Tricks of Trench Warfare (2020)

The Germans were the first to deploy steel plates with loopholes for their snipers to shoot through. In particular, the small loophole was a tiny target for a counter sniper to hit, making the Germans feel quite safe during the early phases of the sniping war. Imagine, there's some German sniper sitting snug behind his steel shield while an English big game hunter is taking aim with an elephant gun! Later custom sniper and game rifles were also capable of penetrating the single layer steel shield. Due to the high contrast and easy visibility of these targets, they were attractive for naive snipers to use while adjusting their sights. The scout would raise the head above the trench and attempt to get shot by a German sniper. A trajectory for the bullet was determined, and then a trench sniper rifle could be lined up, raised the appropriate hight, and a counter sniper could attempt to shoot back, or more likely, once the sniper nest was located, call in an artillery strike. The observer scouts located targets for the sniper, and confirmed whether there was a hit or a miss.