5 of the most badass snipers in history! Including the beautiful but deadly Roza Shanina, civilian medal of honor winner Billy Dixon. The world record longest kill shot sniper Craig Harrison, the original American sniper, Carlos Hathcock, and the world record deadliest ever, Simo Häyhä.
Here are some fast facts of the Simo:
Simo Häyhä was born in 1906 or 1905 (there seem to be two dates of his birth depending on the reference materials) in Rautajärvi, Finland. The town was on the border with the Soviet Union and was lost to the Russians after the winter war.
In 1925 Häyhä was drafted into the Finnish Army for his one year of mandatory service, which he left as a corporal. Later he joined the Finnish Civil Guard, a very well trained / elite version of the US National Guard.
When the Russians invaded Finland, in what became known as the Winter War, Häyhä joined the 6th Company of JR 34 on the Kollaa River, site of the “The miracle of Kollaa”.
At Kollaa, despite having far fewer troops than the Soviets, the Finnish 12th division repelled the Red Army because the Soviets were only prepared to proceed along roads. The Kollaa area had very few roads, all of them guarded by Finnish troops; and the Soviets were not able to proceed cross-country without skis.
Dressed completely in white, Häyhä was able to blend into the background whereas the Russians lacked winter camouflage clothing and thus were easier to see in the snow covered terrain.
Häyhä was credited with 542 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers by Finnish military historian Robert Brantberg, while a Finnish documentary stated 505 sniper kills.
All of Häyhä’s kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days – an average of just over five kills per day – at a time of year with very few daylight hours.
Learn more about Simo Häyhä and 4 other epic snipers in this video: