Vasili Grigoryevich Zaitsev

Captain Vassiliy Grigoryevich Zaitsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев) (23 March 1915 – 15 December 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who between 10 November and 17 December 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad killed 114 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 snipers. His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant. Download high resolution version (523x690, 84 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev Categories: Pre-1973 Soviet Union images ... Download high resolution version (523x690, 84 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev Categories: Pre-1973 Soviet Union images ... Captain is both a nautical term and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soviet snipers, also referred to as Russian snipers, played an important role during World War II (known as Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, in Russia, and in some other post-Soviet states). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Norway, Honduras, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Friedrich Paulus Hermann Hoth Georgy Zhukov Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army Romanian Fourth Army Hungarian Second Army Italian Eighth Army 500,000 Germans Unknown number Reinforcements Unknown number Axis-allies Stalingrad... A soldier is a person who serves in an armed force for pay. ... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Campaign of 1939 Wehrmacht (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Looking through a USMC sniper rifles scope at a practice range at Camp Hansen The same USMC sniper team, with a M40 Sniper Rifle (2004) The term sniper is attested from 1824 in the sense of sharpshooter. The verb to snipe originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India... Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. ...

Life

Zaitsev was born in Yelino, grew up in the Ural Mountains and learned marksmanship by poaching deer with his grandfather. His surname Zaitsev means of hare in Russian. Yelino (Russian: Елино) is a village in Agapovsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia. ... Map of Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (Russian: Уральские горы = Урал) also known simply as the Urals and as the Riphean Mountains in Greco-Roman antiquity, is a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. ...

Zaitsev served in the 1047th rifle regiment of the 284th rifle division of the 62nd Army. Zaitsev served until January 1943, when he suffered an injury to his eyes. He was attended to by Professor Filatov, who is credited with restoring his sight. After that he returned to the front and finished the war on the Dniestr river with the military rank of Captain. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Volodymyr Filatov (1875-1956) was an outstanding ophthalmologist and surgeon whose greatest discovery was a tissue therapy - a principally new medical treatment method. ... The river Dniestr (in Polish and Russian; Nistru in Romanian; Дністер, Dnister in Ukrainian; Tyras in Latin; also known as Dniester) is a river in Eastern Europe. ...

After the war, Zaitsev managed a factory in Kiev. A factory (previously manufactory) or manufacturing plant is a large industrial building where workers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. ... Motto: Oblast Municipality Municipal government City council (Київська Міська рада) Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko Mayor-elect Leonid Chernovetsky Area 800 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 2,660,401 100% 3,299/km² Founded City rights around 5th century 1487 Latitude Longitude Area code +380 44 Car plates AA (before 2004: КА,КВ,КЕ,КН,КІ) Sister cities Athens, Brussels...

Prior to 10 November he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle ("tryokhlineyka", three line rifle) [1]. November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 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...

Some sources claim that Zaitsev's remarkable performance of 225 kills was not unique, and that an unknown Soviet soldier, identified only as Zikan, also killed 224 German soldiers by 20 November. This claim cannot be verified, however. Undoubtedly, though, there were numerous Soviet snipers serving during World War II who did distinguish themselves with a high number of individual kills. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The snipers he trained were nicknamed zaichata, meaning "leverets" (baby hares). Anthony Beevor wrote in Stalingrad that this was the start of the "sniper movement" in the 62nd Army. Conferences were arranged to spread the doctrine of "sniperism" and exchange ideas on technique and principles that were not limited to marksmanship skills. It is estimated that the snipers he had trained killed more than 3000 enemy soldiers. Zaitsev died at age 76 in Kiev.

Remembering

On January 31, 2006 Vasily Zaitsev was reburied on Mamayev Kurgan with full military honors. Zaitsev's dying wish was to be buried at the monument to the defenders of Stalingrad. His coffin was carried next to a monument where his famous quote is written: "There is no ground for us beyond [the] Volga." January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 52-meter-tall monument The Motherland Calls! - the tallest statue in the world when erected in 1967 Mamayev Kurgan (Russian: Мама́ев Курга́н) is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) in southern Russia. ... Stalingrad is the former name of two cities: Volgograd, Russia Karviná-Nové Město, near Ostrava, Czech Republic Other uses: The Battle of Stalingrad (a major turning-point of World War II and arguably the bloodiest battle in human history) Stalingrad (German film set during the above battle) Stalingrad (metro station... For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ...

The telescopic sight from Thorvald's rifle, allegedly Zaitsev's most treasured trophy, is still exhibited in the Moscow armed forces museum. However, the entire story remains essentially unconfirmed. There is no mention of it in any Soviet military reports, including those to Aleksandr Shcherbakov, even though almost every act of sniperism was reported with relish. The supposed duel is depicted in William Craig's Book Enemy at the Gates and fictionalized in the film of the same name, although the Thorvald character's name was changed to Major König. View through a 4x rifle scope A telescopic sight, commonly referred to as a scope, is a device used to give an accurate point of aim for a firearm. ... Aleksandr Shcherbakov was a founding member of the Soviet Writers Union, along with Maksim Gorkij. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 movie directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, adapted from the David L. Robbins book called The War of the Rats. ... Major Erwin König (or Koenig) was reputedly the best German sniper during World War II, with more than 400 kills. ...

Vasily is also the name of a Russian character in Activision's Call of Duty 2 for the Xbox 360. The character is never given a last name, but is an obvious acknowledgement to Vasily Zaitsev. Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter video game and sequel to the critically acclaimed game, Call of Duty. ...

Awards and honors

Titles and Orders

• Title of Hero of the Soviet Union (22 February 1943).
• Title of "Honorary Citizen of the Hero City Volgograd" (7 May 1980).
• 2 Order of Lenin
• 2 Orders of the Red Banner
• The Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class

Medals

• For the Defense of Stalingrad
• For the Victory Over Germany
• 20 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War
• 30 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War
• 40 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War

Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза, Geroy Sovetskogo Soyuza) was the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of the Soviet Union. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Order of Lenin (ru: Орден Ленина), named after the leader of the Russian Revolution, was the second highest national order of the Soviet Union (Highest was the Order of Victory). ... The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Battle Red Banner, better-known as the Order of the Red Banner (in Russian: Орден Крaсного Знамени Orden Krasnogo Znameni) on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War. ... Established on 20 May 1942, The Order of the Patriotic War was an Order (decoration) of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to commanders in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans regardless of rank for skillfully commanding units in the field during the Great Patriotic War. ... The medal For the Victory Over Germany (Russian: За победу над Германией) was one of the most honourable military decorations in the Soviet Union, and on the other hand, one of the most widespread ones. ... Image File history File links Zaitsev_ribbon_bar. ...

References

• Beevor, Anthony (1998). Stalingrad. Penguin Books Ltd.: London. ISBN 0-14-100131-3.
• Robbins, David L. (2000). War of the Rats. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-55-358135-X.

External links

• (Russian) Vasily Zaitsev war hero biography – On the website dedicated to the Heroes of the Soviet Union/Russia
• (Russian) Василий Зайцев "За Волгой земли для нас не было.Записки снайпера" — Vasily Zaitsev's book (Zip archive)
• Vasily Zaitsev's autobiography – English translation available for purchase