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(More customer reviews)It would appear that this title has not been published since its first appearance in 1920; a great pity given its unique subject and the authors' expertise and experience in the field. Prior to the war, Hesketh-Prichard had been a big-game hunter, expert shot, cricketer, and travel author. He entered the army in 1914 and set about trying to improve the poor standard of British army sniping evident in France, eventually creating the "The First Army School of Sniping, Observing and Scouting (SOS)" which set the standard for sniping in France.
In this very readable book, the author discusses his enthusiasm for sniping and the problems he encountered setting up such a school in a British army that had no `Establishment' (his words) for such a thing. Early on he describes seeing a sniper in action who was adamant he was putting every one of his bullets through the enemy's loop-hole at 600 yards with his telescopic rifle. Hesketh-Prichard observed through his own Ross telescope that they were consistently striking six feet to the left. This illustrates a common theme in the book, where `snipers' used telescopic rifles that weren't sighted in, were poorly maintained, and were used by untrained soldiers with little or no experience of stalking, using cover, or camouflage. The result was that the Germans had the upper hand and were causing appalling casualties. Hesketh-Prichard could see the benefit to unit morale of having truly expert snipers using specialist weapons, and successfully fought to teach this unique skill.
The book discusses the early days, memories of both sniping and observing, the curriculum of the School, the training of the Portuguese, and includes two chapters illustrating the value of observation and information-gathering, `Wilibald The Hun' and "The Cat'. Following the book proper is three appendices that discuss the training of observers, the general teaching cource at the First Army School of SOS, and care of arms, range practice, patrolling and scouting, the stalking telescope, front line observation and reports, use of scouts, observers and snipers in attack, defence and open warfare, and the Enfield 1914 pattern `snipers rifle'.
The text is leavened with a number of expert sketches and photographs illustrating points in the book, such as cover and camouflage, observation, etc. I did note several instances of lax proof-reading, limited to full stops in inappropriate places. These do not detract from what is a fine book written by a recognized expert in his field, and which is a joy to read. Very highly recommended.
This review is of the 2004 hardcover edition by Helion & Co.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Sniping in France 1914-18: With Notes on the Scientific Training of Scouts, Observers, and Snipers (Helion Library of the Great War)
The first volume in the new Helion Library of the Great War, a series designed to bring into print rare books long out-of-print, as well as producing translations of important and overlooked material that will contribute to our knowledge of this conflict. Sniping in France provides a detailed and richly-informative account of how the snipers of the Great War British army trained and fought, and measures taken against their German counterparts. The author was responsible for organising a cohesive structure to the training of the snipers via the First Army School of Scouting, Observation and Sniping, established in 1916. Written in a very readable style, filled with anecdotes and fascinating detail, the author's study covers the genesis of sniping in the army, his early days instructing XI Corps, and then First Army, including much on the curriculum and work at that unit's School of Scouting, Observation and Sniping. It also includes anecdotal chapters describing sniping memories, before concluding with recollections of training the Portugese Expeditionary Force's snipers, and looking ahead to the future of sniping.
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