Simo Häyhä, the White Death

(To Francesco Rugolo)
26/08/18

La Winter War it was one of the first conflicts held during the Second World War, which took place during the winter of '39 and ended during the first months of '40, saw the clash between the USSR and Finland. The first, great world power that despite having signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact with Germany, showed interest in obtaining portions of Finnish territory, in particular the Karelia area and its isthmus, located between the Gulf of Finladia and Lake Ladoga to facilitate the defense of Leningrad. Finland, on the other hand, had no intention of giving up such an important part of territory both from an economic and cultural point of view and at the same time losing international reputation, Karelia in fact represented a large part of the nation's economy and Vyborg itself , the second largest Finnish city, was located in this area.

With these premises, the 30 November 1939 Russia began the invasion, with 21 active divisions for a total of about half a million soldiers, breaking 3 pact of non-aggression with Finland, which subsequently caused the expulsion of the Russia from the League of Nations.

Russia largely underestimated this conflict, relying on a number of soldiers at least three times higher than the Finns and on numerous tanks and aircraft against the practically non-existent defenders, adopting a frontal war tactic, a decision that cost numerous losses.

The Finns knew their territory well, dense forests and numerous frozen lakes during the icy northern winter covered the areas where the conflict took place and by adopting a guerrilla tactic managed to block the advance of the Soviet troops for long months.

The Russians, poorly equipped and trained to fight a conflict in such hostile areas, where temperatures reached even -40 °, decided to base their tactics on the massive use of tanks, inspired by the technique that was used above all by the Germans already from the beginning of the war during the invasion of Poland and renamed Blitzkrieg. However, this approach was not particularly effective as the floats could not move easily between swamps, forests and frozen lakes, moreover the Russians were not equipped with white camouflage and clothing suitable for the extreme Finnish climatic conditions.

The morale of the Russian troops, defeat after defeat, worsened and the prestige of the Red Army began to crumble in the eyes of other nations. Among these was Germany which began planning the operation Barbarossa just observing the Russian failures in the Finnish countryside.

In this scenario, a figure emerged from the cold snows of Karelia. It was not a general or a politician, but a simple soldier who would become a real national hero for the Finns, we are talking about Simo Häyhä.

Born in 1905 in Rautjärvi into a family of farmers and hunters, he enlisted at the age of 20 and did military service for one year. He later participated in the war as a sniper, in the battle of Kollaa, which lasted until the end of the conflict.

He worked for about three months in incredibly hostile weather conditions, dressed in his white camouflage suit, making himself invisible among the cold Finnish snows, with temperatures ranging from -20 to -40 degrees.

Simo used a Finnish-made Mosin Nagant 28/30 and a Suomi KP / -31 submachine gun. During the three months of operation he killed between 500 and 540 Russian soldiers, half of the enemies were shot down using his Mosin, making him the sniper with the most credited kills ever.

He himself told that, in order not to be spotted by Russian patrols, he used to fill his mouth with snow to avoid the escape of steam and to sprinkle water on the ground on which the rifle rested, in order to make it freeze and not to raise the layer of snow cooler after shooting to avoid being spotted.

What makes his exploits even more extraordinary is the fact that Simo did not use any type of optics on his rifle as the reflection of the sun's rays on the lenses would have made it more visible to the Russian eyes and to use the optics it was necessary protrude his head higher, beyond the layer of snow that should have shielded it from the enemy's gaze. His knowledge of the territory, his shrewdness in moving to never be detected and his incredible patience, calm and tenacity made him feared among the Russian ranks and his deeds soon became popular among the Finns. Propaganda and newspapers created from his figure a real national hero and he was renamed by the Russians themselves "Белая смерть" (pron, Belaya Smert) or "White Death".

Among the Russian attempts to eliminate Simo, there is also a mortar bombing in an area where he had been sighted and the use of other snipers to be able to find him. The attacks failed until on March 6, 1940 he was hit in the jaw by a bullet that sent him into a coma. He awoke on March 13, the day the peace treaty was signed in Moscow, and was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant.

After the war he was decorated with numerous medals for valor and, having retired to private life, he returned to hunting and worked as a dog breeder. He died at the age of 96 in a hospice for war veterans in Hamina on 1 April 2002 and is buried in Ruokolahti.
He was interviewed numerous times during his later years by Tapio Saarelainen who wrote a book about him called "White Sniper".

As a good Finn, he was always modest in discussing his actions in battle. His words about the War were as follows: "I did what I was ordered, as best I could." When asked the secret of his shooting prowess he simply replied that there was no secret, just "practice".

Practice, tenacity and talent made him the legend we know today: the most feared sniper ever, the White Death.

(photo: web)