The best snipers of World War II. German, Soviet, Finnish shooters played a rather important role in wartime. And in this review, an attempt will be made to consider those that have become the most productive.
The advent of sniper art
Since the appearance in the armies of personal weapons, which made it possible to hit the enemy at great distances, well-aimed marksmen began to be allocated from soldiers. Subsequently, separate units of rangers began to form from them. As a result, a separate variety of light infantry was formed. The main tasks that the soldiers received included the destruction of enemy officers, as well as the demoralization of the enemy due to marksmanship at considerable distances. For this, the shooters were armed with special rifles.
In the 19th century, weapons were modernized. Changed, respectively, and tactics. This was facilitated by the appearance of an optical sight. During the First World War, snipers were part of a separate cohort of saboteurs. Their goal was to quickly and effectively defeat a living enemy force. At the very beginning of the war, snipers were mainly used by the Germans. However, over time, special schools began to appear in other countries. In the conditions of protracted conflicts, this "profession" has become quite popular.
Finnish snipers
In the period from 1939 to 1940, the Finnish arrows were considered as the best. World War II snipers learned a lot thanks to them. The Finnish shooters were nicknamed "cuckoos." The reason for this was the fact that they used special "nests" on the trees. This feature was distinctive for the Finns, although trees were used for this purpose in almost all countries.
So to whom exactly do the best snipers of World War II owe? The most famous "cuckoo" was considered to be Simo Haihe. He was nicknamed "white death." The number of confirmed murders committed by him exceeded the mark of 500 liquidated Red Army soldiers. In some sources, his indicators were equal to 700. He was seriously injured. But Simo was able to get better. He died in 2002.
Propaganda played a role
The best snipers of World War II, namely their achievements, were actively used in propaganda. Quite often it happened that the identity of the shooters began to grow into legends.
The famous domestic sniper Vasily Zaitsev was able to destroy about 240 enemy soldiers. This figure was the average for effective shooters of that war. But due to propaganda, he was made the most famous Red Army sniper. At the present stage, historians seriously doubt the existence of Major Koenig, the main opponent of Zaitsev in Stalingrad. The main merits of the domestic shooter include the development of a training program for snipers. He personally participated in their preparation. In addition, he formed a full-fledged sniper school. Her graduates were called "rabbits."
Most productive arrows
Who are the best snipers of World War II? The names of the most successful shooters should be known. In the first position is Mikhail Surkov. He destroyed about 702 enemy soldiers. Following him on the list is Ivan Sidorov. He destroyed 500 soldiers. In third position is Nikolai Ilyin. They killed 497 enemy soldiers. With a mark of 489 killed, Ivan Kulbertinov is following him.
The best snipers of the USSR of World War II were not only men. In those years, women also actively joined the ranks of the Red Army. Some of them subsequently became quite effective shooters. Soviet women destroyed about 12 thousand enemy soldiers. And the most productive was Lyudmila Pavlichenkova, on whose account there were 309 killed soldiers.
The best snipers of the USSR in World War II, of which there were quite a lot, have in their account a large number of effective shots. Approximately fifteen arrows destroyed more than 400 soldiers. 25 snipers killed more than 300 enemy soldiers. 36 shooters destroyed more than 200 Germans.
Not enough information about enemy shooters
There is not so much data on the “colleagues” from the enemy side. This is due to the fact that no one tried to boast of their exploits. Therefore, the German best snipers of World War II are practically not known in the ranks and names. One can reliably say only about those arrows that were awarded the Knight's Iron Crosses. It happened in 1945. One of them was Friedrich Payne. He killed about 200 enemy soldiers. The most productive, most likely, was Matthias Hetzenauer. He destroyed about 345 soldiers. The third sniper, who was awarded the order, was called Joseph Olerberg. He left a memoir in which a lot was written about the activities of German riflemen during the war. The sniper himself killed about 257 soldiers.
Sniper terror
It should be noted that in Normandy in 1944 there was a landing of the Anglo-American allies. And it was in this place that the best snipers of the Second World War were at that time. German shooters killed many soldiers. And their productivity was facilitated by the terrain, which was simply teeming with shrubs. The British and the Americans in Normandy faced real sniper terror. Only after that did the Allied forces think about training specialized shooters who could work with an optical sight. However, the war has come to an end. Therefore, the snipers of America and England were not able to set records.
Thus, the Finnish "cuckoos" at one time taught a good lesson. Thanks to them, the best snipers of World War II served in the Red Army.
Women fought along with men
From ancient times, it so happened that men are engaged in war. However, in 1941, when the Germans fell upon our country, the whole nation began to defend it. Holding weapons in their hands, while standing at machine tools and on collective farm fields, Soviet people fought against fascism - men, women, old people and children. And they were able to win.
In the annals there is a lot of information about women who received military awards. And the best snipers of war among them were also present. Our girls were able to destroy more than 12 thousand enemy soldiers. Six of them received the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And one girl became a full gentleman of the soldier's order of Glory.
Legend girl
As mentioned above, about 309 soldiers were destroyed by the famous sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenkova. Of these, 36 were enemy shooters. In other words, she alone was able to destroy almost the entire battalion. According to her exploits, a film entitled “The Battle of Sevastopol” was shot. The girl went to the front voluntarily in 1941. She took part in the defense of Sevastopol and Odessa.
In June 1942, the girl was injured. After that, she no longer took part in the hostilities. The wounded Lyudmila was taken out of the battlefield by Alexei Kitsenko, with whom she fell in love. They decided to file a marriage registration report. However, the happiness was not too long. In March 1942, the lieutenant was seriously wounded and died in the arms of his wife.
In the same year, Lyudmila joined the delegation of Soviet youth and left for America. There she made a splash. After returning, Lyudmila became an instructor at the sniper school. Under her leadership, several dozen good shooters were trained. Here they were - the best snipers of the USSR in World War II.
Creation of a special school
Perhaps the experience of Lyudmila was the reason that the country's leadership began to teach girls shooting art. Courses were specially formed at which the girls were in no way inferior to men. Later, these courses were decided to be reorganized into the Central Women's School of Sniper Training. In other countries, only men were snipers. In World War II, girls were not taught this art professionally. And only in the Soviet Union did they comprehend this science and fight along with men.
Enemies were cruel to girls
In addition to rifles, sapper shovels and binoculars, women took grenades with them. One was for the enemy, and the other for himself. Everyone knew that the German soldiers were abusing snipers. In 1944, the Nazis managed to capture the domestic sniper Tatyana Baramzina. When our soldiers found her, they could only recognize her by her hair and uniform. The body of the enemy soldiers was stabbed with daggers, their breasts were cut out, their eyes were gouged out. They stuck a bayonet in their stomach. In addition, the Nazis point-blank shot at a girl with an anti-tank gun. Of the 1885 graduates of the school of snipers, about 185 girls could not survive until Victory. They tried to save them, did not throw them on especially difficult tasks. But still, the glare of the optical sights in the sun often betrayed the shooters, who were then found by enemy soldiers.
Only time has changed the attitude towards female shooters
Girls - the best snipers of World War II, photos of which can be seen in this review, at one time survived the terrible. And returning home, sometimes faced with contempt. Unfortunately, a special attitude was formed in the rear of the girls. Many of them were unfairly called field wives. From here came the contemptuous glances that the female snipers had earned.
For a long time they did not tell anyone that they had fought. They hid their rewards. And only after 20 years, the attitude towards them began to change. And it was at this time that the girls began to reveal themselves, talking about their many exploits.
Conclusion
In this review, an attempt was made to describe those snipers who became the most productive in all the time that the Second World War was going on. There are a lot of them. But it should be noted that far from all the arrows are known. Some tried to spread as little as possible about their exploits.