The White Sniper

Simo Häyhä

Tapio A. M. Saarelainen

• Publisher: Casemate
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781612004303
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Militär- & Seefahrtsgeschichte

The remarkable story of the Finnish marksman nicknamed "White Death" by the Red Army for his record number of confirmed kills. Simo Häyhä is the most famous sniper in the world. During the Winter War fought between Russia and Finland from 1939 to 1940, he had 542 confirmed kills with iron sights, a record that still stands today. A man of action who spoke very little, Simo Häyhä was hugely respected by his men and his superiors and given many difficult missions, including taking out specific targets. Able to move silently and swiftly through the landscape, melting into the snowbound surroundings in his white camouflage fatigues, his aim was deadly and his quarry rarely escaped. The Russians learned of his reputation as a marksman and tried several times to kill him by indirect fire. He was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant, and he was awarded the Cross of Kollaa. For sniping, Simo Häyhä only ever used his own M/28-30 rifle. Eventually, his luck ran out, and Simo received a serious head wound on March 6, 1940, though he subsequently recovered. The White Sniper fully explores Simo Häyhä's life, his exploits in the Winter War, the secrets behind his success, including character and technique, and also includes a detailed look at his rifle itself. There are appendices on the basics of shooting, the impact of fire on the battlefield, battles on the Kollaa Front during the Winter War, and a list of ranked snipers of the world. "No matter how many books on sniping you have read, this must be added to your list if you are serious about shooting." — GunMart

Part I

Simo Häyhä’s Official Record

Brief biography

Simo Häyhä was born on December 17, 1905 to Juho and Katriina (née Vilkko) Häyhä in the hamlet of Kiiskinen in Rautjärvi municipality. This area was in the old Finnish region of Karelia, which is now Russian territory. He was a farmer by profession both before and after the Winter War. Simo Häyhä enjoyed several different hobbies during his lifetime, the most important of which were snow skiing, hunting and shooting. Finnish baseball was one of his favorite sports, with his preferred playing position being the front catcher.

He died on April 1, 2002 in the Kymi Institute for Disabled War Veterans, in the town of Hamina. Simo Häyhä is buried in Ruokolahti old church cemetery very near the belfry.

Civil Guard service and conscription service

Simo Häyhä joined the Rautjärvi Civil Guard at the age of 17 and quickly established himself as a top-notch marksman by winning several prizes in various Civil Guard regional competitions throughout the 1930s. In combat marksmanship competitions, he represented the Rautjärvi light machine gun group, a unit that won several competitions. Simo Häyhä also received Class 2 medals for his superior skiing ability and outstanding physical conditioning.

From late 1925 until early 1927, for a total of fifteen months, Simo Häyhä performed his conscription duty with Bicycle Battalion 1 in Raivola, and Bicycle Battalion 2 in Terijoki. Häyhä served in the following units:

Bicycle Battalion 2 (Valkjärvi)

1st Company, December 10, 1925–March 5, 1926

Bicycle Battalion 2 (Valkjärvi)

Corporal Training

March 6–June 1, 1926

Bicycle Battalion 2 (Valkjärvi)

NCO Training

June 1–August 18, 1926

Transferred to 3rd Company, Bicycle Battalion 1 (Terijoki) where he served as a squad leader. Discharged on March 21, 1927.

Rehearsal training:

Sniper training conducted in Utti Training Center July 14–August 2, 1938.

Winter War

Simo Häyhä participated in what history refers to as the Winter War against the Soviet Union from November 30, 1939 until March 6, 1940; serving a total of 98 days with 6th Battalion, Infantry Regiment 34. The Winter War itself lasted 105 days, but Simo Häyhä was wounded and hospitalized during the last week of the war.

Häyhä’s Infantry Regiment 34 was established at the Huuhanmäki garrison and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ville Teittinen, nicknamed “War-Ville.” Häyhä’s company commander from October 10, 1939 until May 31, 1940 was Reserve Lieutenant Aarne Edvard Juutilainen, nicknamed the “Horror of Morocco.” Juutilainen earned his nickname while serving in French Foreign Legion in Africa. Simo also received his share of nicknames during the Winter War, including “Simuna” (which could be translated into Simegg) and “Taika-ampuja,” the “Magic Shooter.” Simegg is basically a friendly pun on his given name, Simo.

It was in this area of Ulismaa that Simo was wounded. A Russian infantryman succeeded in shooting Simo with an explosive bullet, which hit Simo’s face and knocked him to the ground. The fighting was furious and close, with the enemy just a few meters or dozens of meters away at times. The Finns were trying to repel the advancing enemy by shooting and reloading their bolt action rifles as the enemy tried to conquer their defensive positions. Luckily, Simo Häyhä was evacuated in the last few minutes before the enemy rolled over the Finnish lines.

Battles

During the Winter War, Simo Häyhä fought in Kollaa and Ulismaa, Finland. Ulismaa was located about 15 kilometers south from Kollaa and about 60 kilometers from Lake Ladoga.

Wounded

Simo Häyhä suffered several head and facial wounds in the early hours of March 6, 1940 in Ulismaa during a Russian assault. Simo was hit by a high-explosive bullet fired by a Russian infantryman who was attacking his defensive position on the outskirts of Ulismaa. The bullet tore apart Simo’s left jawbone and knocked out several teeth. Recovery took many years and included a total of 26 surgical operations.

Wartime accomplishments

Simo Häyhä is the best known and most skilled Finnish sniper in history with 542 confirmed kills, a number that almost equals the number of men in a Russian battalion.

Promotions

Simo Häyhä was promoted to corporal on June 1, 1926, during his conscription period. His promotion to NCO occurred during the Winter War, although the date is unknown. Field-Marshal Mannerheim promoted Simo Häyhä to second lieutenant, reserve on August 28, 1940.

Decorations

During the Winter War Häyhä was decorated on many different occasions; and was even presented woollen mittens and a pocket watch for his military accomplishments. His most notable decorations are listed below:

Wartime medals

I LK Vapaudenmitali

Medal of Liberty 1st Class

2.4.1940

(1st and 2nd Class Medals of Liberty were given to NCOs as decorations and badges of honor)

II LK Vapaudenmitali

Medal of Liberty 2nd Class

25.2.1940

VR 4

Order of Liberty 4th Class with swords

6.6.1940

VR 3

Order of Liberty 3rd Class with swords

21.6.1941

According to the orders dating back to March 21, 1950, only a soldier who has served in the rank of a captain or above can be awarded with the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class.

Memorial Medal of War 1939–1940 with swords and a brooch

Cross of Kollaa, No. 4, made of pure silver. The original seven of these medals were manufactured from pure silver. The first four were awarded to Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim, the Finnish President Kyösti Kallio, Division Commander Colonel Svensson and Corporal Simo Häyhä.

Swedish honorary rifle

On February 17, 1940, Simo Häyhä was awarded a custom-built precision rifle made by the esteemed Finnish rifle manufacturer, Sako. It was contributed by Mr. Eugen Johansson, a Swedish businessman and great friend of Finland. The rifle was intended to be awarded to the “most distinguished shooter of the Corps.”

Peacetime awards

On November 20, 1978, at Kontioranta garrison, north Karelia, he was awarded the honorary title of Karelian Jaeger and Honorary Cross of the Karelian Jaegers.

In 1984, the Häyhä Family Association nominated him as their first honorary member. He also received several awards for his nature and hunting habitat preservation work, as well as for raising prized hound dogs.

Among his many hunting accomplishments, Simo Häyhä received five consecutive awards for hunting small game between 1962 and 1966.

Summary

This concludes a brief summary of Simo Häyhä’s accomplishments. What kind of man was behind such noteworthy deeds and astonishing statistics? In order to find out more about his early life, we need to take a journey back to a region in Finland known as Karelia and to the early 1900s.

The unique diploma awarded to Simo by the Karelian Jaeger Brigade. On November 20, 1978 Simo was awarded an honorary title of the Karelian Jaeger and the Honorary Cross of Karelian Jaegers, in Kontioranta Garrison, north Karelia.

Simo Häyhä’s medals; (top from left to right): Order of Liberty 3rd Class with swords, Order of Liberty 4th Class with swords, Medal of Liberty 1st Class, Medal of Liberty 2nd Class, Winter War 1939–1940 Commemoration Medal with swords and the Karelia bar, Cross of Kollaa; (below from left to right): the badge of an Excellent Marksman (Notice that the barrels are officially supposed to point upwards), Blue Cross of the Home Guards, and the Home Guards Practitioner 1st Class.

Farmer, Hunter and Civil Guard Member

Childhood in Karelia: 1905–1920

Simo Häyhä was born on December 17, 1905 in the hamlet of Kiiskinen in Rautjärvi. This area was lost to the Soviet Union after the end of the Winter War. Simo was born seventh out of eight children in his family. Simo’s father, Juho Häyhä was the owner of the Mattila farm while his mother, Katriina (née Vilkko) was a loving and hard-working farmer’s wife.

The Mattila farm covered about 50 hectares (80 acres), part of which was forested and the rest consisting of farmland. In many respects, it was more of a “forest farm” since it could not support a large family through crops alone. Some domestic animals, such as few horses, some sheep and a pig, were also kept, both for work and food.

The farm was quite modern for its time, its fields equipped with sub-surface drains which allowed the growing of sugar beets for animal food. In addition to those animals previously mentioned, the farm had approximately ten cows which, along with occasional timber harvests, increased the family’s income during the winter seasons.

Simo had four brothers and three sisters. One of his brothers, Antti died in the 1918 Finnish Civil War. A second brother, Juhana was wounded in this war at a battle fought in Joutseno. A third brother, Tuomas, died of sunstroke while working at a road construction site in Miettilä during one summer. Sadly, death was a regular visitor in Simo’s family during his teenage years. He simply learned to get used to it.

The farm comprised a main house along with additional buildings and sheds for the animals, grain and food. Painted yellow, the main house originally contained four rooms with a fifth one added later when Simo’s family grew larger. Juho Häyhä would eventually transfer control of the farm to his son Juhana who, together with Simo and an older brother Matti, took care of it. Juhana’s wife, Hilda and her three daughters Anni, Toini and Sanni also helped contribute to the everyday affairs of the farm.

During the winters, firewood was cut according to their needs. Simo’s mother, Katriina sewed most of the clothes worn by the men herself. When they were old enough, Simo’s three sisters, Mari, Katri and Hilja, were also taught this skill by their mother. All the girls had to sew and mend the men’s clothes as their clothing had to endure the wear and tear of heavy farm work. Simo’s mother created a warm, caring atmosphere in the household, and she was responsible for taking care of the spiritual upbringing of her children as well. Singing psalms and living in a religious atmosphere were familiar to Simo throughout his childhood, a fact he would remember much later on under the harsh conditions of war. In short, life was good as the family lived a peaceful country life.

As a child, Simo completed four years in Miettilä elementary school and received above average grades. Academic studies, however, were not the driving force in Simo’s life. He loved farmwork and decided at an early age that he would carry on his father’s profession. For Simo, higher education was for those who were more eager to educate themselves. Simo was a practical man who simply loved the beauty of nature offered by farming and was happy to work hard.

Adolescence: 1921–1925

I had an opportunity to interview one of Simo’s closest friends, an elderly farmer named Raimo Partinen, who lived during the same time as Simo and remembered his early years. Mr. Partinen was invaluable in providing his keen insight on the years leading up to the Winter War. As he recounted, “Simo lived at home until the war since he was a farmer. There were a total of five brothers and three sisters in his family. One of his brothers died young of an illness. Another died in the Civil War.”

Simo Häyhä joined the Rautjärvi Civil Guard at the age of seventeen. At that age, he was not all that different from others in his peer group—inquisitive, willing to learn and adapt to new things when properly motivated. In Simo Häyhä’s case, he had both the motivation and love of his fatherland.

Simo’s first practice rifle was the M-1891. The Civil Guard distributed ammunition to its active members as well as it could, considering that there was a shortage of everything, including ammunition. The Civil Guard also distributed gunpowder, primers and bullets so that active members could reload their own ammunition. This meant that active members could train, practice and hone their shooting skills more often as they had greater amounts of ammunition for training. The reloading components were the same as in regular issue cartridges, with the same type of gunpowder and bullets. The bullet type was D166 and it weighed 13 grams, equal to 200 grains.

Marksmanship training in the Civil Guard

Simo distinguished himself during the 1930s as the elite shooter of his platoon in various regional (Viipuri) Civil Guard competitions. In combat shooting practices he represented the Rautjärvi Light Machine Gun Squad which had won numerous competitions. Simo was especially skilled with the brand new “Suomi” sub-machine gun, with which he also won numerous regional championships. The Suomi sub-machine gun was designed by Aimo Lahti, and was chambered for a 9 × 19 mm cartridge. Its official marking was KP 31 SMG. He was also awarded the Class 2 Medal for skiing and physical conditioning. During his Civil Guard time, Häyhä used a Westinghouse rifle chambered for 7.62 × 53R, which was precisely the same that the Finnish Army used as its official cartridge. In the Finnish Army the cartridge markings were 7.62 × 53R while American markings were still listed as 7.62 × 54R. According to Simo, the Westinghouse was a quite an accurate rifle. Several years later he would purchase a famous 28-30 (serial number 60974) model rifle that he used for most of his legendary deeds in the Winter War. When I asked him how he obtained this rifle, he could no longer remember.

Simo Häyhä was a right-handed shooter, and always made it a point to shoot with his left eye closed. This enabled him to focus better with his right eye when looking through the rear sight. There is no doubt that Simo was a natural ...