Introduction

A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defences, and road and airfield construction and repair.

Sappers are also trained and equipped to serve secondarily as provisional infantry.

Sappers facilitate and support the movement, defence, and survival of superordinate and allied forces, and impede those of enemies.

The term “sapper” is used in the British Army and Commonwealth nations, the US military, and the militaries of other countries.

Sapper (abbreviated Spr) is the Royal Engineers’ equivalent of private. This is also the case within the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Australian Engineers, South African Army Engineer Formation, Jamaica Defence Force Engineer Regiment, and Royal New Zealand Engineers. The term “sapper” was introduced in 1856, when the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners was amalgamated with the officer corps of the Royal Engineers to form the Corps of Royal Engineers.

During the course of the First World War, some Royal Marines also took the rank of Sapper. This was adopted as tradition in the Royal Marine Divisional Engineers of the Royal Naval Division.

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