On the subject of snipers...

[stuartj]

Simo Häyhä - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simo "Simuna" 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 marksman. Using a Finnish version of the Mosin–Nagant in the Winter War, he acquired the highest recorded number, in any major war, of at least 505 confirmed sniper kills.[2]

Häyhä used a M/28-30 with serial number 60974, since it suited his small frame (1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)). The rifle is a shorter, Finnish White Guard-militia variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle, known as "Pystykorva" (literally "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 to present a smaller target for the enemy (a sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to increase accuracy (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily in cold weather), and to aid in concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position). As well as these tactics, he frequently packed 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 also known to keep snow in his mouth whilst sniping, to prevent steamy breaths giving away his position in the cold air.[9]

The Soviets' efforts to kill Häyhä included counter-snipers and artillery strikes, and on March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in his lower left jaw by a Russian soldier. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his face was missing", but he did not die, regaining consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war, Häyhä was promoted from alikersantti (corporal) to vänrikki (second lieutenant) by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.[10]

[Super_Dave_D]

It was a 7.62x54R

[Crowbob]

As noted in post #66 of the first Sniper thread...

[BeyGon]

Stu, I realize you are extremely jealous and you hate all things American so is this some small minded thing to help you get over the fact Chris Kyle was so good?
If so it's another fail, this guy was good but it takes nothing away from Kyle. Now if you had something to brag about, like if you had ever been in the military or a sniper, but you weren't and you can't.

[andrew15]

[masraum]

Related subject, kind of interesting actually.

Smart, beautiful and deadly, 19 year old Russian sniper Roza Shanina had 54 confirmed kills

Shanina volunteered for the military after the death of her brother in 1941 and chose to be a marksman on the front line. Praised for her shooting accuracy, Shanina was capable of precisely hitting moving enemy personnel and making doublets (two target hits by two rounds fired in quick succession).

[varmint]

I'm all for Chris Kyle day. And if you kill 500 communists you should get a day too.

[Head416]

Enjoy: Badass of the Week: Simo Hayha

^ NSFW language

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by Head416

Enjoy: Badass of the Week: Simo Hayha

^ NSFW language

Thanks, good write up. Certainly colourful.

It was a disgraceful gap im my knowledge, I had never realised till a few years ago till visiting Finland that it was allied to Nazi Germany during WW2, that Britain declared war on it. Not sure about the US. Certainly a special case, strange fellows, as the Finns were fighting the invading Russians. Fascinating country and history.

Oh Beygon, I think you are projecting. This is just a topical post about an interesting historical character defending his home from an invading power that may have been of some interest. Clearly not to you, and that's fine. Carry on.

[Bob Kontak]

Nice tats.

Would pet.

[MRM]

Originally Posted by stuartj

Thanks, good write up. Certainly colourful.

It was a disgraceful gap im my knowledge, I had never realised till a few years ago till visiting Finland that it was allied to Nazi Germany during WW2, that Britain declared war on it. Not sure about the US. Certainly a special case, strange fellows, as the Finns were fighting the invading Russians. Fascinating country and history.

Oh Beygon, I think you are projecting. This is just a topical post about an interesting historical character defending his home from an invading power that may have been of some interest. Clearly not to you, and that's fine. Carry on.

It's disgraceful that you're so uneducated and stupid that you think that Finland was allied with Nazi Germany during WWII. Your grammar and punctuation are beyond disgrace, even more than usual, along with your usual lack of critical thinking and insistence on trolling.

Simo Häyhä is well known to even causal students of military history. A quiet, soft-spoken carpenter, his hobby before the war was carpentry, making cabinets for his many shooting trophies.

You might want to Google something called the Winter War some time. I'm not surprised you don't know about it because the gaps in your knowledge would fill volumes. Allow me to give you a brief primer. It was a precursor to WWII, if you subscribe to the theory that WWII started with the invasion of Poland. But it is rightly understood as one of the first battles of WWII in which the Soviet Union invaded Finland, partly to gain its ports and natural resources but even more to set an example to Germany and the western European powers that the Soviets had the might and the will to roll over anyone who resisted them.

The Finns declined the opportunity to be steamrolled and had the distasteful lack of grace to fight back against their one world government neighbors. The western governments were afraid to antagonize the Soviets and placed an embargo on them. Americans trying to travel to Finland to fight for the Finns were subject to arrest (as were Americans who tried to join the Battle of Britain) and the Finns turned down the Nazi's offer of assistance. Yes, the Finns turned down the Nazi's offer of assistance even while the western powers sacrificed the Finns to the Greater Good and Joseph Stalin.

For 90 days over the bitter winter of 1939-1940 the Finns fought the Soviets to a standstill because of the valor of ordinary citizens like Häyhä. No matter his duties, whenever he was able he would put on his sniper kit and "go hunting Russians". Surely you recognize him as a hero. "But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor." Right?

By the end of the Winter War the Finns had something in the 25,000 total casualty figure and the Russians something in the 350,000 range. Quite a catastrophe for 90 days. Most military historians credit the lessons learned by the Russians in this engagement to the tactics they eventually were able to use successfully against the Nazis, just as the Nazis discovered effective fighting tactics in the Spanish Civil War.

You have certainly heard of the general in charge of the Finnish invasion. His name was Molotov. It turned out that Soviet tanks had a fatal flaw in their design. If you broke a flaming bottle of gasoline over the air intake of a Soviet tank, it would suck the fire into the tank and cause it to explode. Quite a mixed drink, that was. Some still call it a Molotov Cocktail.

At the end of the Winter War the Soviets occupied the Karelia Peninsula and significant parts of the eastern half of the country, but the population was intact and it fled Soviet rule and resettled to the west.

As WWII continued the Soviets continued to menace Finland even as the Nazis fought the Soviets on the eastern front. The Nazis never had the resources or strategic desire to invade Finland, so they entered into a tacit agreement with the Finns that they would maintain lines against the Soviets. Therefore the Finns and Nazis had lines next to each other and never attacked each other, as they fought the Soviets. All the while the western powers denied the Finns of war material our of fear of the Soviets.

So it's a bit of a stretch to say that the Finns were allies with the Nazis. It's more correct to say that the Finns were one of the few countries in the history of the world to stand up to all the major powers in a world-wide dispute and insist on their own sovereignty. Almost every other country that has fought a war of liberation has been a proxy of another of the world's great powers. Not the Finns. They weren't pawns in an international game of diplomatic chess. And neither was Häyhä.

We have Finns here in Minnesota, more than a few who immigrated since WWII. Whenever I meet one of them I try to buy them a drink. If circumstances fail, I try to do something else to be nice to them. I'd buy the whole country a drink if I could, and the descendants of Häyhä deserve their own distilleries.

[black_falcon]

Originally Posted by MRM

It's disgraceful that you're so uneducated and stupid that you think that Finland was allied with Nazi Germany during WWII. Your grammar and punctuation are beyond disgrace, even more than usual, along with your usual lack of critical thinking and insistence on trolling.

Simo Häyhä is well known to even causal students of military history. A quiet, soft-spoken carpenter, his hobby before the war was carpentry, making cabinets for his many shooting trophies.

You might want to Google something called the Winter War some time. I'm not surprised you don't know about it because the gaps in your knowledge would fill volumes. Allow me to give you a brief primer. It was a precursor to WWII, if you subscribe to the theory that WWII started with the invasion of Poland. But it is rightly understood as one of the first battles of WWII in which the Soviet Union invaded Finland, partly to gain its ports and natural resources but even more to set an example to Germany and the western European powers that the Soviets had the might and the will to roll over anyone who resisted them.

The Finns declined the opportunity to be steamrolled and had the distasteful lack of grace to fight back against their one world government neighbors. The western governments were afraid to antagonize the Soviets and placed an embargo on them. Americans trying to travel to Finland to fight for the Finns were subject to arrest (as were Americans who tried to join the Battle of Britain) and the Finns turned down the Nazi's offer of assistance. Yes, the Finns turned down the Nazi's offer of assistance even while the western powers sacrificed the Finns to the Greater Good and Joseph Stalin.

For 90 days over the bitter winter of 1939-1940 the Finns fought the Soviets to a standstill because of the valor of ordinary citizens like Häyhä. No matter his duties, whenever he was able he would put on his sniper kit and "go hunting Russians". Surely you recognize him as a hero. "But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor." Right?

By the end of the Winter War the Finns had something in the 25,000 total casualty figure and the Russians something in the 350,000 range. Quite a catastrophe for 90 days. Most military historians credit the lessons learned by the Russians in this engagement to the tactics they eventually were able to use successfully against the Nazis, just as the Nazis discovered effective fighting tactics in the Spanish Civil War.

You have certainly heard of the general in charge of the Finnish invasion. His name was Molotov. It turned out that Soviet tanks had a fatal flaw in their design. If you broke a flaming bottle of gasoline over the air intake of a Soviet tank, it would suck the fire into the tank and cause it to explode. Quite a mixed drink, that was. Some still call it a Molotov Cocktail.

At the end of the Winter War the Soviets occupied the Karelia Peninsula and significant parts of the eastern half of the country, but the population was intact and it fled Soviet rule and resettled to the west.

As WWII continued the Soviets continued to menace Finland even as the Nazis fought the Soviets on the eastern front. The Nazis never had the resources or strategic desire to invade Finland, so they entered into a tacit agreement with the Finns that they would maintain lines against the Soviets. Therefore the Finns and Nazis had lines next to each other and never attacked each other, as they fought the Soviets. All the while the western powers denied the Finns of war material our of fear of the Soviets.

So it's a bit of a stretch to say that the Finns were allies with the Nazis. It's more correct to say that the Finns were one of the few countries in the history of the world to stand up to all the major powers in a world-wide dispute and insist on their own sovereignty. Almost every other country that has fought a war of liberation has been a proxy of another of the world's great powers. Not the Finns. They weren't pawns in an international game of diplomatic chess. And neither was Häyhä.

We have Finns here in Minnesota, more than a few who immigrated since WWII. Whenever I meet one of them I try to buy them a drink. If circumstances fail, I try to do something else to be nice to them. I'd buy the whole country a drink if I could, and the descendants of Häyhä deserve their own distilleries.

[Rusty914s]

MRM and Beygon, you guys need to get out more often. Wow, angry dudes.

[winders]

Originally Posted by MRM

It's disgraceful that you're so uneducated and stupid that you think that Finland was allied with Nazi Germany during WWII.

Uh, they were from 1941 to 1944.

[Reiver]

Quick snippet...

Finland and Nazi Germany[edit]

During the Continuation War (1941–1944) Finland was co-belligerent with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, and dependent on food, fuel and armament shipments from Germany. In spite of this, Finland retained an independent, democratic form of government. Moreover, during the war, Finland kept its army outside the German command structure despite numerous attempts by the Germans to tie them more tightly together.

About 19,000 Soviet prisoners of war died in Finnish prison camps during the Continuation War, which means that about 30% of Soviet POWs taken by the Finns did not survive. The high number of fatalities was mainly due to malnutrition and diseases. However, about 1000 POWs are believed to have been executed.

Finnish Jews were not persecuted, and even among extremists of the Finnish Right they were highly tolerated, as many leaders of the movement came from the clergy. Of approximately 500 Jewish refugees, eight were handed over to the Germans, a fact for which Finnish prime minister Paavo Lipponen issued an official apology in 2000. The field synagogue operated by the Finnish army was probably a unique phenomenon in the Eastern Front of the war.[21] Finnish Jews fought alongside other Finns for their country's freedom.[22]

Approximately 2600 to 2800 Soviet prisoners of war were exchanged for 2100 Fennic prisoners of war from Germany. In November 2003, the Simon Wiesenthal Center submitted an official request to Finnish President Tarja Halonen for a full-scale investigation by the Finnish authorities of the prisoner exchange.[23] In the subsequent study by Professor Heikki Ylikangas it turned out that about 2000 of the exchanged prisoners joined the Wehrmacht, but among the rest there were about 500 political officers or politically dangerous persons, who most likely perished in concentration camps. Based on a list of names, there were about seventy Jews among the extradited, although they were apparently not extradited based on ethnic grouping.[24]

When the Finnish Army controlled East Karelia between 1941 and 1944, several concentration camps were set up for Russian civilians. The first camp was set up on 24 October 1941, in Petrozavodsk. About 4000 of the prisoners perished due to malnourishment, 90% of them during the spring and summer of 1942.[25]

[Bill Douglas]

Another successful sniper Deadlier than American Sniper Chris Kyle, unnamed Marine has 173 kills | Daily Mail Online

90 in one day would have been very satisfying.

[sc_rufctr]

As always "Snipers" are mostly about propaganda.

Sure they're effective in the field at inducing fear and stress but the guy with the radio will kill more of the enemy than anyone else.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by MRM

It's disgraceful that you're so uneducated and stupid that you think that Finland was allied with Nazi Germany during WWII. Your grammar and punctuation are beyond disgrace, even more than usual, along with your usual lack of critical thinking and insistence on trolling.

Youre certainly right, my writing is atrocious, and I did leave out an important word....I meant to write, of Finland vis Germany "strange bedfellows", referencing the unusual and exceptional circumstances of the alliance, not "strange fellows".

I did mention that I unaware of the coalition until I went to Finland some years ago, so I hope you will allow that I have tried to take steps educate myself. Cant do much about the stupidity, although its not just me. The Finnish people I stayed with in Finland were also of the view that Finland was allied with Germany against the Russians during WW2, and so did the chap that wrote this book. "Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II". They must all be stupid too.

Otherwise, I really dont understand why this post about a sniper from another time and lesser known conflict, and discussion of the historical facts of Finlands alliance with Germany against Russia has inflamed you, warrants you throwing personal insults or supports your claim of trolling.

Some strange fellows indeed on this board.

[sc_rufctr]

Another one.



Vasily Zaytsev

Number of kills? = A lot... (allegedly more than 700)

Vasily Zaytsev - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Enemy at the Gates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[71scgc]

Kyle had the benefit of vastly superior rifles and optics.
These Soviet snipers were using little more than a common issue rifle and some pretty weak optics. No ballistic compensating scopes back then.

I was initially trained on an M-21. Later transitioned to an M-24.
The difference was like night and day.
But I still love that M-21 and it's little ART-II.

Carter