Sapper

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This article is about the military vocation. For the pseudonymous author, see H. C. McNeile.

A sapper, in the sense first used by the French military, was one who sapped (undermined) another's fortifications.

When an army was defending a fortress with cannon, they had an obvious height and therefore range advantage over the attacker's own guns. The attacking army's artillery had to be brought forward, under fire, so as to facilitate effective counter-battery fire. This was achieved by digging what the French termed a 'Sappe'. Using techniques developed and perfected by Vauban, the sapeurs (sappers) began the trench at such an angle so as to avoid enemy fire 'enfilading' (passing directly along) the sappe. As they pressed forward, a position was prepared from which cannon could suppress the defenders on the bastions. The sappers would then change the course of their trench, zig-zagging their way toward the fortress wall. Each leg brought the attacker's artillery closer and closer until (hopefully) the besieged cannon would be sufficiently suppressed for undermining to begin. Broadly speaking, sappers were originally experts at demolishing or otherwise overcoming or bypassing fortification systems.

A sapper is an individual usually in British or Commonwealth military service. Called a combat engineer by the Americans, a pionier by the Germans and a génie by the French, a sapper may perform any of a variety of tasks under combat conditions. Such tasks typically include bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences as well as building, road and airfield construction and repair. In other words, the sapper's tasks now involve facilitating movement of allied forces and impeding movement of the enemy's.

Sapper (abbreviated Spr) is the Royal Engineers' equivalent of Private. This is also the case within the Canadian and Royal Australian Engineers, however, this use of the term is not used by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

In France, the civil firefighters and the military firefighters of the Paris Fire Brigade are called "sappers-pumpers" (sapeurs-pompiers, SP): the first fire company created by Napoléon I was a military sappers company. Apart from this, the sappers are the combat engineers.

1 Specific usage
2 External links
3 See also

[edit] Specific usage

[edit] US Army

In the US Army, Sappers are combat engineers who advance with the front-line infantry, and they have fought in every war in American history. The designation is earned as an additional proficiency.

The US Army authorizes four skill tabs for wear above the unit patch on the left shoulder. Three of these tabs identify soldiers who have passed a course proving their leadership and adaptability: the Special Forces tab, the Ranger Tab, and the Sapper Tab, in that order of wear from highest to lowest. The President's Hundred Tab is worn for the best marksmen/women in the Army.

To be a sapper, a Soldier must complete the Sapper Leader Course which is operated by the U.S. Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The Sapper Leader Course is a 28-day course designed to train joint-service leaders in small unit tactics, leadership skills, and tactics required to perform as part of a combined arms team. The course is open to enlisted Soldiers in the grades of E-4 (in the Army, specialist) and above, cadets, and officers O-3 (Army, captain) and below. Students can come from any combat or combat support branch of the service, but priority is given to engineering, cavalry, and infantry soldiers. [1]. The course is in two Phases.

Phase I lasts 14 days and covers general subjects including medical, navigation, demolitions, air and water operations, mountaineering, and landmines and weapons used by enemy forces. Phase II is the remaining 14 days. It covers basic patrolling techniques and battle drills that emphasize leadership. The subjects include urban operations, breaching, patrol organization and movement, and reconnaissance, raid and ambush tactics. It concludes with a three-day situation training exercise, and five-day field training exercise. These missions are a 60/40 mix of engineer and infantry missions.

Leadership is emphasized throughout the SLC. During the course leader roles are rotated regularly and each student is evaluated at least twice on leadership. The results of the Sapper Leader Course are soldiers who are hardened combat engineers who are qualified to fight and lead on today’s battlefields. [2].

[edit] US Marine Corps

In the US Marine Corps, the term sapper is commonly used as a call sign amongst combat engineer units to designate them as engineers when attached to infantry units. Combat Engineers in the Marine Corps, unlike their Army counterparts, are a sort of jack of all trades. During Basic Combat Engineer Training, a Marine is trained in a variety of fields which as a whole encompass the 1371 MOS. Subjects covered include Demolitions, Breaching, Woodframe Construction, Concrete Laying, Land Clearing, Surviability Positions, and Counter Mobility. Depending on the type of unit the Marine is assigned to will determine what tasks they will be used for primarily. For example, a Marine assigned to a Marine Division will primarily be required to perform tasks involving infantry tactics, breaching, and mine clearing. That same Marine if assigned to an Air Wing on the other hand would be more likely to perform construction work and tactical airfield construction and maintenance. In any case, a Marine Combat Engineer is required to be proficient in all areas to include infantry tactics and weapon systems.

[edit] PAVN and Viet Cong

In the PAVN and Viet Cong, the sappers were special operations soldiers who used infiltration, sabotage, and ambush to attack enemy forces.

[edit] Fictional references

In the novel The English Patient Ondaatje's character Kip is a sapper during World War II.
The computer game Warcraft II has a military unit called Goblin Sappers which are used to demolish enemy units and structures.
In Commandos an explosives expert on the team is referred to repeatedly as merely "The Sapper".
The computer game City of Heroes includes a secret paramilitary organization called the "Malta Group," which employs agents called "sappers," equipped with distinctive and widely dreaded endurance-draining weaponry.
In Age of Empires II, it is possible to research a "Sappers" upgrade that increases the damage villagers cause against buildings.
In the computer game series Icewind Dale, Dwarven shock troops were designated "sappers," although they acted more in the manner of kamikaze shock troops (explosives fitted to their backs and said dwarves charging the Player's party).
In the 1978 Cold Chisel song, "Khe Sanh", which is about an Australian veteran of the Vietnam War, the famous first line is "I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh".