What do you most want to be in war? It is estimated that many people will choose the cold and silent role of sniper. In literary works, calm and unsmiling; hiding in the shadows, winning with one blow in a silent place is the consistent image of the sniper, so the sniper has become the most mysterious and magical role in war.
At the top of the world's most famous sniper list is a humble little country master, Finland's Simon Heh (also known as Simon Haiya), whose 742-man record is unparalleled. Today, let's take a look at the glorious life of this "White Death" and return to that ruthless battlefield.
On December 17, 1905, in an ordinary mountain village in Northern Finland, Simon Heich fell to the ground in front of everyone's attention. The family gave him a nickname "Simuna", and as the son of a deer hunter, skiing and hunting became the daily life of Little Haihe. Under the practice day after day, Haihe's shooting skills became more and more skilled. At the age of 17, he joined the local guard team, and under professional training, the shooting technique was further strengthened. His home is also filled with various trophies for his shooting competitions, and his fame is growing in his hometown.
Simon Heich's performance in his hometown also attracted the attention of the army. In 1925 he officially entered the Finnish army, where his outstanding performance in the army earned him the rank of corporal. From that moment on, Simon Heich's name was about to become the new name that terrified the Soviets— the "White Death."
In 1939, the Soviet Union, which had been disputed with the Soviet Union on the border, officially tore its face with Finland for a series of external reasons. Two unequal countries waged the most famous "Winter War" (Зимняя война). Simon Heich, who was serving in the Finnish army at this time, together with his comrades, took up his rifle and fired the first shot of aggression against the Soviets.
Due to his superior marksmanship, Simon Heich quickly stood out as a sniper in the 6th Company of the 34th Regiment of the Finnish Army. In the ensuing Battle of Kollaan taistelu, Simon Heich became famous, and although he himself was only 1.6 meters tall, he had three winning weapons in his hands. These three treasures made him feel like a fish in the war.
The first is his beloved rifle, the Finnish SAKO M/28-30 rifle, a Finnish-made rifle that is a replica of the famous Mosin-Nagant rifle, which is better than blue in terms of firepower and fluency. What is even more surprising is that Simon, as a sniper, does not use optical sights, but only uses the naked eye and iron to illuminate the door and the crosshair. This allows him to look up at the scope in actual combat like others, thus reducing his center of gravity and reducing the chance of being hit.
And because there is no mirror reflection, this makes his concealment even stronger. Haich also often piled snow in front of his sniper site to conceal his body while reducing the snow that was raised when the rifle opened fire. He would also hold snow in his mouth when he sniped to avoid exposing the hot air he exhaled. It is rumored that Hych's sniper range is as far as 450 meters.
The second magic weapon was his auxiliary gun, the Somi M1931 submachine gun, which looked similar to The Bobosha submachine gun, and became another "hunting weapon" for Simon. In the case of a rifle, a submachine gun that swept through a thousand armies would also allow Simon to hunt accurately on the snowy Finnish land. Throughout the war, he used this gun to kill many Soviet soldiers, and when his comrades asked him how he achieved such excellent results, Simon's answer was very humble and simple - "practice more, keep practicing".
The third magic weapon is also the "victory weapon" that Simon and other Finnish soldiers are most proud of. It was the snowy Finnish land in winter and the white combat suits on them, and due to the lack of experience of the Soviet army in winter combat, winter combat clothing was not distributed in this battle. The combat attire of the Soviet soldiers appeared abrupt and pronounced in the snowy environment, much to the excitement of Simon and his comrades. Finnish soldiers shot like targets in the snow with precision the Soviet soldiers who had nothing to hide.
In less than 100 days, Heych killed an average of 5 Soviet soldiers per day. On December 21, 1939, Haich set his highest number of kills in a single day, killing 25 people. At that time, the sniper's kill number needed to be calculated by the sniper himself, and the comrades-in-arms had to be confirmed. After the war, according to a book, Simon Heich used the SAKO M/28-30 rifle to snipe 259 people. In recognition of Haich's heroic performance, the commander of his unit, A. Svensson, was the commander of his unit. Svensson) awarded him a "rifle of honor."
The Soviet soldiers, in the cold and despair, did not even care about death, only when there would be a round hole in their foreheads; some cowardly soldiers were too frightened to look up, and could only lie on the ground and shoot indiscriminately, but even so, Simon would let these soldiers taste the taste of being hit... In the night camp, the Soviets were also frightened - Hiding in the dark, Simon shot these poor unsuspecting soldiers like a target.
Because of Simon Heich's astonishing performance, he received many rewards and praise from the top brass of the Finnish army; on the Soviet side, the Soviet commanders and fighters hated him to the bone, and repeatedly killed and wounded it with heavy artillery and powerful fire, but he avoided it in time. The surviving Soviet soldiers also bore him the nickname "White Death". Since then, the title of "White Death" has become Simon's most famous pronoun, which also led Finnish soldiers to fight heroically against Soviet soldiers in their own land until the end of the war. It can be said that "White Death" is not only a nickname, but also a deafening and inspiring slogan.
On March 6, 1940, when Simon Heich met a soviet soldier again, an unknown soldier of the Soviet army hit his left jaw with a powerful Dam bomb (flowering bullet). Before falling, Simon subconsciously raised his gun and killed the Soviet soldier, and then lost consciousness. When his comrades found him, they were surprised to find that he had almost half of his head left, and after 26 surgeries by the doctor, Simon survived by chance. But the left side of the face was completely disfigured, losing most of the function of the jaw, and the cheeks were gone. He could no longer continue fighting, and a generation of snipers left his beloved battlefield.
The war ended with a crushing victory over the Soviet Union, and although Finland lost, its fortitude and tenacity impressed all countries. Simon Heich also became the sniper who killed the most enemies in the history of modern warfare with the result of killing 542 people in the war, and the then Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim promoted him directly from corporal to second lieutenant, and he also became the fastest-promoted soldier in Finnish military history.
After the end of World War II, Simon Hych returned to his hometown, and after taking off his military uniform, he became a successful moose hunter and dog breeding expert. His neighbors gave him a farm in The Town of Ruokolahti, southeast of Finland near the Russian border. Hach built a small house on the farm and spent the rest of his life with his beloved dog.
In the eyes of his neighbors, Simon was low-key and humble, and rarely mentioned his heroic performance in the war to outsiders. In this quiet farm, the "White Death" has become history, and "Ordinary Man Simon" has become synonymous with him now.
When asked by a reporter if he felt guilty about the ghosts of the guns in the war, Haich himself said quietly: "Of course there will be some guilt, but I just do what I do my job." Then he added: "Fighting a war is not a pleasant experience, but if we don't go to the battlefield, who will protect this land?" ”
On April 1, 2002, Finland's "White Death", the world's greatest sniper, Simon Heich, completed his legendary and glorious life at the age of 96. In honor of this great military prodigy, the people of Finland placed his body in his hometown and built a memorial for the public to visit. Simon Heich was also among the "100 Greatest Finns" by the Finnish media.
The life of Simon Heich, the greatest sniper in military history. His life will not be forgotten because of his departure, but will be passed on from generation to generation in the mouths of military fans. Whether as a soldier or as an ordinary dog breeding expert, Simon Heich enjoys life optimistically and open-mindedly in different identities. Although the "White Death" is far away, it has left a fascinating historical myth.
【References】
1. Lappalainen,Jukka-Pekka.
2. Saarelainen,Tapio.
3. Lappalainen,Jukka-Pekka.
4. owett，Philip S. Finland at War，1939–45. Osprey Publishing. 2006