From Tickld:
This is Simo Häyhä.
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He served one year of mandatory military service for the Finnish army and was a decorated marksman. During the Winter War (1939-1940) with Russia, he re-enlisted to help his country. He staked out in a forest where temperatures were -20 to -40 degrees celsius.
He began picking off Russian soldiers.Stop the censors, sign up to get today's top stories delivered right to your inbox
Once they found out all their troops were being killed by one man, he was nicknamed “The White Death,” for the white camouflage he wore.
The Russians deployed a task force to kill him, but they were all gunned down.
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They then deployed a team of counter snipers (snipers trained to kill other snipers) but Simo killed all of them.
Fearing the loss of more soldiers the Russians carpet bombed his location but Simo survived suffering only slight damage to his jacket.Eventually, a Russian’s bullet caught Simo in the jaw, tearing off “practically half his head.” He was carried by another Finnish soldier to a hospital where he was in a coma for a week, and woke up to the news that the war was over.
His confirmed kill count with his rifle was 505, the most confirmed sniper kills in history.
It’s believed his final kill count was much higher as he also used an SMG.
To avoid being seen by any enemy troops, he used a rifle with just the iron sights, so they wouldn’t see the glare of his scope.Advertisement - story continues below
He kept snow in his mouth at all times so no one would be able to see his breath.
“The White Death” still stands to this day as the most badass nickname ever.
