountain Division became Josef's duty station. During the bloody battles, he changed a lot. From the memoirs of a sniper, it is known that only he and the company commander managed to survive from the group. Now the young man looked ten years older and was no longer as naive as at home. The only desire of the soldier was to survive.
The regiment in which Josef had to serve did not have its own snipers. It is located near Voroshilovsk. During the winter months, the regiment was reduced to a quarter. Recruits were supposed to restore the regular number, which was done by the command in the following months. At that time, clashes with the Soviet army decreased. Only occasionally did shelling and small skirmishes occur.
However, Russian snipers created serious problems. Basically, their victims were untrained soldiers who had just arrived in the 144th regiment. It was difficult to pinpoint the shooter's position. In rare cases, it was possible to destroy a sniper with a machine gun or mortar. Even then it was clear that the regiment needed its own snipers.
Josef Allerberger praised Soviet snipers in his memoirs. They are well camouflaged andcreated huge problems. They fired from a distance of less than 50 meters, which meant one hundred percent accuracy. Often a German soldier had the feeling that Russian snipers would destroy the entire regiment.
Wounded
Already at that time, Josef Allerberger began to understand that, being a machine gunner, there was little chance of surviving until the end of the war. The thing is that they were most often subjected to fire from large guns. Everything changed after a light wound in the arm.
It was the fifth day of fighting, and a shell exploded not far from Josef. After the end of the battle, he went to a makeshift hospital. Here, Allerberger's eyes opened up terrible pictures: there were many wounded around. Since his damage was not critical, he had to wait in line for three hours. The wound was treated without anesthesia. The soldier was held by a corporal, and the doctor skillfully cleaned and stitched up the wound.
Training
After his recovery, Josef Allerberger was assigned to simple work. At the same time, he decided in any way to try to avoid service, being listed as a machine gunner. Since Josef was a carpenter, he was assigned to restore the butts of weapons, as well as to sort them.
One day a Russian sniper rifle fell into Allerberger's hands. Josef wanted to practice shooting from it, which he asked the non-commissioned officer to do. Immediately, the soldier showed impressive results and managed to establish himself as a good sniper.
Recovery of he alth lasted fourteen days, after which Allerberger was supposed to return to the company. On thefarewell, the non-commissioned officer gave him a sniper rifle with a telescopic sight.
Return to the front
In August 1943, Josef returned to the company, received from the sergeant a black badge "For the wound" and award documents. Allerberger managed not to get into the camp of machine gunners. Now he is a sniper. The news of his appearance quickly spread throughout the regiment. Colleagues welcomed Josef warmly.
Soon the commander approached Allerberger and gave the task to destroy the Soviet sniper. He has long haunted the German soldiers. The first shot from a rifle without a scope was accurate. The Germans rushed into battle. After a hundred meters, Allerberg and his colleagues discovered the body of a dead sniper. The bullet hit right in the eye, leaving a huge hole in the head. The shooter was sixteen years old. Josef felt sick at the sight of his victim. At that moment, as he himself recalled, he was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt, pride and horror. However, none of his colleagues tried to condemn him.
For about nine months, the German sniper fought with the Soviet trilinear. Josef himself noted that only seniors in rank could count the killed enemies, despite the fact that he was a field sniper. Enemies not killed with sniper weapons did not count. So the official statistics of the victims may be seriously different from the real one.
Vacation
Like many WWII snipers, Josef, thanks to his excellent service, was able to earn himself a vacation. In 1944 he went to Germany, where he took training courses and learned a lot for himself. Now he has become more prudent andprofessional shooter.
After that, the Mauser 98k became the new weapon of the German sniper. Often he had to use the rifle "W alter 43". Allerberger spoke positively about this weapon, noting its extreme effectiveness at different distances.
Skills
Josef Allerberger quite extensively described the main principles of the shooter's survival. As you know, WWII snipers were very much appreciated, and therefore their training was very difficult and long. Allerberger believed that every shooter must be able to choose a position that can be changed in case of danger. Not superfluous is a spare pre-prepared place for a sniper.
The chief corporal paid great attention to disguise. Here he used the well-known Wehrmacht technique, in which the sniper merged with the vegetation. The weapon also needed to be disguised. The face and hands had to be covered with mud, but it did not hold well, so plant sap was more often used. Similarly, Josef Allerberger disguised himself throughout the war. This camouflage was light and comfortable, and it could be used under any circumstances.
However, he called psychological stability, as well as courage, the main feature of a good shooter. Last but not least, Allerberger put the sniper's accuracy and caution.
Joseph didn't like the way of selecting snipers, which was based only on shooting skills and the ability to disguise. Priority in sniper combat was aimed at the soldier's ability to kill. On theThe Eastern Front had to spend most of its time in battles at medium distances up to five hundred meters. Kills at a distance of more than eight hundred meters were already considered lucky.
The shooting of not only German, but also Soviet snipers was usually carried out at the enemy's corps. It was hard to hit the head. By shooting into the body, the sniper increased his chances of hitting. In addition, hits to the hull also disabled the enemy and helped to avoid noticing the shooter.
Josef Allerberg gave many examples of how successfully a sniper rifle can be used against infantry, incapacitating soldiers.
Awards
Josef Allerberger received the Knight's Cross on 20 April 1945. However, there is no official confirmation of this. Nevertheless, during that period, many soldiers received similar awards.
The end of the war
The end of World War II found Josef in Czechoslovakia. By this point, he had become a fairly recognizable personality, thanks to Goebbels' propaganda. His photographs appeared several times in German newspapers. However, such popularity could do him a disservice. Fearing being captured, Allerberger decided to do everything to return home.
For about two weeks, together with his colleagues, Josef made his way through the Alpine forests. We had to move at night, so as not to run into the patrols of the American army. On June 5, 1945, Allerberger managed to reach his native village. She had not changed at all, as he himself mentioned, as if she had slept through the whole war. It was quiet and calm around.
Allerberger had toto go to many battles. However, the sniper not only survived, but was not seriously injured either.
Josef's later life is not unusual. He worked as a simple carpenter, like his father. Allerberger died on March 3, 2010 in the city of Salzburg (Austria). At that time, the German sniper was 85 years old.
Memory
In 2005, the book "Sniper on the Eastern Front" was released. The work consists of the memoirs of Josef Allerberger. The book has collected not only positive reviews. Many critics believe that information is distorted in it, and Josef himself exaggerates his achievements.
Allerberger decided to tell his memoirs only fifty years after the end of the war. In long conversations with the writer, the sniper told his vision of the war. The reader is given the opportunity to see these horrors through the eyes of an ordinary German shooter.
It should be said that all the names in the book have been replaced. This was done to save Allerberger. After all, even in his own country, he is considered not an outstanding sniper, but a brutal killer. However, all events are real, the names of other actors are also fictitious.
