Simo Häyhä

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Simo Häyhä During The Winter War

Simo Häyhä (December 17, 1905–April 1, 2002), nicknamed "Belaya Smert" (Russian Cyrillic Белая Смерть; in English, White Death; Finnish Valkoinen kuolema) by the Soviet army, was a Finnish soldier, and is widely considered to be the most successful sniper in history. ^[1]

1 Early life, World War II service
2 Later life
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Early life, World War II service

He was born in the small town of Rautjärvi near the present-day border with Russia, and started his military service in 1925. During the Winter War (1939 – 1940) between Finland and the Soviet Union, he began his duty as a sniper against the Red Army. Working in temperatures between −20 to −40 degrees Celsius, and dressed completely in a white camouflage suit, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills against Soviet soldiers.

The unofficial Finnish frontline figure from the battlefield of Kollaa places the number of Häyhä's sniper kills at 542. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (known as "Pystykorva" rifle), because it suited his small frame (5 ft/1.52 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise their head higher when using telescopic sights) and aid concealment (sun reflecting off telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position).

Besides his sniper kills, Simo Häyhä was also credited with as many as two hundred kills with a Suomi M-31 SMG submachine gun, thus bringing his credited kills to at least 705. However, the latter claim has never been substantiated. Many of Häyhä's kills were accomplished within 100 days prior to injuries caused by an enemy bullet. Häyhä's record of an average of 5 kills a day, almost one kill per daylight hour of the short winter day, is unique.

Before his injury, the Russians tried several plans to get rid of him, including counter snipers and artillery strikes. Their best result was tearing the back of his coat away with shrapnel, but leaving Häyhä himself unscratched.

On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the jaw during close combat. The bullet tumbled upon impact and left his head. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his head was missing". He regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war, Häyhä was promoted straight from lance corporal to second lieutenant by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. No-one else has ever gained rank in such a dramatic fashion in Finland's military history.

[edit] Later life

When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shot, he answered, "Practice." About his record, he has said "I did what I was told to as well as I could." Simo Häyhä spent his last years in a small town called Ruokolahti located in the south-east Finland next to the Russian border.