Josef allerberger biography

1. Biography of Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger
2. Early Life
3. Military Service
4. Sniper Techniques
5. Awards and Later Life

Biography of Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger

Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger, a German (Austrian) sniper during World War II, served as a sniper in the 2nd Battalion of the 114th Mountain Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mountain Division on the Eastern Front. He is credited with 257 kills.

Early Life

Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger was born on December 24, 1924, in the vicinity of Styria, Austria. However, in his memoirs, he claims to have been born in September. He was the son of a local carpenter.

Military Service

In June 1943, Allerberger was deployed to the Eastern Front as a machine gunner, where he was lightly wounded in Stavropol. While recovering, he experimented with a captured Soviet Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30 rifle with a 3.5x scope. In total, he killed 27 people before receiving sniper training and being equipped with a K98k sniper rifle with a 4x optical sight. Towards the end of the war, Josef often used a semi-automatic G 43 rifle with a 4x scope and an MP40 submachine gun.

Sniper Techniques

During combat, Allerberger employed the famous Wehrmacht technique of transforming himself into a vegetative object, blending seamlessly with the background, with his weapon also camouflaged with woven foliage. He would smudge his face and hands with dirt, but it did not adhere well, so he used plant sap. This camouflage was lightweight and convenient for use in various circumstances.

Awards and Later Life

Allerberger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner, commander of the Central Army Group, on April 20, 1945, although there are no official documents confirming the award. Despite this, it was not uncommon during the late stages of the war.

In 2005, a book titled 'Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight's Cross' was published, authored by Albrecht Wacker, who interviewed Allerberger. The book suggests that Soviet soldiers allegedly practiced cannibalism by consuming the bodies of their comrades and also recounts stories of torture. This English translation is actually an abridged version of the book 'Im Auge des Jägers.' The first three volumes of this work were published under the general title 'Der Wehrmachtsscharfschütze Franz Karner.'

After the war, Allerberger worked as a carpenter, following in his father's footsteps. He passed away on March 2, 2010, at the age of 85, in Wals-Siezenheim.