Took his task to heart...
Thought this was worthy of a re-post. It was said Simo would hold snow or ice in his mouth to cut down on the telltale "steam" from his exhalation and that he stuck to iron sights in order to lower his profile. Ingenuity can carry you far folks....
I give you Simo Hayha (The White Death, as he was known to the Soviets)
During the Soviet invasion of Finland circa 1939; this 5 foot 3 inch farmer served as a sniper in the Finnish militia. He conducted his duties alone in the harsh winter, armed primarily with an un-scoped Finnish variant Mosin-Nagant. Was this one man effective? 705 dead Soviet soldiers will endorse his efficacy. By the way; he accomplished this task in about three months time.
The Soviet army was so terrorized by this small man and his little rifle, that they eventually tasked an entire battalion to hunt him down.....to no avail. That's an entire battalion tied up with one partisan......think about it.
One could say he ended up being a one man psychological warfare unit as well.
When asked later in life how he became such a good shooter, Simo simply responded...."Practice".
Don't ever count yourself out because you don't have the best gear or are feeling past your prime. Take Simo's advice and practice.
It's hard for folks like me, plagued by underlying medical conditions, to keep that in mind. We all want to be as good as the SEALs. It's part of our modern culture. What I find interesting is that Hayha is shooting with the bayonet attached.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thought that was kind of funny due to some of "bayonet" discussions that have been floated recently. You have to wonder if that was his normal practice, or was just done for that particular photo op.
DeleteSimo also made good use of a Suomi 9mm subgun, dispatching something like 200 Soviet troops with it. It's good to diversify one's skill sets, eh.
As for the Bayonet on the Mosin: I have been told that the weapon was designed to fire with the bayonet fixed and shooting it without shifted your POI. Not sure if that is an accurate statement on all models, or even at all really, but it would make sense as this sniper is doing just that.
ReplyDeleteNice post. Had never heard this story before.
To my mind that's what I call a great blog article! Do you run this domain for personal goals solely or you actually have it to get profit from it?
ReplyDelete