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Soviet snipers on the Karelian Front during the Continuation War against Finland.

Fascinating photos of World War Two's deadliest snipers in action including a woman with over 300 confirmed kills feature in a new book.

These highly skilled marksmen and women were deployed by both sides to lethal effect, hiding in unusual positions to get the best shot.

It was a precarious existence as when they were captured, they were invariably shot on the spot as they were unfairly seen as 'cowards' - the average lifespan of a sniper was just three weeks.

Their remarkable stories are told in The Sniper Anthology, Snipers of the Second World War.

Several of the photos show glamorous Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who served with the Red Army during the Siege of Odessa and the Siege of Sevastopol. She was credited with a staggering 309 kills, making her the most successful female sniper in history.