How Snipers Changed War

[@historyofeverythingpodcast]

Thank you all for watching everyone. I was really sad the video had issues yesterday as this took over a week to make. Drop a like and comment to support. Thank you all

[@olysiparadox8886]

I'm glad you were able to get it reuploaded as one video; I don't know why I was expecting the fix in a "part 2" format but this is greatly preferrable

[@alexfluit2308]

Thanks for all the content

[@namename3130]

Heya, the 'in ww2 the average number of bullets required to one soldier was 20-25 thousand' statistic seems totally unbelievable to me, where did you read that?

[@namename3130]

And the other similar values

[@adiabeticjedi3278]

I'm so glad. I just got done binging YT shorts for two hours and said "I need to stop". The I saw this video up and said "This is an exception." Lol

[@BHuang92]

Simo Haiya was asked how he got to become the deadliest sniper in history. His answer was simply quote, "Practice"

[@TJ-if3pr]

Something something I don't fear the man who practiced 1000 punches 1 time, I fear the man who practiced 1 punch 1000 times.

[@DarthMirasshtar]

"Traget rich environment"

[@Sizeofabigbitch]

Russia: hey, we're going to take that, thanks. Simon Haiya: hope you like long naps in the snow. Aimo Koivunen: But what if I took ALL the meth? 80 years later Finland: how many times do we have to tell you, old man?

[@Larzang]

His name was Simo Häyhä. The White Death, The Magic Marksman. He was but one man, but his fighting spirit lives on with his people. Anyone that threatens our homeland... does so at their peril. 🇫🇮

[@makukawakami]

Imagine getting no-scoped by a short Finnish farmer

[@BigE1986]

Modern snipers (outside of urban settings) are begining to be used more for recon and to call in strikes instead of take the shots themselves. The idea being. Wed rather hit with missles or artillery than have the sniper take a shot and possibly give away their position. Allowing the sniper team to stay in the area longer and deliver more targets

[@makukawakami]

Scout snipers exist in multiple militaries. Also with drone tech nowadays I'm sure pocket drones are going to be added in a recon/scout sniper's kit

[@fortusvictus8297]

'back in the day' snipers were not considered soldiers. Kind of like spies who stole mail or assassinated officers in garrison. It was considered outside the duty and morality of a Christian soldier and to deliberately single a person out, especially a 'gentleman' who didn't even carry a long gun, was considered malicious and murderous. Over time western society has become far less concerned with things like morality, thus snipers became slowly more acceptable. Even in WW1 and WW2 there wasn't much stomach for snipers as a dedicated job.

[@vitigaymer1053]

Yep. A lot of elite units refer to "Snipers" as "Recce" because reconnoitering is alot more important than any shots they may be expected to take.

[@HansLemurson]

Ghost reporting. I read you. *_Nuclear Launch Detected_*

[@laforce36]

Facts.

[@Northraider123]

how many battles through out history have the same ending of "and then an enemy leader got killed and his soldiers routed causing the frontline to collapse"? you'd think the ability to potenially cause this would have been explored as soon as rifling became a thing

[@dragonsword7370]

Alexander of Macedonia routed the Persians too many times than they should, for the Persian rules where if their king, commander, Darius the third would leave the formation that was considered a sign to withdraw. Alexander used this strategy, rushing him and his cavalry towards Darius' position. And this often enough forced him to move and could finish the fight early. And in Alexander's favor. That's the only one I can think of right now.

[@kairakuwaeldreor3868]

The tartar and mongols both had specific horse archers whose role was to pick out commanders and eliminate the and they probably weren't the first to do it

[@manupontheprecipice6254]

Better to capture an enemy officer for easy intel (maybe tainted honestly) and for trading of prisoners of war. Back in the days of the 8th to 18th centuries, capturing an officer or commander was a priority as they were nobles and holding them hostage for ransom was a way of paying for the battle or war at times.

[@Mr.InbetweenFX]

For an extremely long time in Asia (and Europe for that matter) warfare was more so a display of pageantry and prestige. Much like wrestling where the losers and winners were basically predetermined and simply carried out for population control and a reminder of who's in charge. This slowly changed when Sun Tzu (or the group of strategists known under this authors name) realized the horrors of war and after enough observation- decided that true strategies for victory were necessary in order to limit combat if not end it altogether. The killing of commanders and rulers on the battlefield, though being viewed as "unsporting" was taken up rather early once warfare were realized to be the violent and bloody activity it really is. Sniping isn't unsporting when it rapidly ends the bloodshed of potential thousands/millions, and that was realized way too late though having such an understanding of the consequences of long distance killing.

[@Tommy9834]

It was. But two things, the enemy usually didn't make it easy to hit their leader, and the technology wasn't always there. In the future, if you come to a conclusion that seems obvious, it's safe to assume, someone, in the long history of mankind, it also probably occured to someone, somewhere in history. And if it didn't happen, it's probably safer to assume that there someone YOU overlooked, as opposed to thinking you're smarter than the entirety of the people in history.

[@dragonweyr44]

Snipers were used in every single US war, but the problem is that after the war was over, the sniper and the sniper schools were disbanded. Sniping was seen as a dishonorable profession in the US military and the brass hated them. But, invariably, the next war comes around and the need for snipers and sniper schools were needed again, only to be disbanded again when the war ended only to be restarted again By the time the Vietnam ended however, the brass finally realized that it would be a good idea that to keep snipers around after the war ended SO, in the 1970s, the first peacetime sniper schools was estabished which exist today

[@kieranadamson3224]

I really don't get how sniping is seen as dishonourable. Taking out key targets has always been a big wish of any army and having one man who can do the job of an entire offensive is incredibly valuable. Plus, going all the way back the time where we fought with shields and swords. This idea of the honourable warrior who was respected by all due to his proficiency with a blade is bullshit. Warriors have always done what was most effective.

[@dragonweyr44]

@@kieranadamson3224 During the Revolutionary war, it was seen as dishonorable, from the British perspective because "How can these backwoods Yankees target our officers" (I'm paraphrasing here) Snipers in other wars were targeted much harsher than normal soldiers as well, enemy forces would usually kill snipers on sight rather than take them prisoners like regular soldiers But the fact that in every single American war until after Vietnam, sniper schools and the snipers themselves were disbanded after the war ended only to be started again from scratch, shows how little the military thought of sniping despite how valuable they were at the time

[@kieranadamson3224]

@@dragonweyr44 yeah, good point, I guess a lot of it comes down to the personal biases of the military staff. Keeping the USA example, the Lewis Gun was actually a US design but the guy in charge of machine gun adoption for some reason just really didn't like Lewis also if I remember correctly he was being paid off by Colt so he made sure it wasn't adopted by the US until like late 1917.

[@dragonweyr44]

@@kieranadamson3224 This is what's similar in the Civil War The Union had the option of obtaining repeating rifles at the start of the war, I forget if they were Henrys or Spencers at the time, but the officer in charge of ordinance for the Union Army didn't want to arm soldiers with 16 shot repeating rifles that were breach loaders in self contained cartridge bullets because he thought they would waste ammunition So instead, they were issues single shot, muzzle loaders that fired 3 rounds a minute, if you were calm and collected that is. Otherwise it was 2 shots per minute or less if you panicked As it was, anyone who wanted one had to pay 3 months salary for a repeater, and that's not even counting ammo

[@MisterMick113]

​@@dragonweyr44that logic still carried on over 100 years later. When the M16a2 was adopted, the military switched to a three round burst so soldiers wouldn't hold down a trigger on automatic and empty a magazine, wasting ammo. Crazy how some things just keep carrying on

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

One thing I always like to point out to people is how camouflage wasn't really a thing until snipers and aircraft made it so you could be killed by the enemy anytime, anywhere. Most average people don't think about how military armor and uniforms used to be polished to a shine and brightly colored to make a statement. By the time of WWI, however, everyone would rather look indispensable from mud.

[@C21H30O2]

Except the French who started the war off wearing red pants.

[@titusflaviusvespasianus8340]

@@C21H30O2 and blue coats

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

@@C21H30O2 Point being, though, by the end of the war brightly colored uniforms for the front line were largely a thing of the past.

[@dragonsword7370]

Some militaries had started changing to adapt to the times. The BEF's Kharki uniform conversion in the late 1880's for example. The US military started switching to greens sometime after the Philippines occupation and quasi war? This whole thing was similar to uniformity and identification needs in the Civil War. At the start, many units that were mustered from nat guard militias in their states showed up in some rather weird stuff for the first battle of Bull Run. One northern unit was rocking fez's and billowy pants. One rather infamous unit from, Pennsylvania I think? Strolled in wearing revolutionary war garb. Chosen specifically, not accidentally. Other units across the lines had color miscoordination. Blue uniforms in the Rebel ranks, and Grey covered Union ranks met up and confusedly blasted into eachother. No pun intended but Blue On Blue accidents were very prevalent, especially with the mixed up color scheme. Union on Union, Rebel on Rebels, and against eachother. That battle alone was a mess. On lookers from DC showed up like it was a picnic, to observe on hilltops far away. But not far enough that some were ran over and caught in the crossfire. France was funny in WW1 for rocking the old blue blouses, and red pants. That lasted far longer than there was any right for it too. Sorry if that got a bit long and ranty, it's a habit.

[@sonicmeerkat]

i wouldn't so much say as a statement, moreso that firearms were so smokey it created such a bad fog all you could see was colour, so having all your units use the same colour is a fairly effective way of preventing friendly fire.

[@EternalNewb]

I had a great uncle who was a sniper in the Korean war. Snipers were so hated/feared that ANYTHING that could be used as a sniper perch would be levelled by artillery. Tree? Boom. Bell tower? Boom. He was apparently disciplined on a couple of different occasions for refusing to move to a location that he know was going to eat an artillery shell the moment fighting started. He survived to tell the occasional story obviously.

[@Butter_Warrior99]

I’m so glad I can learn how hunters can single handedly destroy a military’s leadership.

[@stakuyi]

It really screws with things when distance is involved

[@Butter_Warrior99]

@@stakuyi Especially when it’s just ludicrously one sided in the snipers favor.

[@katen8345]

I would think it's the spinning of the world not the distance but the I guess only matters when very long range

[@benpurcell4935]

@@katen8345It’s a bunch of compounding variables that makes it difficult for long range shooting. The earth’s rotation, distance from target, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and the elevation above sea level.

[@hardhit777]

First off, lower your voice....🧐

[@maxwellingtonperez4882]

The massive amount of ammunition used today is a combination of ease of manufacturing of ammunition, automatic weapon proliferation, and tactics dictating that more rounds means less deaths

[@teamcybr8375]

Yup. Modern tactics prioritize preserving your soldiers over killing the enemy's soldiers.

[@shanehudson3995]

Suppressive fire is a fantastic thing, and allows your buddies to flank.

[@garryuyahoo]

Don't suppress without movement. Don't move without suppression.

[@JayS96Bruh]

Soldiers in war often times don’t shoot to kill as well. They will often intentionally miss in an attempt to scare the enemy into giving up or retreating as most people find it extremely hard to actually kill another person. LindyBeige has an excellent video on the subject.

[@shanehudson3995]

@jays1351 That anecdote doesn't match to the Marines I deployed with.

[@BlueZebraStripe]

“Even some pistols have a sto-“ ATF OPEN UP

[@Xeraghusta]

Come out or we'll shoot your dog

[@nemohimself2580]

"Was that a dog?" Blam blam blam

[@Christopher_Gibbons]

I like how the sniper equalized war. Nobody could hide behind their rank. No matter how high up the comand chain someone is, they still have to follow pricedure and actually play the part. The more important someone is the more discipline and common sense they need to survive.

[@abcdef-cs1jj]

I think the opposite is the case: the sniper further emphasised the unequal nature of war. The higher your rank is, the more likely you are to be wounded or killed in action. That was the case even before snipers. It's a matter of not only the enemy really wanting you dead, but also of being the one to act in dangerous situations and leading by example (ever heard of 'it is unbecoming of a British officer to duck'?) In war, officers are killed at a much higher rate than ordinary soldiers (relatively speaking) just as elite troops are the units with the highest casulty rates - there is an ancient Roman saying that I have to paraphrase because I don't recall the exact words: War devours the brave and spares the weak.

[@6NBERLS]

Yeah, somebody forgot to send the memo to JFK. Although, if he had bothered to read history he would have known that WWI was started when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated while joy riding in the back of an open top car.

[@N7Revan316]

I was a rifle coach in the USMC. We would do snap in for a week prior to range week. They taught us most of this in class, but I think they should add this video as part of the class. Great job.

[@WK-47]

Could you please explain what "snap in" is to us civvies? Thanks for your service.

[@N7Revan316]

@@WK-47 When marines do rifle qual we spend one week “snapping in” to a barrel. We call it Grass Week. We focus on a painted barrel and practice our slings, sight picture, firing positions, trigger discipline, breathing, etc… the next week we go to the range to actually shoot. During Grass Week we also study ballistics and what factors can affect your shooting. It’s why when I shoot at 500 yard I aim a little high and to the right. My rounds will drop usually hitting high chest/ head.

[@geronimogarcia3553]

One thing that I think is funny about this, if anyone remembers the Campaign from Call of Duty: World at War, Reznov said it best: "Sniping your enemy is like hunting any other animal, fire at the wrong moment and your chance will be forever lost." And some of the first recognized military sharpshooters, the Yaegers, were huntsmen. I find that poetic. Any chance we can get a history of how guns replaced bows, and the history of gunpowder?

[@leoaraujo8590]

Jäger (Yaeger) literally means "hunter" in german

[@ayyyitsfrosty40]

Modern day, US Army snipers do a whole lot of sit at look at a particular place. Marine Recon does a whole lot of writing about what they’re looking at. Navy snipers do a ton of forward observation for aerial strikes. You ask any single one of them which branch’s snipers are the best and most if not all would agree it’s none of them. They’d say it’s the coast guard. They hit engines on moving boats from helicopters The coast guard can be compared to the F-22. Both scream “FEED ME!! FEED ME MORE!!”

[@kvoltti]

I’ve talked to friends in the military and to a man they would all chose running at a machine gun nest rather than a sniper.

[@dananorth895]

Depends on the individual. Most probably couldn't pull it off anyway. But there's always one guy.

[@Herdatec]

A couple of linguistic points. The term sniper comes from those hunter who were able to hit a snipe (a shy little bird). Speaking of hunter. The Jäger is the german word for hunter. The modern German Army still uses companies called Jäger. Their job is somewhat uniqe, but similar to the old skirmishing troops of the renaissance. They are light infantry and their job is to move independently of the main troops (aka tanks and grenadiers) and wreak havoc behind enemy lines.

[@titusflaviusvespasianus8340]

Really makes you fear the Feldjäger or Military Police, hunting wrongdoers

[@williams8445]

Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger

[@stevehuffman7453]

snipe are a small (sparrow or fintch size) shore birds mainly found along rivers, streams, and cricks.

[@buddermonger2000]

The biggest thing about the first "sniper" unit being called "Jaegers" and coming from the hunting probably points to the idea that the Hessians were the correct origin.

[@ynraider]

@@buddermonger2000 And the "Hessians" were Black German mercenaries...Blackamoor remnant culture... One of the Founding Fathers of the USA, complained about losing battles to them. That #WS who wrote the USA National Anthem, IIRC. 3rd verse

[@jpteknoman]

Another thing that snipers changed was the uniforms. When you have people that can kill officers from stealth, then officers no longer wear fancy uniforms in the battlefield. Before snipers, the officers wore ornate stuff to show their rank and stand out, after snipers officers wore the same clothes as normal soldiers to avoid being a target

[@tinchalhuon256]

More snipers please, I like to see how they changed over the last half of the 20th century

[@DanielHampton-hz5hj]

Agreed!

[@oharehatmancaleb7]

I was so nervous when I saw this video pop up yesterday, but then say it wasn’t watchable. I’m glad you got it back up, and I hope youtube starts treating your content as respectfully as it deserves.

[@DrunkenAussie76]

I was going to complain about the glossing over that one Finnish sniper remark without giving Simo Haiya even a mention, but the promise to do more in depth videos about successful snipers in history will be a perfect opportunity to remedy that. And hell yeah I want more of your in depth videos, the longer format allows you to get so much more across. Love the videos man, take care of the voice 🍻

[@garryuyahoo]

There's always the Mad Lads bio of him.

[@1003JustinLaw]

The act of taking out a commander on the battlefield was HUGE in an era where communication was slow, snipers single-handedly forced the evolution of better battlefield communications techniques, changes to how battles were fought, AND the way armies were led and commanded, so I’m very glad that you are covering this topic. I’d also like to share an interesting story from my own culture’s, namely China’s, history. During the Jin Empire’s southward campaign around what is now Sichwan back during the 12th century, a military commander of the Jurchen Jin was surveying a Chinese Song military fort that he was attempting to capture from atop a hilltop located at distance of roughly 800 meters from the fort. The fort in question was heavily defended but most importantly it contained a platoon of 12 bed ballistae, a kind of ultra-heavy ballista used by the medieval Chinese armies as a form of heavy siege weapon. A scout apparently spotted this Jin commander upon the hill and, after reporting his findings, the Song commander in charge of the fort decided to aim half of those mega-ballistae in that general direction and fire off a volley, mostly with the intention of scaring his opponent off. Well, what ended up happening was that one of the 300-odd pound projectiles fired by the ballistae struck the Jin commander square in the chest and both he and his horse essentially exploded into a thousand tiny pieces of gore and a massive cloud of red mist. This had the interesting effect of the Jin commander sent to replace his unfortunate predecessor insisting on maintaining a 3-mile distance between himself and the fort at all times until both the fort and all of its ballistae contained within are secured by his army. Given that in those days battlefield communications primarily involved shouting, flag signals, and couriers on horses, a 3-mile gap necessitated something like an hour of delay between the main force of the army and said army’s central command, bogging down that entire campaign for the better part of nearly 50 years. So there we are, not a sniper per se but a similar event that completely altered an entire military operation.

[@willanderson3044]

Dude imagine walking through the city and one of your mates get sniped from somewhere you couldn't see and hide in cover that was facing the sniper and get the majority incapacitated while blindly shooting at spots you think the sniper is but the shots keep comming and the screams of callouts from your mayes gets drowned out by gunfire from your sprays

[@normmcrae1140]

My Grandfather was a sniper with the Canadian Army in WW1. He was shot (4 times) at the Battle of Cambrai in 1918, but survived by walking to an Aid station 5 km away - holding in his own intestines after also being hit by German Artillery.

[@galvinstanley3235]

There is a documentary about the Black Watch snipers on KZbin.

[@94djeep]

This video was awesome. The comments are just as good. Had to rewatch after getting lost in them. Now im just hoping theres more stuff like this.

[@HidinRebel]

Anyone else feel like 40 mins was short and did not drag on but was very informative and fun to watch!? No just me?

[@clean_casual2473]

7:23 small correction the bullet is larger that the barrel because it create a seal for the expanding gases it the barrel. Great video none the less. I just needed to do an "aCtUaLly"

[@vlad.olekhnovich]

I'm really happy that YT recommendations through out your vid. The channel is awesome, especially for me, who puts it on a background, since there is not much of visual content, but the way how you speak basically replaces it. Thank you for your time and energy

[@mowgli2071]

On the issue of the voice hurting, you don't have to complete a video all in one session. If you write an outline, you can cover 20 minutes of a topic, stop, wait 4 hours, and then cover another 20 minutes. This will allow your voice to recover in the meantime. Hope this helps

[@paulwilson2204]

"that guy was finnish" is a pretty understated way to refer to the most lethal sniper in history.

[@Wormopera]

I'd personally love to see a video about crazy snipers, which would also help for people to know about more crazy snipers than just simo haiya

[@emilioi.valdez6680]

"Sniping's a good job mate. Challenging work. Outa doors. I guarantee you'll not go hungry. Because at the end of the day, as long there are two people left on the planet, someone is going to want someone dead." -Sniper from TF2.

[@engine4403]

Musket inaccuracy is still a widely misunderstood concept. The whole idea of "volley fire" was meant to achieve that same "volume of fire" machine guns achieve nowdays. Because loading took upwards of 20 seconds, this volume had to be achieved through thick lines of men instead of dedicated machine guns. The range was never a problem for the period. If you were a british musketeer sent to fight Napoleons armies then you would be fighting against French musketeers. Nobodys getting capped until both forces are in range, hence no real range problem.

[@wallywinglepop7379]

As an Albany native it’s really cool to hear the battle of Saratoga mentioned in this video and how pivotal it was, but I do have to be that guy it’s pronounced “all-bany” gotta put some respect on this dumps name

[@crazedmonk8u]

Basically to summarize. snipers target enemy leaders, which causes dissray into the enemy plans. causing leaders to lead from the back vs the front which leads to slower decision making and reduced morale since now leaders are no longer in the front lines with their troops to boost moral and gather vital real time information on enemy formations in the front.

[@0giwan]

If memory serves, in order to join the Union sharpshooter regiments, you needed to be able to hit a target (forget how big) at 400 yards. With iron sights.

[@wilfdarr]

You need to sign up for an Appleseed, but you're close: It was a 7x10 inch roof shingle at 250 yards.

[@paulspunkt959]

Just today i watched your short about the 3km snipershot And now the promised video is out?! WOW, thanks for this late night youtube session ^^

[@stakuyi]

Yea it took a second because the video corrupted but we finally got it out

[@BoomMC_Inc]

Iraq veteran, I was going to bring up suppressive fire right as you were discussing it. After all a belt of ammo pinning someone down and an F/A18 Super Hornet can make it hard to count bodies

[@AlexHaile-t1c]

The role of the sniper has been an ever-evolving one. In the beginning they focused their efforts on high value targets on the battlefield, as mentioned. But the invention of new communication technologies made it so many high value targets didn't need to be on or near the front lines. So the role sniper had to evolve to prove its own relevance. By adopting the same communication technology that kept the high value targets well-behind the lines, many snipers were able to maintain their relevance by acting as scouts for artillery, and eventually aircraft. However, old school skills are rarely forgotten in the military. So many snipers still learn the old tradecraft of staying hidden and sneaking past the enemy so they can once again reach those high value targets behind the lines. But with the introduction of evermore accurate semi-auto rifles the sniper has become a tiered discipline. While the most skilled snipers are given high-risk missions behind enemy lines looking for HVTs or calling in airstrikes; the military also trains a lesser form of the same soldier... The "Designated Marksman" is a class of sniper (not referred to as a sniper but fills the same role) who is taught the long-range combat skills, but without the hiding and sneaking skills. When equipped with a modern semi-automatic marksman rifle (usually a form of AR10 or specialized AR15) they are able to act as a sniper when necessary, or a normal rifleman when a sniper is not needed. Making them an integral part of the modern Infantry squad. It's become much harder to hide from the enemy on the modern battlefield, especially when we're fighting an enemy who blends in far better than we do. So the Military (primarily the US Army in this case) found it more suitable to skip the hiding and sneaking training (referred to as "stalking") which can be time-consuming and causes many decent prospects to washout, and just focus more on the shooting skills. That way the soldier's squad can still benefit from his sniper skills without him having to go through the rest of the training he might not ever utilize. Furthermore, creating a less resource costly form of sniper means they're much less likely to be constantly pulled from the front lines by high-ranking officers for "special missions" which end up being nothing but photo opportunities. These days many officers want to look good for the camera, and having a cool-looking sniper in the background of their picture does just that. Even if the sniper isn't being properly utilized. Make the sniper less "elite" but still capable of hitting long-range targets, and you make him less appealing to the officers who would misappropriate his skills.

[@YourFunkiness]

I like how this video has two halves to it. A major improvement!

[@flyback_driver]

1:41 DoD: how the hell are we spending so many bullets to kill one insurgent? Also DoD: Hahaha A10 go brrrrrr!

[@Jedibkj2]

I got halfway through the video before youtube took it down. Glad you got it back up. Excited to watch it again

[@petersmythe6462]

"You're going up against the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, pretty much alone at this point, what do yo-" America: "I cast gun."

[@wrestlersmith97]

I read the title, checked the video length, and said "yeah stak probably has 40 minutes worth of sniper stuff to say. Maybe 30 with 10 minutes of derailing"

[@Welchie321]

Thank you for the great info! I love hearing about the upstate on videos! I find it funny how everyone says it Albany! Al-ba-ny is said like All-ba-ny.

[@YukitsuTimes]

You're I'd argue wrong about one thing. I don't think snipers are less prevalent than they were during WWII. The thing is, snipers branched in two directions over time, or rather that fork you noticed earlier continued in doctrine over time. The scout sniper, and the designated marksman. Most armies integrate a designated marksman, who is using a modified, scoped gun similar to the standard weapon used by everyone else and there are separate scout snipers who follow more along that solo style model. It's a bit like taking both the Union and Confederate models and using them simultaneously. Special forces snipers are what everyone thinks of when they think of a sniper, but a dedicated marksman is there for the same role, just to a less focused degree since he needs to be integrated into the standard formation. Edit: I shouldn't say "most" since I don't actually know the prevalence of this specific use.

[@silentSkipan]

Might be worth investigating the influence of the Second Boer War which is already theorised to be the first influence for modern warfare. The boer forces, or comandos, used sharp shooting in combination with guerilla warfare which plunged the British Empire into utter chaos.

[@keithrobicheux4749]

America: Wins revolution with guerilla tactics, immediately forms standing armies to stand in lines

[@alexstapleton6339]

Well, yeah, because guerrilla warfare sucks, and it only really works on large scale when you have home field advantage. It’s good to have a standard military so you can react to more conflicts.

[@sodog44]

One of the most underappreciated rifles in military service was the French Chassepot, or Fusil Modele 1866. The Franco Prussian War of 1870-71 had an interesting fact. The Prussians would win most battles early on, but they suffered higher casualties in them. The French soldiers using the Chassepot were able to pick off Prussian soldiers at ranges up to 1000 yards, where the Prussian Dreyse Needle Rifle could only be useful at ranges up to 400 yards. The Chassepot impressed the Prussians so much that they made a model of rifle after that eventually became the famous Mauser 1898.

[@Mr.InbetweenFX]

Can you please cover the history of Lethal/Less Than/Non Lethal "Chemical Warfare"? It's got a very VERY long and storied history dating back before the Roman Empire all the way up to the mid 2010's in Iraq and sudan. I would absolutely love to see your take on it, especially after seeing your chronological progression of Sniper Tactics.

[@asantiago2039]

I absolutely love how Stakuyi went from being A history teacher to OUR history teacher

[@bazsnell3178]

The thousands of bullets needed to kill one enemy soldier is ALL DUE to a single fact. And that is the willingness of a soldier to actually kill an enemy soldier. Back in the old days when armies faced each other in single long marching lines, many soldiers discharged their weapons over the heads of the enemy, hoping that those around them would do the actual killing. It's been fairly estimated that only 5% of the men actually fired INTO the enemy as opposed to firing over their heads.

[@EuelBall]

Hey, at least it's here! Great to see this, as always! 😁

[@jordansmith4040]

There's another problem with hit rate statistics. The statistics for wartime are often with conscripted soldiers, and professional soldiers are noticeably more efficient. Volunteer soldiers are also statistically more efficient. The biggest change of the late 20th and early 21st century was the addition of optics being issued to regular troops, further increasing their efficiency.

[@montecorbit8280]

At 8:54 Rifling.... Why was no more prevalent? In certain things like dueling pistols, it was against the rules. For a while, it was actually illegal do use rifles in battle. The pope said that you could not use rifles, later amending it so that you cannot use rifles on Christians. This pronouncement was later undone, though. The reason for this?? If the bullet hit an object and ricocheted, the rifling spin made the bullet give off a whine or a whistle....this what's a sign that there was a demon in the bullet.... Thought you would enjoy that....

[@KibuFox]

My great grand uncle was one of the Confederate Sharpshooters issued those special rifles. He is credited with killing a Union Lieutenant General prior to one of the civil war battles. He couldn't easily see his target, but knew that the officer had a habit of hanging a mirror with the sun behind him so he could see when shaving. My Great Grand Uncle sighted in on the glint from the mirror and struck him down. He later was blinded by shrapnel and cashiered out of the Army. I believe his shot is used as an early example for modern Army snipers about how you can use an enemy's own habits and patterns against them.

[@wordofswords5386]

1:10 and that figure doesnt take into account CQB situation where the amount of bullets for a kill would be really low. So in normal circumstances it probably take like 100k bullets per kill but then then when a trench is over run and soldiers are getting killed by 1 or 2 bullets it brings the average down a hell of a lot.

[@blckspice5167]

Not necessarily. You're still gonna use suppressive fire down alleyways or shoot through doors and walls. Even machine gun nests have been set up inside buildings.

[@wordofswords5386]

@@blckspice5167 I get what youre saying but you are misunderstanding what I was saying.

[@NilsNone]

to 6:42 in german "Stock" means stick.... might come from the "canon on a stick" - (Kanone am Stock) and got passed on into english and still holds to this day in form of the "Gunstock". could be wrong but I like that explanation edit... that theory got tighter with the statement from 8:24

[@kirknay]

"and that one was finnish" *the snow starts chuckling*

[@justintime5504]

Dude what a brilliant deep dive into the history of the sniper and sniper rifle. Good job man really good content

[@vinniIainCook]

Paper Cartride made a really nice video on muskets (in the american civil war era) actually being practically accurate up to 100 yards. However at a 100 yards you can, most likely, clearly see your opponents face, which makes a huge psychological impact. It was noticed that musketeers often times aimed over the heads of enemies, bc they didnt actually want to kill them. when you get out to 200 meters, the personality of an enemy vanishes and the further the fighting distance, the more depersonalized and enemy is. Thus leading to more deadly encounters.

[@dananorth895]

There's a book called "On Killing" you may want to look at. It's the history of war and it's efficientcy.

[@paaaatrika]

At 11:34 you show a ranger tab. Bear in mind earning the ranger tab and serving in one of the ranger battalions is NOT the same thing. You may earn the tab but not your beret and never serve in the battalions. Idk why, but people seem to think ranger tab = someone is "a ranger". Well, yes, they went through ranger school, but again, that doesn't make them the type of ranger you think of. Ranger school is just a leadership course just like any other course.

[@fakjbf3129]

Some people are going to call Fraser an idiot for not taking cover, but honestly he was probably justified taking the risk. It is really hard to coordinate line infantry, you have to be someplace where you can see the battlefield so that you can make sure your troops maneuver in a way to get around obstacles without losing cohesion. Once line infantry gets disorganized it is incredibly hard to get it back in formation and it will probably end up retreating the moment it comes in contact with the enemy. By staying out in the open he knew he was risking his life but it was the only chance of keeping his men together. The fact that they fell apart and retreated after he died just shows how important his job was to the unit’s success.

[@kushagrasaxena6795]

Nice 👍👍👍 I really like your podcast specially the night witches one

[@stakuyi]

Thank you my friend

[@jimschneider799]

Probably already pointed out, but ... @8:02 - the gyroscopic motion of the bullet increases its ballistic stability, not its aerodynamic stability.

[@empire_racing8258]

Just finished watching and a major point that stood out to me was the revolutionary war did not end in 1776. Thank you for bringing this up as most dont realise this fact.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

It STARTED in 1776, doesn't everybody know that? Well, there had been fighting for a year, but until July 1776 it was to get the King to treat the colonies better, 1776 the colonists said "Screw you, George, if you're not going to stop treating us like crap, we'll be our own country."

[@mansquatch2260]

​@@DeliveryMcGeeit started in 1775 and ended in 1783

[@JamesBissell-k8h]

Part of the increase in bullets used is due to training to continuously shoot in order to keep the enemy's head down while you move! Great video, keep them up!

[@JamesBissell-k8h]

Also, made this comment like 5 minutes into the video so if you mention this, I apologize.

[@angeloeder1431]

Definitely would love to see a part 2 to this, expanded video. This was very interesting. Hope you are feeling better

[@TJ-if3pr]

I'm just happy to be here for the re-release. Keep up the good work, Stak! Also, we need more videos w/ Gabby.

[@stakuyi]

Thank you my friend for being here to watch

[@TJ-if3pr]

Hey, you do all the hard work. Watching is the easy part.

[@immortalstar0138]

28:57 this perfectly encapsulates the “Famous last words” meme so well

[@davidnguyen467]

Same thing with tanks, they had smoothbore at first, then switched to rifled cannon for tank v tank combat. Then they changed back to smoothbore once atgm tech allowed for the missile to be shot out a smoothbore

[@JHadders98]

Some important notes; when it came to sniper programmes in the inter-war period many saw snipers as cold blooded killers and due to especially in England their representation of the common man not only being independent of any direct command but literally heartlessly hunting down the gentleman's class, development was deliberately ceased as another barbarity from the previous war. Also be wary of Soviet sniper's performances just as you should Germany's panzer and fighter aces they were a focal point of propaganda so many aspects such as the duel between Zaitsev and Major Koenig are most likely falsified. That being said I do love the video but would love if like many other youtubers you consider more carefuklly your background stock footage as it is often not depicting who you are talking about. Still love the work and especially if you want further reading on British snipers I do recommend The British Sniper: A Century of Evolution fantastic book and of course arguably the father of all modern sniping; Sniping in France, written by Major Hesketh Pritchard a fascinating individual who saw the Brits who could not compete with German marksmen and so grabbed all of his hunting rifles, called around all of his mates and grabbed hunting rifles and then proceeded to issue out and train soldiers on how to use them.

[@williammurry2593]

I would truly love a video on the best snipers in history whenever you have the time. (Hope you feel better and, keep up the good work your stuff rocks)

[@koosieoosie]

Another interesting war that I feel proves the effectiveness of snipers happened between the American civil war and WW1. The 2nd Boer war(1899-1902) where many Boer kommando's used their Mauser rifles to pick off British soldiers before quickly riding off into bush again.

[@dananorth895]

THe British responded by rounding up their families and incarcerating them in internment camps. Hunger and desease/death followed as that are what these camps are best at.

[@ynraider]

@@dananorth895 First "concentration camps". The Boers were also DEPORTED to other British colonies, EVEN AFTER they surrendered. It was a GENOCIDE of a Biracial Anglo-Dutch group, by invading Anglo-Saxons. #5000YrsOfWS

[@webtoedman]

It also encouraged the British to improve their soldier's general standard of marksmanship (Especially in what was then called "Snap shooting"), accuracy and rate of fire, which served them well in the early stages of the first world war.@@dananorth895

[@honilock577]

We have a local story where I live of two brothers who were nobles. There's a castle on a hill closeby and a smaller castle below it. The story goes that the two brothers came into conflict and wanted to kill each other so they took their handcannons and managed to hit each other from their houses, one from the castle on top and the other from the house under the hill. Of course that can't be true, the castle is about 100m diagonally up on the hill, no way a 15th century handcannon could shoot that far and up, but the other guy is way more plausible since he was shooting down into the valley

[@DarkestVampire92]

Largely good video: But you missed one critical point! Finland famously fielded very effective snipers against Russia in the Winter War, and developed not only doctrines but specialized rifles, optics, and gadgets around using snipers in the snow and ice. I know you mentioned "That one finnish guy", but its a lot more than that- Until the advent of chassis based sniper rifles after the Munich police shooting, Finnish customized Mosin Nagant rifles were among the best of the best in the world.

[@witchdoctor4377]

Yes do a video on Simo "The White Death"!!!! Arguably one of, if not THE greatest snipers to ever live

[@montecorbit8280]

At 39:39 "Crazy insane snipers".... Ummmm....we eagerly await the video!!

[@BigNBrother]

Just came over from Spotify. I personally love the story of the Union General talking smack about their aim and immediately getting bodied on the spot. The four times i heard it, the tellers always talked about how brave he is... but it cracks me up every time.

[@zacktrever1878]

Fraiser did the most Fraiser thing All that and scrambled eggs

[@Crazt]

Point of order for the first 5 minutes. As far as US military tactics goes, killing the enemy combatants isn't really the point. It's overwhelming them to the point of surrender or retreat. Shoot infinite rounds in a series of controlled directions, destroying specific targets to reduce or stop the enemy infantry's ability to respond while continuously pushing the "frontline" closer and closer to the defensive position. This will hopefully cause them to surrender.

[@Т1000-м1и]

Soldiers: it takes 250 thousand bullets to kill me for one second

[@issel3276]

Drone Operators, the new snipers

[@montecorbit8280]

At 23:45 Conical meine balls (spelling??).... This also kept more of the gas created from escaping past the bullet, this increased the speed of the bullet....

[@OriginalWarwood]

Glad you were able to get the video out!

[@flyback_driver]

2:29 fire superiority. Any grunt whos humped the hog or saw understands this. While an mgs wet dream is troops in the open staggering slightly to the right and up youll spend most of the time keeping the enemies head down so the flanking team can well you know New York or California some BD1. I also question the potentially scewed statistics of 1.3 bullets per kill for snipers. While that statistic is accurate we must keep in mind they are acting as a sentry and not an offensive force. Engaging the enemy is likely the last thing the CO wants them doing. Be a good sniper and sit in your hide for a week and ill throw you a few kill or captures throughout the deployment. I am not degrading the snipers skill or role but I feel its important to consider when thinking about those numbers. They are skilled shots but really where the rubber meets the road is their patience and ability to endure hardships. While I was never B4 I did SDM roles while filling as an RTO for sniper section my second deployment. Shit sucks a wet fart and then you get to do one or two cool missions. Hats off to snipers.

[@martinbadoy5827]

Great video! In addition to Simo Hayha, please also do one on the 50 cal and beyond 1-mile engagements

[@simba2023]

I'd love to see a video on the weapons systems for snipers specifically, in addition to one on the shooters themselves!

[@dananorth895]

One of the all time favorites was a scoped Remington 700 hunting rifle. Still valued to this day, and nowhere as inexpensive as they used to be.

[@joeshilabotnik6082]

Watched a ton of your shorts. This is the first long video I watched and I'd love that sequel!!

[@makukawakami]

With drone tech nowadays I'm sure pocket drones are going to be added in a recon/scout sniper's kit.

[@dananorth895]

Already have. The cia/military began experimenting/testing drone tech since their first development. The Ukrainian war is however the first to utilize to such an extent on the battlefield. One of the first practical uses for teams/squads was birds eye view of target zone. You could see the layout/location of everything below....no surprizes.

[@makukawakami]

@@dananorth895 Also pocket drones of the future would be in the kit of any FO and JTAC operators

[@adisura9904]

You should really do one for rocket artillery. From the early Chinese ones to the myssorian ones that were horrifying metal tubes spinning their way towards you with a sword at the end...

[@dananorth895]

He US has something similar now that are precision guided and very messy.

[@adisura9904]

@@dananorth895 yeah they killed that Iranian general with one I think. It deploys blades in terminal phase instead of carrying a warhead. Reducing colatral

[@UltravioletRabbit]

I just discovered your channel and it is so good! Loved this video and only wish it was longer. You really have great content here.

[@planeswalkerPAT]

Been hyped up for this!!

[@olesmokey3023]

Pretty sure we have riffled artillery now too, happy to see some videos of ya tho stak! Always love ya bud

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

I know this is a minor point, but I think that you forgot the third branch of General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne's attack on New York. There was his own column moving south, Howe/Clinton's column moving north to meet him, and Barry St Leger's western column that moved along the Mohawk Valley and was turned back after failing to take Fort Stanwix.

[@petersmythe6462]

Rifles had another problem before smokeless powder which was, well, all the smoke. Massed volleys of musket shot filling the sky tended to make vision difficult and so accurately aiming at the enemy would be harder after a few shots. The accuracy of smokthbores may have just be deemed good enough when actually seeing the target wouldn't have been that easy to begin with.

[@rmgibsontx]

Excellent! I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@theemissary1313]

Regarding General Sedgwick's last words, i heard it was "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-"

[@eviljeanyis]

Where on earth are you getting these round counts per kill? Is it a stat the government or the department of defense has provided? And how would they figure something like that out unless they were able to collect and count all of all enemies killed in action, which is completely impossible.

[@Toadaboticus]

NH Sharpshooters for the win!! Also Imagine if we ran outta copper and couldn't make real brass anymore resulting in a switch to stronger steel cases and high power/pressure rounds like the new Sig Spear 6.8 Rounds at 80k psi.

[@Crackheadlizshanley]

I could watch hours and hours of this