Moments With Clyde: Simo Häyhä

Simo Häyhä

Simo Hayha was was a quiet Finnish farmer and the world's greatest sniper. He was credited with 505 confirmed kills in 100 days, which makes him the deadliest sniper in military history. He used a standard iron-sighted, bolt-action rifle.

Finland is a republic, and is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. It's one of the most economically competitive in the world, has the third-highest graduation rate in the world, and ranks as the best country in the world in the Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. That same survey even labelled it the world's "most stable country".

Simo Hayha was born in 1906 or 1905 (there are two different dates that are recorded of his birth depending on the reference materials) in Rautajärvi, Finland.

The town was near the border of the Soviet Union. Like many of the towns and villages of this region the area was rural, and Mr. Häyhä was a farmer and an outdoorsman who spent much of his time outside.

In 1925, young Mr. Häyhä joined the Finnish Army for his one year of Finnland's mandatory military service. During the year's time in the Army, he had achieved the rank of corporal.

Simo Häyhä is in the middle of the front row.

Later Simo Häyhä joined the Suojelskunta (Finnish Civil Guard) serving in his home district. The Civil Guard is a an organization similar to a well trained United States National Guard Unit.

The Soviet Union invaded Finland at the end of November 1939. This invasion was supposed to be the end of Finland. The "Winter War" began with all odds against Finland remaining a free country. The Soviet forces had three times as many soldiers as the Finns, 30 times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. During the -45°F winter, many Finnish troops had to make do with very little warm clothing.

Before the war, Simo Häyhä was a skilled marksman, but he was generally known more for his quiet disposition and good nature. While he was an expert marksman, he was a man of peace that enjoyed the simple life around him.

Now as an older man, he rejoined the army to fight the Soviet invaders of his homeland. Simo Häyhä became a a sniper in the Jaeger Regiment 34. He dressed completely in white camouflage clothing as were his comrades in arms, and he packed a Mosine carbine with iron sights.

Simo Häyhä managed to put down 505 (confirmed kills, some say 542) men with his Mosin-Nagant Model 28 rifle, during a three month period. Simo Häyhä became a most feared sniper during the 1939-40 (November 30, 1939 - March 14, 1940). Simo Häyhä was called "Belaya Smert" (White Death) by the Soviet troops he stalked in the forests of Finland.

The Soviet military leaders were infuriated at their inability to kill him, and multiple teams were sent out after him:. They all failed. Many of them were killed by his gunfire. The Soviets tried several ways to specifically get rid of him. Teams of Soviet snipers aided by artillery were deployed with the sole purpose of eliminating the tiny Finnish 'cuckoo'. Finnish snipers were called cuckoos by Russians, because they thought that all Finnish snipers were located in trees (and all the trees contained snipers!).

Most of his shots were taken while acting alone, shooting from a sitting position at ranges at or over 400 meters. Simo Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M/28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (it was known as "Pystykorva" rifle, meaning "spitz"), because it suited his small frame (5 ft 3 in.). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights since they presented a smaller target (the sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to prevent visibility risks (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily), and aid in his concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position).

Another tactic that Simo Häyhä used was to compact the snow in front of him so that the shot wouldn't disturb the snow, and reveal his position.

He would also keep some snow in his mouth so that his mouth would cool the air he was breathing and wouldn't reveal his position..

On March 6, 1940, Simo Häyhä was shot in the jaw with an exploding bullet while he was on the frontline and went into a coma. He was found by another solider.When he came out of his coma in the hospital, nine days later, the day the "Winter War" ended.

Finland had lost the war.

Simo Häyhä was promoted to lieutenant, personally, by the Finnish commander Baron Field Marshal Mannerhiem. His 'confirmed kills' were listed at 542 with another two hundred unconfirmed.

He was also an expert with the Suomi K31 SMG. A large number (over 200 unconfirmed kills) of the Soviets that he killed were with his K31.

Along some parts of the battlefront the Soviet Army outnumbered the Finnish defenders in ratios as high as 100:1. The Finnish Army made the Soviets pay dearly for their invasion of their homeland. Finland may have lost the "Winter War", but it cost the Soviets 1,000,000 men killed, out of the 1,500,000 man invading force. Finland lost a total of 25,000 men.

Many had called the Finnish Army's defense of this key region "fanatical", and it was in the Kollaa area were the famous battle of "Killer Hill" took place with 32 Finns battling 4,000 Soviet soldiers. These were also the hunting grounds of Simo Häyhä. At the end of the war, even against massive odds, it should be noted that the Kollaa positions were still in Finnish hands.

It took several years for him to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek. Simo Häyhä made a full recovery.

The town of Rautjärvi, where he was born, was lost to the Soviets in the peace settlement and remains part of that country that is now Russia, to this day.

Simo Häyhä spent his last years in a small village called Ruokolahti which is located in the south-east of Finland near the Russian border. He hunted moose and became a successful dog breeder.

When Simo Häyhä was asked how he had become such a good shot, he answered, "Practice with your weapon... and clear days."

When he was asked if he regretted killing so many people, he has said "I did what I was told to, as well as I could."

Like most snipers Simo Häyhä preferred to shoot officers and weapons crews.

Simo Häyhä died on April 1, 2002, in Rautjärvi, at the age of 97 years.

Simo Häyhä is a symbol of the courage of the Finnish soldier. He represents the true meaning of the word "sisu", which can be loosely translated, in English it would be "Guts" .

He my have been small in stature, but he had the courage of a giant.

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The following is a short dedication video to the memory of Simo Häyhä.