Hello ladies and gents especially my finnish fans yes i have seen your emails i am gonnah talk about him
Simo "Simuna" Häyhä 17 December 1905 – 1 April 2002, was a Finnish sniper. He is believed to have killed over 500 men during the 1939–40 Winter War, the highest number of sniper kills in any major war. He used a Finnish-produced M/28-30 rifle, a variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle, and a Suomi KP/-31 sub machine gun. His unit's captain Antti Rantamaa credited him with 259 confirmed kills by sniper rifle and an equal number of kills by sub machine gun during the Winter War. Later in his book, Rantamaa credited Simo with 542 sniper kills. Häyhä never talked about it publicly but estimated in his private diary that he shot around 500.
Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi in the Viipuri Province of southern Finland near the border with Russia. He was the second youngest of eight children in a Lutheran family of farmers.[8] He was a farmer, hunter, and skier prior to his military service. He joined the Finnish voluntary milita White Guard (Suojeluskunta) at age 20, and he was successful in shooting competitions in the Viipuri Province. His home was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship. He was not keen to hog the spotlight, and correspondingly in the photos of his younger years he usually stood at the very back in group photos, until his later success started to force him to take center place.
Häyhä served as a sniper for the Finnish Army during the 1939–40 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. He was in the 6th Company of JR 34 during the Battle of Kollaa in temperatures between −40 °C (−40 °F) and −20 °C (−4 °F). Häyhä was dressed completely in white camouflage; Soviet troops were not issued with white camouflage uniforms for most of the war, making them easily visible to snipers in winter conditions. Joseph Stalin had purged military experts in the late 1930s, and the Red Army was consequently highly disorganized.
All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days, an average of five per day at a time of year with very few daylight hours. A sniper's kill-count was based on the sniper himself, with the confirmation of his comrades, and only those who were killed for certain are considered. No count was taken when several snipers shot at the same target. Men killed with a submachine gun by a group leader were not counted.
Finnish sources describe that he was nicknamed "White Death" (Russian: Белая смерть, Belaja smert; Finnish: valkoinen kuolema; Swedish: den vita döden) by the Red Army. During the war, the "White death" was one of the leading themes of Finnish propaganda. The Finnish newspapers frequently featured the invisible Finnish soldier, thus creating a hero of mythical proportions.
Häyhä's division commander A. Svensson credited him with 219 confirmed sniper kills and an equal number of kills by submachine gun, when he awarded him an honorary rifle on 17 February 1940. On 21 December 1939, he achieved his highest daily count of 25 kills. In his diary, military chaplain Antti Rantama reported 259 confirmed sniper kills and an equal number of kills by submachine gun from the beginning of the war until 7 March 1940, one day after Häyhä was seriously wounded.
Some of Häyhä's figures are from a Finnish Army document, counted from beginning of the war, 30 November 1939:
Häyhä never discussed it publicly but his own private diary, discovered in 2017, shares a figure: he begins by stating that "this is his sin list", and estimates the total number shot by him to be around 500. Historian Risto Marjomaa questions the large number, as confirmation of casualties was difficult.
Häyhä used his issued Civil Guard rifle, an early series SAKO M/28-30, serial number 35281, Civil Guard number S60974. It was a Finnish Civil Guard variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle known as "Pystykorva" (literally "The Spitz" due to the front sight's resemblance to the head of a spitz-type dog) chambered in the Finnish Mosin–Nagant cartridge 7.62×53R.
He preferred iron sights over telescopic sights, as they enable a sniper to present a smaller target for the enemy (a sniper must raise his head a few centimeters higher when using a telescopic sight), can be relied on even in extreme cold, unlike telescopic sights which tend to cloud up in cold weather, and are easier to conceal: sunlight can reflect off a telescopic sight's lenses and reveal the sniper's position. Häyhä also did not have prior training with scoped rifles, and therefore preferred not to switch to the Soviet scoped rifle (m/91-30 PE or PEM).
He would frequently pack dense mounds of snow in front of his position to conceal himself, provide padding for his rifle, and reduce the characteristic puff of snow stirred up by the muzzle blast. He was known to keep snow in his mouth while sniping to prevent his breath in the cold air from giving away his position. Häyhä's diary discovered in 2017 also shares a story by him where they caught a Russian soldier, blindfolded him, spun him dizzy and took him to a party in the tent of The Terror of Morocco. The Russian soldier was joyed by the carousing and was disgusted when he was sent back.
On 6 March 1940, Häyhä was hit in his lower left jaw by an explosive bullet fired by a Red Army soldier. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said that "half his face was missing". He regained consciousness on 13 March, the day that peace was declared. He read about his own death in the newspaper, and sent a letter to the paper to correct the misunderstanding. Shortly after the war, he was promoted from alikersantti (Corporal) to vänrikki (Second lieutenant) by Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.
It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and removed most of his left cheek. Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II, and he even hunted with Finnish President Urho Kekkonen. However, he was also met with hate and even death threats. He spoke only sparsely about the war.
He was asked in 1998 how he had become such a good sniper: "Practice." He was asked in 2002, just before his 96th birthday, if he regretted killing so many people. He replied, "I only did what I was told to do, as well as I could." Häyhä spent his last years in Ruokolahti, a small municipality located in southeastern Finland near the Russian border.
Häyhä died in a war veterans' nursing home in Hamina in 2002 at age 96. He was buried in Ruokolahti. And as always have a chilled day from the viking.
THE WHITE DEATH
Early life
Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi in the Viipuri Province of southern Finland near the border with Russia. He was the second youngest of eight children in a Lutheran family of farmers.[8] He was a farmer, hunter, and skier prior to his military service. He joined the Finnish voluntary milita White Guard (Suojeluskunta) at age 20, and he was successful in shooting competitions in the Viipuri Province. His home was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship. He was not keen to hog the spotlight, and correspondingly in the photos of his younger years he usually stood at the very back in group photos, until his later success started to force him to take center place.
Winter War service
Häyhä served as a sniper for the Finnish Army during the 1939–40 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. He was in the 6th Company of JR 34 during the Battle of Kollaa in temperatures between −40 °C (−40 °F) and −20 °C (−4 °F). Häyhä was dressed completely in white camouflage; Soviet troops were not issued with white camouflage uniforms for most of the war, making them easily visible to snipers in winter conditions. Joseph Stalin had purged military experts in the late 1930s, and the Red Army was consequently highly disorganized.
All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days, an average of five per day at a time of year with very few daylight hours. A sniper's kill-count was based on the sniper himself, with the confirmation of his comrades, and only those who were killed for certain are considered. No count was taken when several snipers shot at the same target. Men killed with a submachine gun by a group leader were not counted.
Finnish sources describe that he was nicknamed "White Death" (Russian: Белая смерть, Belaja smert; Finnish: valkoinen kuolema; Swedish: den vita döden) by the Red Army. During the war, the "White death" was one of the leading themes of Finnish propaganda. The Finnish newspapers frequently featured the invisible Finnish soldier, thus creating a hero of mythical proportions.
Häyhä's division commander A. Svensson credited him with 219 confirmed sniper kills and an equal number of kills by submachine gun, when he awarded him an honorary rifle on 17 February 1940. On 21 December 1939, he achieved his highest daily count of 25 kills. In his diary, military chaplain Antti Rantama reported 259 confirmed sniper kills and an equal number of kills by submachine gun from the beginning of the war until 7 March 1940, one day after Häyhä was seriously wounded.
Some of Häyhä's figures are from a Finnish Army document, counted from beginning of the war, 30 November 1939:
- 22 December 1939: 138 sniper kills in 22 days
- 26 January 1940: 199 sniper kills[ (61 in 35 days)
- 17 February 1940: 219 sniper kills (20 in 22 days)
- 7 March 1940 (when Häyhä was seriously wounded): total of 259 sniper kills (40 in 18 days)
Häyhä never discussed it publicly but his own private diary, discovered in 2017, shares a figure: he begins by stating that "this is his sin list", and estimates the total number shot by him to be around 500. Historian Risto Marjomaa questions the large number, as confirmation of casualties was difficult.
Häyhä used his issued Civil Guard rifle, an early series SAKO M/28-30, serial number 35281, Civil Guard number S60974. It was a Finnish Civil Guard variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle known as "Pystykorva" (literally "The Spitz" due to the front sight's resemblance to the head of a spitz-type dog) chambered in the Finnish Mosin–Nagant cartridge 7.62×53R.
He preferred iron sights over telescopic sights, as they enable a sniper to present a smaller target for the enemy (a sniper must raise his head a few centimeters higher when using a telescopic sight), can be relied on even in extreme cold, unlike telescopic sights which tend to cloud up in cold weather, and are easier to conceal: sunlight can reflect off a telescopic sight's lenses and reveal the sniper's position. Häyhä also did not have prior training with scoped rifles, and therefore preferred not to switch to the Soviet scoped rifle (m/91-30 PE or PEM).
He would frequently pack dense mounds of snow in front of his position to conceal himself, provide padding for his rifle, and reduce the characteristic puff of snow stirred up by the muzzle blast. He was known to keep snow in his mouth while sniping to prevent his breath in the cold air from giving away his position. Häyhä's diary discovered in 2017 also shares a story by him where they caught a Russian soldier, blindfolded him, spun him dizzy and took him to a party in the tent of The Terror of Morocco. The Russian soldier was joyed by the carousing and was disgusted when he was sent back.
On 6 March 1940, Häyhä was hit in his lower left jaw by an explosive bullet fired by a Red Army soldier. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said that "half his face was missing". He regained consciousness on 13 March, the day that peace was declared. He read about his own death in the newspaper, and sent a letter to the paper to correct the misunderstanding. Shortly after the war, he was promoted from alikersantti (Corporal) to vänrikki (Second lieutenant) by Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.
Later life
It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and removed most of his left cheek. Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II, and he even hunted with Finnish President Urho Kekkonen. However, he was also met with hate and even death threats. He spoke only sparsely about the war.
He was asked in 1998 how he had become such a good sniper: "Practice." He was asked in 2002, just before his 96th birthday, if he regretted killing so many people. He replied, "I only did what I was told to do, as well as I could." Häyhä spent his last years in Ruokolahti, a small municipality located in southeastern Finland near the Russian border.
Häyhä died in a war veterans' nursing home in Hamina in 2002 at age 96. He was buried in Ruokolahti. And as always have a chilled day from the viking.
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