Nicknamed ‘The White Death’
705 confirmed kills (505 with rifle, 200 with submachine gun)
Simo Hayha (1905 - 2002) is the most famous sniper in the world. He is a sniper with a capital S. During the Winter War, which was fought between Finland and Soviet Union in 1939 - 1940, he obediently carried out the demanding tasks he was commanded to. He was one of the significant persons who created the Spirit of the Winter War by leading the way. He has been a role model for snipers all over the world and paved the way for them by showing their significance in the battlefield. He still holds the record of the snipers, 505 confirmed kills, with iron sights. Simo Hayha was a man of action who spoke very little. He was rewarded for his actions in many ways during and after the Winter War, the only war he ever participated in. He was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant and he was awarded the Cross of Kollaa (Kollaan Risti). He was also rewarded a Honorary Rifle, Sako m/28 on February 17 1940 at Kollaa front. For sniping Simo Hayha used his own m/28-30 rifle the whole time. Simo was wounded on March 6 1940. Tapio Saarelainen, the author of this book, is a career officer in the Finnish Army. He has spent two decades in training snipers. The author has spent lots of time investigating Simo's life and accomplishments and he's interviewed Simo dozens of times during 1997-2002.
How Häyhä did all this was amazing?
How Häyhä did all this was amazing. He was basically on his own all day, in the snow, shooting Russians, for 3 months straight. Of course when the Russians caught wind that a shit load of soldiers were being killed, they thought ‘well this is war, there’s bound to be casualties’. But when the generals were told that it was one man with a rifle they decided to take a bit of action. first they sent in a counter-sniper. When his body was returned they decided to send in a team of counter-snipers. When they didn’t come back at all they sent in a whole goddamn battalion. They took casualties and couldn’t find him. Eventually they ordered an artillery strike, but to no avail. You see Häyhä was clever, and this was his neck of the woods. He dressed completely in white camouflage. He used a smaller rifle to suit his smaller frame (being 5ft3) increasing his accuracy. he used an iron sight to present the smallest possible target (a scoped sight would require the sniper to raise his head for sighting). He compacted the snow in front of the barrel, so as not to disturb it when he shot thus revealing his position. He also kept snow in his mouth so his breath did not condense and reveal where his was. Eventually however his was shot in the jaw by a stray bullet during combat on March 6 1940. He was picked up by his own soldiers who said half his head was missing. He didn’t die however and regained consciousness on the 13th, the day peace was declared.Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi near the present-day border of Finland and Russia, and started his military service in 1925. His duties as a sniper began during the ‘winter war’ (1939-1940) between Russia and Finland. During the conflict Häyhä endured freezing temperatures up to -40 degrees Celsius. In less than 100 days he was credited with 505 confirmed kills, 542 if including unconfirmed kills, however the unofficial frontline figures from the battlefield places the number of sniper kills at over 800. Besides his sniper kills he was also credited with 200 from a Suomi KP/31 Submachine gun, topping off his total confirmed kills at 705.
Reference:
1. Gilbert, Adrian (1996). Sniper: The Skills, the Weapons, and the Experiences. St. Martin's Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-312-95766-1.
2. Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper, p. 167. Martin Pegler. Osprey Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84603-140-3 (2006)
3. Sniping: An Illustrated History, pp. 117–118. Pat Farey, Mark Spicer. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-3717-2 (2009)
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