Simo Häyhä

Simo “The White Death” Hayha was a Finnish Sniper who professionally installed ventilation in Soviet skulls during the Winter War from 1939 to 1940. His record varies when it comes to how many Russian souls he captured, but Finnish documentation and Simo’s personal journal would have that number around 500 dead Soviets. 

Simo would go down in history as one of the deadliest snipers to grace the battlefield. His tactics were very different from your average sniper. He used a Finnish style Mosin Nagant with stolen Soviet iron sights. Simo didn’t use a scope on his rifle for a number of reasons. Fighting mainly in the snow, the cold would cause the lenses to fog up easily when in use. Simo also didn’t like that he had to raise his head a couple more inches to look down a scope. Then the glare of the glass was something Simo loved to exploit, but not something that he was going to allow to be the death of him. He zeroed his iron sights in at 150 meters, and would just sit and wait for his prey. 

Stacking the bodies of the Red army seemed easy for Simo. The Russians were never issued any proper snow gear. Their brown coats stood out in the white snow, and the lack of snow shoes made them move at a snail's pace. Simo was dressed in all white, and blended into the snow perfectly. Nothing the Soviets threw at Simo seemed to work. Counter snipers couldn’t spot him, and if they did, it was already too late for them. Soviet artillery couldn’t even touch him.

One day, one Russian troop got lucky with an explosive round that took out most of Hayha’s upper and lower jaw. The Finnish army thought this was the end for Simo, leaving him for dead in a pile of other friendly casualties. Simo was just simply knocked unconscious, and was discovered alive in the pile of dead comrades. Simo would survive his wounds and live to the ripe old age of 96. He is still remembered to this day as the deadliest sniper in history.