The Finnish God of Death

I have already discussed the Finnish Winter War, but now it is time to take a closer look and examine a hero that fought during the conflict.

Simo Häyhä was born in the early 1900’s (like any good hero, his origins are not exactly known). Before the Finnish Winter War, he joined the army for one mandatory year of service. He left with the rank of Corporal in a bicycle (!) unit. After, he joined the Civil Guard, which is similar to the US National Guard. When the Finnish Winter War broke out, Simo was approaching middle age.

Simo himself was a small man with a thin frame. He only stood at 5’3’. It did not seem like this diminutive man was destined for glory. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Simo was a sniper. His weaponry was unlike other snipers, however. Simo used a M/28 Mosin Nagant bolt-action carbine. A carbine is essentially a regular rifle with a shorter barrel. It is lighter, and more maneuverable, but it has less accuracy. Simo stated that he liked the gun because it fit his small frame.

What is even more amazing is that he did not use a scope, preferring iron-sights instead. When you use a scope, your head is slightly higher than it would be when using iron-sights. This would make Simo’s profile larger, and thus, a larger target.



Simo’s hunting grounds were the Kollaa line, which, I must add, has its own tales of bravery. Apparently, there is a hill called “Killer Hill”, where 32 Finns fought off 4,000 Russians.

Back on topic. Simo immediately started to drop Russians like flies. His kill count soared, beyond what would be expected for a sniper, far beyond what would be expected for a human being. The Soviets nicknamed him the “Belaya Smert”, or “White Death” in English. The White part of the title is refrenence to the white camouflage suit Simo wore.

The Soviets started to realize how troublesome this one man was. They actually put a bounty on Simo’s head. They sent their best snipers after him, all of whom Simo personally killed. They even dedicated ENTIRE REGIMENTAL ARTILLERY BARRAGES IN THE NAME OF KILLING HIM. Regimental artillery is usually used on fortified lines, with the purpose of killing hundreds. When you use such a powerful tool on one man, it can only mean one thing – desperation.

None of these techniques worked, and the artillery only managed to put a small tear in his camo suit.

Simo met the end of his service when he was shot in the face during close combat. The bullet went in one cheek, tumbled, and then exited through the other jaw. Despite being shot in the face, he still had enough “Sisu” (“guts” in English), to find his rifle, and shoot his attacker dead. No one touches Simo, and gets away with it.

The Finnish soldiers that found him said that he did not have a face. However, this was just the blood, and Simo would make a full recovery. Sadly, by the time he got out of his coma, the Finnish Winter War was over.

At the end of the war, Simo had 542 confirmed kills with his rifle. Please take a moment to think about that. One man killed 542 others. That’s not all; he also has 100 unconfirmed kills with his rifle. Going against all of the basic sniping principles, most of these shots were done without a spotter. Even more ridiculously, he did most of these shots from beyond 400 yards (1,200 feet), in the sitting position. Most snipers need to lie down to make that kind of shot, with a scope and a dedicated sniper rifle no less.

Just in case you were thinking that Simo was a cowardly camper who didn’t know the true art of combat, get this; he also has 200 unconfirmed kills with his K31 SMG. Yeah, this guy was a monster, even in close combat.



In total, Simo killed over 800 people. Try to fathom that. That is more than all of the people killed in the movie 300, and it is about the same amount of people killed during Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

It is extraordinary for a sniper to get thirty kills, let alone a hundred. The highest scoring Russian sniper has about 500.

The ridiculousness of his story keeps getting better. Simo was only deployed for 90 days. Because of the winter solstice, there were only 5 hours of daylight per day. Both sides really didn’t fight at night, because of the extreme cold. If you take his confirmed kills alone, Simo killed ONE MAN FOR EVERY HOUR OF DAYLIGHT THAT HE WAS ACTIVE.

To get a better understanding of this, next time you wake up, make a mental note of the time. For example, let’s say you wake up at eight o’clock sharp. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you’ve got no plans. Later on in the day, after visiting with friends, eating, swimming, wrestling, kicking ass, or whatever it is you do, it is five in the afternoon. Realize that you have just killed nine more people. Do this for about a week, and you can start to imagine this man’s skill.

Despite having killed more people than John Rambo, Simo remained a humble man. According to the site www.mosin-nagant.net, “I am pleased to report the second meeting that took place in May of 2001 was even more pleasant, as Simo Häyhä was at ease with us from the start. He commented that he was glad to see us again and he was honored that we had taken the time to spend with him. This was quite humbling to us, as Mr. Häyhä could have never understood just how much we appreciated his time.”

A reporter also asked Simo how he felt about killing so many people. He replied, “I did what I was told to as well as I could.”

Simo, in his later life, became a moose hunter (woe betide to any of Nature’s children that cross me, for I am Death) and a successful dog breeder. His hometown was given to the Russians, so Simo moved to a small village called Ruokolahti located in the southeast of Finland, “within firing range of the Russian border.”

Simo passed away on April 1st, 2002. Simo merely returned home.

Simo Häyhä will forever go down in history as a hero of Finland. Simo was an Angel of Death, a Scion of Doom, a Templar of Purgatation, a Beast of Annihilation, an Immortal Deamon, and a Champion of Extermination. His deeds are legendary – no, his deeds are Mythic.

And forever, we will remember him.







SOURCES

"Simo Hayha." Mosin Nagant. 19 Apr. 2009 <http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/simohayha.asp>.

"Simo Häyhä -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 19 Apr. 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4#cite_note-2>.

"Simo Häyhä the Greatest Sniper: Credited with as many as 700 kills during the Finnish Winter War." Military History @ Suite101.com: Armed struggle on land, sky and seas via naval battle, land warfare, and aerospace conflict, from civil to World Wars, colonial revolutions and bios of military leaders. 19 Apr. 2009 <http://militaryhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/simo_h_yh__the_greatest_sniper_>.