The remarkable true story of the deadliest sniper in history

The most successful sniper in history was a five-foot-tall Finn who attained 505 kills in 98 days during the Winter War of 1939-40 between Finland and Russia.

Simo Häyhä was born on 17 December 1905 and was a farmer by profession. He grew up with a passion for snow-skiing, hunting and shooting - all of which contributed to him becoming the deadliest sniper in military history.

He used his tracking and hunting skills to remain unseen and unheard, once killing 25 men in one day. He became so lethal that Russian forces, after he killed an enemy sniper with a single shot, attempted to bombard his estimated position with widespread mortar fire. He escaped unscathed.

He used clever techniques such as pouring water in the snow in front of him to prevent an upthrust of recently fallen snow after his shot. He used sounds, smoke and artillery fire to cover his movements and shots, relying on his memory of the local area for the best hiding positions.

Simo Häyhä after being awarded with the honorary rifle model 28. (Picture: Finnish Military Archives)

Häyhä regularly cleaned his rifle, an M/28-30 without a telescopic sight, zeroed for 150-metre range, because of the -20 degree temperatures both before and after a mission. He saw it as essential to his job and to prevent the rifle jamming.

Häyhä was wounded on 6 March 1940, when an explosive bullet hit him in the forests of Ulismaa in the Kollaa region. He lapsed into a coma and would not awake for a week, by which time an armistice had been signed.

He suffered lasting facial scarring from the wound and underwent 26 surgical operations on his jaw. His speech was never fully restored.

For an in-depth look at Häyhä's life, you can read The White Sniper, by Tapio Saarelainen.

HT History Extra, LadBible

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