Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев, pronounced [vʌˈsʲilʲɪj grʲɪˈgorʲjevʲɪtɕ ˈzajtsɨf] ) (March 23, 1915–December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.^[1] Prior to 10 November, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle (tryokhlineyka, "three line rifle").^[1] Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev had made 242 verified kills,^[2] but the real number may be much higher;^[3] some argue it might have been as many as 400.^[4] His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant. is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... 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 ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: , Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Population (2006)  - City 4,450,968  - Density 3,299/km² (8,544. ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... The Eastern Front1 was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ... Belligerents Germany Romania Italy Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Wolfram von Richthofen Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Gariboldi Gusztáv Vitéz Jány Viktor Pavičić Josef Stalin Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Andrei Yeremenko Strength... Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза, Geroy Sovyetskovo Soyuza) was the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of the Soviet Union. ... The Order of Lenin (Russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest national order of the Soviet Union. ... 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. ... Medal for the Defence of Stalingrad The Medal for the Defence of Stalingrad (Медаль За оборону Сталинграда) was established on December 22, 1942. ... 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. ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Belligerents Germany Romania Italy Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Wolfram von Richthofen Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Gariboldi Gusztáv Vitéz Jány Viktor Pavičić Josef Stalin Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Andrei Yeremenko Strength... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, a stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. ... Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ... For other uses, see Sniper (disambiguation). ... is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ... 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... Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. ...

Early life and World War II

Zaytsev was born in Yeleninskoye and grew up in the Ural Mountains. His surname Zaytsev has the same root as the word "hare" (zayats) in Russian. Before going to Stalingrad, he served in the Russian Navy as a clerk but upon reading about the brutality of the fighting in Stalingrad volunteered for front-line duty. Zaytsev served in the 1047th Rifle Regiment of the 284th Rifle Division of the 62nd Army. He is notable for having participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. There, the Russians set up a snipers' training school in the Lazur chemical works; it was run by Zaytsev. The snipers Zaytsev 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 Zaytsev trained killed more than 3000 enemy soldiers. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Map of the Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (Russian: , Uralskiye gory) (also known as the Urals, the Riphean Mountains in Greco-Roman antiquity, and known as the Stone Belt) are a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. ... For other uses, see Hare (disambiguation). ... Belligerents Germany Romania Italy Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Wolfram von Richthofen Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Gariboldi Gusztáv Vitéz Jány Viktor Pavičić Josef Stalin Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Andrei Yeremenko Strength... Antony Beevor (born in 1946) is an historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. ... A US Marine marksman. ...

Zaytsev served until January 1943, when he suffered an injury to his eyes from a landmine. He was attended to by Professor Filatov, who is credited with restoring his sight. He then returned to the front and finished the war on the Dniestr River with the military rank of Captain. After the end of the war, Zaytsev visited Berlin, where he met friends who served with him. After the war, Zaytsev managed a factory in Kiev, and remained in that city until he died at the age of 76 after suffering a painful disease. Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian 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. ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: , Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Population (2006)  - City 4,450,968  - Density 3,299/km² (8,544. ...

Commemoration

On January 31, 2006, Vasily Zaytsev was reburied on Mamayev Kurgan with full military honors. Zaytsev'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 was no ground for us beyond [the] Volga." is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was 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: Мамаев Курган) 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 Heinz Thorvald's rifle, allegedly Zaytsev'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 of Aleksandr Shcherbakov, even though almost every act of sniperism was reported with relish. The supposed duel is depicted in David L. Robbins' book War of the Rats and fictionalized in the film Enemy at the Gates, although Thorvald character's name was changed to Major König. Whether this duel actually took place is in dispute among historians, however, due to lack of any evidence as to whether there was a German sniper of such name or rank who ever existed during World War II.^{[citation needed]} Zaytsev himself did make mention of the duel in his own biography "Notes of a Sniper", although it was a brief description occupying less than a chapter, in which he commented that he had been up against a very skillful sniper. 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. ... Heinz Thorvald was a german sniper in second world war. ... Aleksandr Shcherbakov was a founding member of the Soviet Writers Union, along with Maksim Gorkij. ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 motion picture directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Jude Law and Ed Harris. ... Erwin König (1885? - October 21, 1941) (also known as Heinz Thorvald) was an apparently apocryphal German major, propagated by the Soviets as the best World War II enemy sniper, with more than 400 kills. ...

Popular culture

• Zaytsev's story was portrayed in the films "Ангелы Смерти" (Angels of Death) and Enemy at the Gates
• Zaytsev's story is portrayed differently in the book War of the Rats

Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 motion picture directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Jude Law and Ed Harris. ...

References

Books

• Zaytsev,Vasily (1956-1971) "Notes of a Sniper:For us There is no Land Beyond the Volga" Vladivostok:Moscow/2826 Press Inc.
• Beevor, Antony (1998). Stalingrad. Penguin Books Ltd.: London. ISBN 0-14-100131-3.
• Robbins, David L. (2000). War of the Rats. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-58135-X.
• (1989). The Reader's Digest Illustrated History of World War II. Reader's Digest Association Limited.: London. ISBN 0-89577-333-3

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ...

Films

• Enemy at the Gates (2001)

Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 motion picture directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Jude Law and Ed Harris. ...

External links

• (Russian) Vasily Zaytsev 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 Zaytsev's book (Zip archive)
• Vasily Zaytsev's autobiography – English translation available for purchase