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Nice smile too.
There have been quite a few of these threads over the years. Don't get the Finns started on Simo Haya........
Vasily Zaitsev,the Sniper Legend
Captain Vassiliy Grigoryevich Zaitsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев) (March 23, 1915 – December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad killed 114 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers. His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant. By the end of the war, Zaitsev had made 242 verified kills
Life
Zaitsev was born in Yelino, grew up in the Ural Mountains and learned marksmanship by poaching deer with his grandfather. His surname Zaitsev means of hare in Russian.
Zaitsev served in the 1047th rifle regiment of the 284th rifle division of the 62nd Army. Zaitsev served until January 1943, when he suffered an injury to his eyes. He was attended to by Professor Filatov, who is credited with restoring his sight. After that he returned to the front and finished the war on the Dniestr river with the military rank of Captain.
After the war, Zaitsev managed a factory in Kiev.
Prior to 10 November he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle ("tryokhlineyka", three line rifle) [4].
Some sources claim that Zaitsev's remarkable performance of 242 kills was not unique, and that Ivan Mihailovich Sidorenko of the 1122nd rifle regiment had made approximately 500 kills by the end of the war. [5] [6]. Undoubtedly, though, there were numerous Soviet snipers serving during World War II who did distinguish themselves with a high number of individual kills.
The snipers he trained were nicknamed zaichata, meaning "leverets" (baby hares). Anthony Beevor wrote in Stalingrad that this was the start of the "sniper movement" in the 62nd Army. Conferences were arranged to spread the doctrine of "sniperism" and exchange ideas on technique and principles that were not limited to marksmanship skills. It is estimated that the snipers he had trained killed more than 3000 enemy soldiers. Zaitsev died at age 76 in Kiev.
Remembering
On January 31, 2006 Vasily Zaitsev was reburied on Mamayev Kurgan with full military honors. Zaitsev's dying wish was to be buried at the monument to the defenders of Stalingrad. His coffin was carried next to a monument where his famous quote is written: "There is no ground for us beyond [the] Volga."
Awards and honors
Titles and OrdersMedals
- Title of Hero of the Soviet Union (22 February 1943).
- Title of "Honorary Citizen of the Hero City Volgograd" (7 May 1980).
- 2 Order of Lenin
- 2 Orders of the Red Banner
- The Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class
Source : Wikipedia
- For the Defense of Stalingrad
- For the Victory Over Germany
- 20 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War
- 30 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War
- 40 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War
And i must add that at the film Enemy At the Gates,Zaitsev isn't well ''played''.Zaitsev was more a strong-commanding figure,rather than a shy boy.
Nice smile too.
There have been quite a few of these threads over the years. Don't get the Finns started on Simo Haya........
Hathcock. yut yut!
Interseting.
I thought that Enemy at the Gates was a great movie.
Don't bring that movie into this, (for a big part) its fiction.Originally Posted by beNder
Weird that movie was on the Canadian History channel today.
Awesome movie!
They show that on a history channel ?
Oh my god...
That movie suck. Where did she find lip gloss in Stalingrad at that time?
yep, great movie!
You post in the Military History and Tactics section now?They show that on a history channel ?
Oh my god...
The movie has problems, and historical inaccuracies, such as there were no SS units a Stalingrad. But there are few movies made about the Russian Front, and the Russian point of view.
terrible movie- enemy at the gates.
The Zaitsev vs Konig/Thorvald story has been intensively researched over the years with no evidence the German(s) ever existed.
Old news to many, but I thought I'd throw that in before anyone started preaching the duel as gospel.
And yeah, I give it an hour before a Finn throws the Simo Haya hat into the ring.
Most war movies have fiction thrown into them to give them extra appeal.
I just thought the movie was well made and acted.
You asked for it so here we go
Zaitsev is a total n00b compared to Häyhä!!11+1+ In less than three months 505 credited kills and over 200 more with a submachine gun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4
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