Simo Häyhä
| Simo Häyhä | |
|---|---|
 Simo Häyhä after being awarded with the honorary rifle model 28. |
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| Nickname | White Death |
| Born | December 17, 1905 Rautjärvi, Finland |
| Died | April 1, 2002 (aged 96) Hamina, Finland |
| Allegiance |  Finland |
| Years of service | 1925–1940 |
| Rank | Alikersantti during the war, promoted to Second Lieutenant afterwards [1] |
| Unit | Infantry Regiment 34 |
| Battles/wars | Winter War |
| Awards | Cross of Liberty, 3rd class and 4th class; Medal of Liberty, 1st class and 2nd class; Cross of Kollaa Battle [1] |
Simo Häyhä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsimɔ ˈhæy̯hæ]) (December 17, 1905 – April 1, 2002), nicknamed "White Death" (Russian: Белая смерть, Belaya Smert; Finnish: valkoinen kuolema; Swedish: den vita döden) by the Red Army, was a Finnish sniper. Using a modified Mosin–Nagant in the Winter War, he has the highest recorded number of confirmed sniper kills – 505 – in any major war.[2]
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[edit] Early life
Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi near the present-day border of Finland and Russia, and started his military service in 1925. Before entering combat, Häyhä was a farmer and a hunter. At the age of 17, he joined the Finnish militia suojeluskunta and succeeded with his sniping skills in shooting sports in the Viipuri province. His farmhouse was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship.[3]
[edit] Winter War service
During the Winter War (1939–1940), between Finland and the Soviet Union, he began his duty as a sniper and fought for the Finnish Army against the Red Army. In temperatures between −40 and −20 degrees Celsius, dressed completely in white camouflage, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers.[2][4] A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Besides his sniper kills, Häyhä was also credited with over 200 kills with a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun.[4] Remarkably, all of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days at a time of year with very short hours of daylight.[5][6][7]
Häyhä used a Finnish militia variant, White Guard M/28 "Pystykorva" or "Spitz", of the Russian Mosin-Nagant rifle, because it suited his small frame (5 ft 3 in/1.60 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), for more reliable visibility (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily in cold weather), and aid concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position). Another tactic used by Häyhä was to compact the snow in front of him so that the shot would not disturb the snow and reveal his position.[citation needed] He also kept snow in his mouth, so that the vapor of his breath would not give him away.[citation needed]
The Soviets tried several ploys to get rid of him, including counter-snipers and artillery strikes. On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the lower left jaw by a Russian soldier during combat. The bullet tumbled upon impact and exited his head. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his head was missing", but he was not dead: he regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war Häyhä was promoted from alikersantti (corporal) to Second Lieutenant by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim; no one else has gained rank so quickly in Finland's military history.
[edit] Later life
It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek. Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II, and hunted with Finnish president Urho Kekkonen.
When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shooter, he answered, "practice." When asked if he regretted killing so many people, he said "I did what I was told to as well as I could." Simo Häyhä spent his last years in Ruokolahti, a small village located in southeastern Finland, near the Russian border.
[edit] Film
Actor Steven Wiig will portray Häyhä in the 2012 HBO docudrama Hemingway & Gellhorn.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Lappalainen, Jukka-Pekka (6 December 2001). "Kollaa kesti, niin myös Simo Häyhä [The Kollaa held out, so did Simo Häyhä]" (in Finnish) (fee required). Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki). http://www.hs.fi/arkisto/artikkeli/Kollaa+kesti+niin+my%C3%B6s+Simo+H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4/HS20011206SI1HU01h8v?useToken=true. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ a b Rayment, Sean (30 April 2006). "The long view". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1517044/The-long-view.html. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
- ^ Gilbert, Adrian (1996). Sniper: The Skills, the Weapons, and the Experiences. St. Martin's Press. pp. 88. ISBN 0312957661.
- ^ a b "Sotasankarit-äänestyksen voitti tarkka-ampuja Simo Häyhä" (in Finnish). MTV3. http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/arkisto.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2007/11/584680. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
- ^ Finland at War 1939-45, pp. 44-45. Brent Snodgrass, Raffaele Ruggeri. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841769691 (2006)
- ^ Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper, p. 167. Martin Pegler. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846031403 (2006)
- ^ Sniping: An Illustrated History, pp. 117-118. Pat Farey, Mark Spicer. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 9780760337172 (2009)
[edit] Further reading
- P. Sarjanen, Valkoinen kuolema ISBN 952-5170-05-5
- Tapio A. M. Saarelainen, Sankarikorpraali Simo Häyhä ISBN 952-5026-52-3 http://www.apali.fi
- Tapio A. M. Saarelainen, The Sniper - Simo Häyhä ISBN 978-952-5026-74-0 http://www.apali.fi
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Simo Häyhä |
- Brief background on Simo Häyhä
- Mosin-Nagant Dot Net's Sniper Section Presents "Meeting A Legend: Simo Häyhä"
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