On March 23, 1915, Vasily Zaitsev was born in an ordinary peasant family in Orenburg Province (now Chelyabinsk), Russia. Like the famous "White Grim Reaper" Simon Haye, Zaitsev grew up in the mountains: he often hunts in the Ural Mountains with his grandfather and brother, and earnestly learns how to get close to the prey quietly, with one shot. The loss of the prey's ability to move will not damage the fur, which laid the foundation for his future sniper career.
(Zaytsev on the left)
When Zaitsev was twelve years old, he successfully killed the first prey in his life: a wolf , And Zaitsev, who was young at the time, could not even move the wolf on his back. It is worth mentioning that the rifle he used at that time was the old-fashioned Berdan II bolt-action rifle, which was a reliable standard rifle developed in 1868 by the famous American rifle shooter and gun expert Hiram Berdan. It was used extensively in the Russian Empire, and even in the Finnish army until World War II.
In 1930, 15-year-old Zaitsev went to study at an architecture school in Magnitogorsk, but what he learned seemed to be far from his future glory ——He studied fitter major and successfully passed the accounting course. According to this trend, it is entirely possible for Zaitsev to work in a state-owned factory and then become a factory accountant, living a nourishing life that everyone envied at the time, but he did not. In 1937, the 22-year-old Zaitsev resolutely joined the army. But it was not the same as many people thought: instead of joining the Soviet Army, he did not become a soldier carrying a gun. Instead, he joined the Soviet Navy and became a sailor of the Pacific Fleet. Because of his accounting knowledge, his superiors decided to send Zaitsev to the Military Academy to study, and then became a staff member of the Pacific Fleet Finance Department. Up to this point, Zaitsev's life trajectory has hardly any intersection with the term "sniper".
But two years after Zaitsev joined the army, on September 1, 1939, Germany launched a blitzkrieg to invade Poland, and the Second World War in Europe officially broke out. The husband was still in Vladivostok as a leisurely "literary worker"-until June 22, 1941, Germany brazenly launched the infamous "Operation Barbarossa" to invade the Soviet Union, and the Soviet-German War officially broke out. Countless Soviet youths put down their textbooks and pens and took up steel guns to prepare to fight the German invaders to the death. As a naval soldier, Zaitsev, like countless colleagues, chose to fight on the front line.
After being transferred to the army, Zaitsev was promoted to warrant officer and became a member of the 1047th Infantry Regiment of the 284th Tomsk Rifle Division. It is part of the famous "Guardians of Stalingrad"-the 62nd Army. In the army, Zaitsev's brilliant marksmanship was discovered by his superiors and became a deadly sniper. The hunter experience in his childhood made him know how to hide himself on the battlefield: Zaitsev often hid himself in rubble, high ground, grass, and even water pipes and mud. The Germans could not even find him before being shot down.
In addition, Zaitsev also pioneered the famous "six-a-side" sniper tactic: This tactic consists of three sniper teams, each including a sniper And an observer, covering the same combat area from three different directions. The advantage of this tactic is that the Germans did not even know where to hide after being attacked from different directions one after another, because any place could be attacked, let alone fire a counterattack. Today, this sniper tactic is still shining on the battlefield. For example, in the famous Grozny street battle, the sniper team of the Chechen Armed Forces used this tactic and caused huge casualties to the Russian army. In addition, Zaitsev had the most brilliant battle-a duel with the head of the German sniper school and ace sniper Owen Koenig. It is reported that Zaitsev and him played the "peek-and-see game" for two days in the ruins of Stalingrad. Both sides are constantly changing positions and there is no absolute certainty to kill each other. Until the third day, Zaitsev successfully killed him, and this plot is also in the movieThis is reflected in "The Soldiers Under the City".
Unfortunately, Zaitsev's sniper career was not long-in January 1943, Zaitsev's eyes were injured in a mortar attack, but in the Soviet Union Successfully recovered under the treatment of the famous doctor Felatov. On February 22, Zaitsev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the same year. The focus of his work also began to tilt toward "training other Soviet snipers." In his career as a sniper, Zaitsev killed 257 enemy troops, including 11 snipers. He was one of the Soviet snipers who killed the most enemies during the war. After the war, Zaitsev did not choose to stay in the army for promotion. Instead, he became an engineer and served as the director of a textile factory in Kiev. Zaitsev died on December 15, 1991, at the age of 76, only 11 days after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. I don’t know if it was a blessing to the veteran Zaitsev not to see the moment when the Soviet Union crashed down. (Text/Potato Albatross)
