Simo Häyhä
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military person
Simo HäyhäTemplate:Efn (17Template:SpacesDecember 1905Template:Snd 1Template:SpacesApril 2002), often referred to by his nickname The White Death,Template:Efn was a Finnish military sniper during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union in World War II. He used a Finnish-produced M/28-30 rifle (a variant of Mosin–Nagant) and a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun. Häyhä is believed to have killed over 500 enemy soldiers during the conflict, the highest number of sniper kills in any major war. Consequently, he is generally regarded as the deadliest sniper in history.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="kivimaki">Template:Cite news</ref>
Häyhä estimated in his private war memoir that he shot around 500 Soviet soldiers.<ref name= "kivimaki" /><ref name= "iltalehti">Template:Cite news</ref> Written in 1940, a few months after he was wounded, his {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Literal) recounts his experiences before and during the Winter War, from 13 November 1939 to 13 March 1940. Hidden for decades, the memoir was discovered in 2017.<ref name="kivimaki" />
Early life, family and education
Simo Häyhä was born on 17 December 1905 in the Kiiskinen hamlet of the Rautjärvi municipality in the Viipuri Province of southern Finland.<ref name="book" /> He was the seventh of eight children in a Lutheran family of farmers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His 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.<ref name="book" /> He attended school in the village of Miettilä in Rautjärvi and helped cultivate the home farm alongside his eldest brother. Before his military service, he was a farmer and enjoyed hunting and skiing.
Militia and military training
Häyhä joined the Finnish voluntary militia, the Civil Guard (Suojeluskunta), at age 17. He excelled in shooting competitions in the Viipuri Province, and his home was reportedly filled with trophies for marksmanship.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Not keen to hog the spotlight, he usually stood at the back in group photos during his youth, until his later successes forced him to take centre stage.<ref name="muistikirja">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1925, at age 19, Häyhä began his 15-month compulsory military service in the Bicycle Battalion 2 in Raivola, Viipuri Province. He attended the Non-Commissioned Officer School and served as a conscript officer in the Bicycle Battalion 1 in Terijoki. However, he did not receive formal sniper training until 1938, a year before the war, at a training centre in Utti.<ref name="book" />
According to Major Tapio Saarelainen, who met Häyhä several times and has written five books about him, including his biography, Häyhä was able to estimate distances up to Template:Cvt within a margin of error of Template:Cvt.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winter War service
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Häyhä served as a sniper in the Finnish Army during the 1939–40 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, under Lieutenant Aarne Juutilainen in the 6th Company of Infantry Regiment 34 ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or JR 34) during the Battle of Kollaa in temperatures between Template:Convert. He was dressed completely in white camouflage; Soviet troops were not issued camouflage uniforms for most of the war, making them easily visible to snipers in winter conditions. Joseph Stalin had purged military experts in the late 1930s as part of the Great Purge, and as a result the Red Army was highly disorganized.<ref>William R. Trotter (2002). The Winter War: The Russo–Finnish War of 1939–40. New York: Workman / London: Aurum Press. First published 1991 in the United States under the title A Frozen Hell: The Russo–Finnish Winter War of 1939–40. pp. 145–146</ref>
Finnish sources state that Häyhä was nicknamed "The White Death" by the Red Army (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration; Template:Langx; Template:Langx).<ref name="book" /> The name "White Death" has been suggested to originate entirely in Finnish propaganda, rather than having been given to Häyhä by the Russians; according to information from prisoners, to the Russians "White Death" referred to a severe frost in the deep forest. Häyhä having the nickname "White Death" first appeared in the Finnish Winter War literature of the late 1980s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the war, the "White Death" was one of the leading themes of Finnish propaganda.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite journalTemplate:Verify source</ref> Finnish newspapers frequently featured the invisible Finnish soldier, thus creating a hero of mythical proportions.<ref name="auto" /><ref name="suuretsuomalaiset" /> To add to the myth, he was also nicknamed "The Magic Shooter" among Finns (Template:Langx, in close reference to the Finnish word for "sniper"; Template:Langx).<ref name="book" />
Achievements as a sniper
All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in less than 100 days, an average of five per day at a time of year with very few daylight hours.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His kill count as a sniper was based on his own reporting, with the confirmation of his comrades, and only those who were verified to be dead were counted. No count was taken when several snipers shot at the same target. Enemy soldiers killed with a submachine gun with Häyhä as a group leader were not counted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Häyhä's division commander Antero Svensson credited him with 219 confirmed kills with a rifle and an equal number of kills by submachine gun, when he awarded Häyhä with an honorary rifle on 17 February 1940.<ref name="sotaveteraanit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 21 December 1939, Häyhä achieved his highest daily count of 25 kills. In his diary, military chaplain Antti Rantamaa reported 259 confirmed kills made by rifle and an equal number of kills by submachine gun from the beginning of the war until 7 March 1940, one day after Häyhä was severely wounded.<ref name="book">Template:Cite book</ref>
Some of Häyhä's figures are from a Finnish Army document, counted from the beginning of the war, 30 November 1939:
- 22 December 1939: 138 sniper kills in 22 days<ref>JR34:n toimintakertomus 30.11.39–1.12.40. SPK 1327. Finnish National Archive Sörnäinen; Alikersantista vänrikiksi. Hurtti Ukko 1/1941</ref>
- 26 January 1940: 199 sniper kills (61 in 35 days)<ref>Rantamaa, A. J. 1942. Parlamentin palkeilta Kollaanjoen kaltahille. WSOY, Porvoo. pp. 84, 206</ref>
- 17 February 1940: 219 sniper kills (20 in 22 days)<ref name="book" />
- 7 March 1940 (one day after he was wounded): total of 259 sniper kills (40 in 18 days)<ref name="book" />
Häyhä never discussed it publicly, but his own private memoir, discovered in 2017, states a number. He begins by stating that "this is his sin list", and estimates the total number he shot to be around 500.<ref name="kivimaki" /><ref name="iltalehti" />
Finnish historian Risto Marjomaa questions the large number, as confirmation of casualties was difficult due to the absence of the bodies. In his article, published by the National Biography of Finland, Marjomaa credited Häyhä with the total number of "more than two hundred" kills.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Complicating matters further is the use of Häyhä's achievements as a tool of propaganda: the Finnish press built a hero's myth around Häyhä at the early stage of the war.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Firearms and tactics
Häyhä used his issued Civil Guard rifle, an early series SAKO M/28-30, serial number 35281, Civil Guard number S60974. It was a Finnish Civil Guard variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle known as "Pystykorva" (Template:Literal translation due to the front sight's resemblance to the head of a spitz-type dog) chambered in the Finnish-designed Mosin–Nagant cartridge 7.62×53R. When fighting as a group leader with the rest of his unit, he used a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun.Template:Citation needed
Häyhä preferred iron sights over telescopic sights, as they enable a sniper to present a smaller target for the enemy (a sniper must raise his head a few centimetres higher when using a telescopic sight), and can be relied on even in extreme cold, unlike telescopic sights which tend to cloud up in cold weather. Another disadvantage of telescopic sights is that sunlight may reflect off the lenses and reveal the sniper's position. Häyhä did not have prior training with scoped rifles, and therefore preferred not to switch to the Soviet scoped rifle (M/91-30 PE or PEM).Template:Citation needed
Häyhä dealt with the intense cold by dressing properly with multiple layers of clothing. He kept sugar and bread in his pockets, consuming them for the calories necessary to keep his body warm. His slight stature of Template:Convert assisted him in disguising his position. Hidden in a snow pit, he could lie still and observe the enemy for long periods of time.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" /> It was Häyhä's custom to move, well before daybreak, to the position he had prepared, and stay there until after sunset.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" /> He would frequently pack dense mounds of snow in front of his position to conceal himself, provide padding for his rifle, and reduce the characteristic puff of snow stirred up by the muzzle blast. He was known to keep snow in his mouth while sniping to prevent his breath in the cold air from giving away his position.<ref name="Stirling2012">Template:Cite book</ref>
Injury
On 6 March 1940, just a week before the end of the war, Häyhä was severely wounded when an explosive bullet fired by a Red Army soldier tore through his face and shattered his lower left jaw.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After the battle, as he appeared to be dead, he was placed on a pile of corpses. Someone later noticed his foot moving and he was removed from the pile and taken to hospital.<ref>Saarelainen (2016). The White Sniper</ref>
Rumours of Häyhä's death spread throughout Finland and the Soviet Union. He regained consciousness a week later, on 13 March, the day peace was declared. Reading about his own death in a newspaper, he sent a letter to the paper to correct the misunderstanding.<ref name="muistikirja" />
Recovery took considerable time and required extensive treatment and multiple surgeries, leaving visible scars that remained for the rest of his life. Despite this, when the Continuation War (1941–1944) broke out, he requested permission to return to the front lines. However, due to the severity of his facial injuries, from which he was still recovering, his request was denied.<ref name="Yle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="MTV">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Häyhä spent the Continuation War on the home front, tending to his farm.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" />
In his private war memoir, written a few months after he was wounded, Häyhä recorded several brief accounts from the Winter War. Discovered decades later, one anecdote describes an incident involving the capture of a Soviet soldier by his unit: "After Christmas, we captured a Russkie, blindfolded him, spun him around until he was disoriented, and took him to a feast in the tent of the Terror of Morocco. The Russkie was content with the revelry, but when he was sent back, it felt very repugnant to him."<ref name="kivimaki" /><ref name="iltalehti" />
Honours
Häyhä was awarded the First and Second class Medals of Liberty, as well as the Third and Fourth class Crosses of Liberty. The latter two were normally granted to only commissioned officers.<ref name="HS" /> As an additional honour, on 17 February 1940, he received a nameplated SAKO M/28-30 “Pystykorva” Honorary Rifle (serial number 100 781), donated by Eugen Johansson, a Swedish businessman and supporter of Finland.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" /> According to an unofficial count, he had shot 219 Red Army soldiers at the time.<ref name="book" /> He later donated the rifle to the Karelia Jaeger Battalion's Heritage Room, from where it was transferred to the Finnish Military Museum's collection after the dissolution of the North Karelia Brigade in 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Shortly after the Winter War, on 28 August 1940, Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim promoted Häyhä straight from alikersantti (the lowest military rank of a non-commissioned officer) to vänrikki (the first military rank of an officer).<ref name="Feist2012">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1941, Häyhä was also nominated as a Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, the most distinguished Finnish military honour. However, due to administrative reasons, the knighthood was not granted, as the cross was not awarded to anyone solely for achievements in the Winter War.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also received the Cross of Kollaa medal, one of the first seven made of silver. Häyhä's cross was numbered four, following Marshal Mannerheim, President Kyösti Kallio, and Häyhä's division commander, Colonel Antero Svensson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Kollaa and Simo Häyhä Museum ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is located in the village of Miettilä at Rautjärvi, in a former infirmary. The museum, opened in 1983, covers the Battle of Kollaa, and features a special permanent exhibition dedicated to the life of Simo Häyhä.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the 2004 Suuret suomalaiset (Great Finns) television show and poll, which determined the 100 greatest Finns of all time, Häyhä was ranked 74th.<ref name="suuretsuomalaiset">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Post-war life
It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound.<ref name="muistikirja" /> Although his face remained disfigured, he otherwise made a full recovery. Häyhä's family farm was located in the territory ceded in the peace agreement, forcing him to start his life over in Valkjärvi ("Whitelake"), Ruokolahti, a small municipality in southeastern Finland, near the Soviet border, where he worked as a farmer.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" /> He was known in his home town as a quiet, peaceful man who loved nature and was often seen with his hunting dog, Kille.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Beyond farming, he had a deep passion for hunting,<ref name="MTV" /> participating in numerous hunting parties over the years, including those with the President of Finland, Urho Kekkonen.<ref name="Stirling2012" /> He became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder.<ref name="Stirling2012" /> Häyhä also served as a long-time board member of the Kollaa Fighters' Brotherhood, formed after the Winter War in May 1940.<ref name="sotaveteraanit" />
However, some people did not approve of his actions during the Winter War; he was met with hate and even death threats.<ref name="muistikirja" /><ref name="Yle" /> The injuries he sustained in the war left recognizable facial scars, so as a well-known person, he avoided large groups of people. He never married, and lived as a bachelor.<ref name="MTV" /> He enjoyed working, but he suffered from loneliness and fear; nights were especially difficult for him. However, he had friends and also spent time at his parents' and siblings' homes after the war.<ref name="Yle" /> Eventually farm work became too difficult, so he put the farm up for rent, and moved to an apartment building in the centre of Ruokolahti.<ref name="MTV" />
Häyhä was known as a modest man who never boasted of his wartime achievements. He rarely spoke of the war or his experiences.<ref name="muistikirja" /> When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good sniper, he replied simply: "Practice".<ref name="u490">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In an Independence Day interview with Helsingin Sanomat in December 2001, shortly before his 96th birthday, Häyhä opened up about his war experiences.<ref name="HS" /> He was asked if he felt remorse for having killed so many people. He replied, "I did what I was told, as well as I could. There would be no Finland unless everyone had done the same."<ref name="book" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Häyhä spent his last years in a war veterans' nursing home in Hamina, where he died on 1 April 2002, aged 96.<ref name="Feist2012" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was buried in his home town of Ruokolahti.
In popular culture
Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton composed the song "White Death" in honor of Häyhä, which was released in 2010 on their album Coat of Arms.<ref name="yle-popculture">Yhdysvaltain Nato-käsittelyssä mainittiin Simo Häyhä – legendaarinen tarkka-ampuja on maailmalla yllättävän tunnettu popkulttuurihahmo Template:Webarchive – YLE. Retrieved 4 August 2022. (in Finnish)</ref> Scottish black/thrash metal band Achren's three-song The White Death EP from 2014 is dedicated entirely to Häyhä, right down to the cover art.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>Achren – The White Death Template:Webarchive – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives. Retrieved 4 August 2022.</ref><ref>ACHREN – The White Death EP (2014) Template:Webarchive – Metal Forces Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2022.</ref> Japanese metal band To Mega Therion has made a song called "Simo Hayha", which appears on the 2015 Yog = Sothoth album.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>Yog = Sothoth – To Mega Therion Template:Webarchive – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives. Retrieved 4 August 2022.</ref>
In 2011, Philip Kaufman began filming HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn (first airdate 28 May 2012), which features Martha Gellhorn (played by Nicole Kidman) reporting from Finland during the Winter War. In this section, Steven Wiig portrays Häyhä, leading a group of Finnish soldiers to shelter.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A film about Häyhä called The White Death, directed by David McElroy and written by James Poirier, has also been planned since 2017, but the progress of this production has remained unclear.<ref name="whitedeathfilm">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2025, it was announced that director and screenwriter Toni Kurkimäki was working on a film about Häyhä, simply titled Häyhä, and Jarkko Lahti was cast as the title character.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
According to Jalmari Helander, who wrote and directed the script for the 2022 action film Sisu, the film is partly inspired by Häyhä's legendary reputation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
American author Arna Bontemps Hemenway has written a short story about Häyhä, called "Wolves of Karelia", which was published in the August 2019 issue of The Atlantic magazine.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Häyhä also appears in the 2024 novel Les Guerriers de l'hiver by Olivier Norek.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Häyhä's story has been adapted in two manga, in one called The White Witch (Template:Langx, Shiroi Majo) by Nagakawa Naruki, the main character is named Simo Häyhä, but is female.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also appears in the manga Record of Ragnarok (Template:Langx, Shūmatsu no Warukyūre) by Shinya Umemura and Takumi Fukui, in which he is depicted as a fighter for humanity.<ref name="yle-popculture"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
- Kollaa and Simo Häyhä Museum
- Meeting a Legend: Simo Häyhä (John Mitchell, mosinnagant.net, 2002; archived 2004)
- Simo Häyhä – The Deadliest Sniper In History (Forces.net, 2020)