The highly skilled sharpshooters known as snipers (a term that originated in British India to describe hunters able to pick off the elusive “snipe” bird) became vitally important during the Second World War. Fighting on the Eastern Front, the Soviets, in particular, were expert marksmen. They controlled the battlefield and offered a killing blow that could never be seen. These incredible skilled men hid in the shadows and waited for the precise moment to kill their prey. Hunt or be hunted.