Simo Häyhä (December 17, 1905 – April 1, 2002) was a Finnish soldier, and is widely considered to be the most successful sniper in history. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The traditional definition of a sniper is an infantry soldier especially skilled in field craft and marksmanship who kills selected enemies from concealment with a rifle at large distances. ...

He was born in the small town of Rautajärvi near the border with Russia, and started his military service in 1925. During the Winter War (1939–1940) between Finland and the Soviet Union, he began his duty as a sniper against the Red Army. Working in temperatures between -20 to -40 Celsius, and dressed completely in a white camouflage suit, Häyhä killed at least 505 Red Army soldiers by sniping them one by one. 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Winter war Conflict World War II Date November 30, 1939 - March 12, 1940 Place Finland Result pyrrhic Soviet victory The Winter War (also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or the Russo-Finnish War) broke out when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, three months after the... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Red Army flag The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya in Russian), the armed forces organised by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Anolis caroliensis showing blending camouflage and counter-shading. ... Red Army flag The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya in Russian), the armed forces organised by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ...

The unofficial Finnish frontline figure from the battle field of Kollaa places the number of Häyhä's sniper kills at 542. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Häyhä used a Finnish Mosin-Nagant related M28 Pystykorva rifle because it suited his small frame (5 ft). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present less of a target (sun reflecting from lenses gave the position away, and the sniper must raise their head higher with telescopic sights). The Mosin-Nagant (Мосин-Наган) is a military rifle of Russia and later the Soviet Union, in service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s, when it was finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the SVD rifle (Снайперская винтовка Драгунова - Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova - Dragunov...

Besides his sniper kills, Simo Häyhä is known to have made well over two hundred kills with a submachinegun, a weapon he was very fond of. All Häyhä's kills were accomplished within three months, prior to his injuries caused by an exploding enemy bullet. Other snipers who have come even close to Häyhä's record have accumulated their kills over a much longer time frame.

On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the jaw with what was most likely an explosive bullet and went into a coma. He regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war, Häyhä was promoted straight from corporal to first lieutenant by field marshal Mannerheim. Before or after, no one has ever gained rank in such a dramatic fashion in Finland's military history. When asked in 1998, aged 93, how he had become such a good shot, he answered, "Practice." About his morbid record he has been noted to say "I did what I was told to as well as I could." March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... The famous Mannerheims equestrian statue by the Mannerheim road in downtown Helsinki, the capital of Finland Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (June 4, 1867 – January 28, 1951) was Finlands reputed Commander-in-Chief and later President of Finland (1944–1946). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...