Could someone tell me which soldiers of each major combatant (British Empire, Germany, Japan, Russia, USA, Italy, Turkey, France) Were given Scoped Rifles ether as use as marksmen or snipers? As I can find no clear information if standard soldiers revived scopes for their weapons , or if it was restricted to specialized formations.
Thanks.
The War Establishments for a Canadian Infantry Battalion II/233/2 of 27th April 1943, II/233/3 of 5th August 1943, and II/233/4 of 15th August 1944, indicate that there were, initially, two snipers per rifle company in an infantry battalion, who were eventually grouped into a separate sniper section attached to the HQ Company. By the end of combat in Europe, the sniper section (which was initially 1xSgt, 1xCpl, 2xLCpl, and 4xPte) had a Lieutenant and a Batman added to it to form a unit referred to in some regimental histories as the scout platoon, despite its size.
As far as who would get the sniper's rifles is concerned, that was likely dependent on individual marksmanship and ability in fieldcraft.
On the American side, per TO 7-17, dated 26 February 1944, one soldier per rifle platoon was designated as "sniper" and given the M1903A4 scoped rifle.
Source:
TO 7-17 Rifle Company, dated 26 February 1944 http://www.militaryresearch.org/7-17%2026Feb44.pdf
German snipers tended to use commercial optics and often used what would be considered "substitute standard" like the Gew. 98. Military optics varied. An attempt to make a DMR by mounting a 1.5X scope ahead of the action on the K98k was made, but was a failure.
The Russians mounted PU scopes on a lot of their better M91s. SVT-40s were popular with marksmen as well.
The Brits used P.14 and No.4 Mk.1 Enfields. Not sure about optics.
The USMC used an 8X scope made by Unertl on the M1903. Can't speak for other branches.
/u/othais will know more.