Because police snipers do not always perform the same tasks as military snipers , police snipers are sometimes known as `` marksmen '' . In Normandy , German snipers remained hidden in the dense vegetation and were able to encircle American units , firing at them from all sides . The American and British forces were surprised by how near the German snipers could safely come and attack them , as well as by their ability to hit targets at up to 1,000 m. A notable mistake made by the green American soldiers was to lie down and wait when targeted by German snipers , thus allowing the snipers to pick them off one after another .