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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe war was a test of the resolve of the Finnish Army, and although small and under-resourced, the army took on the strength of the Soviet Union\u2019s Red Army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Red Army, ill-led, could not handle the Finnish terrain and winter weather. Despite the military strength and ammunition of the Red Army, they were greatly defeated and suffered an immense loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, Finland resisted for only three months as the Red army came back stronger with modern equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, exhausted from the constant war, Finland succumbed and was forced to sign the Peace Treaty of Moscow in 1940, ceding 11% of its border areas to the Soviet Union. One of the brave Finnish Army soldiers to grace the battlefield was Simo H\u00e4yh\u00e4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simo H\u00e4yh\u00e4, AKA \u201cSimuna,\u201d \u201cThe White Death,\u201d and \u201cThe Magic Shooter\u201d (1905-2002), was a Finnish military sniper in during the 1939-1940 Winter War against the Soviet Union and World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He was born on December 17, 1905, to Juho and Kathriina H\u00e4yh\u00e4 in the Kiiskineh hamlet of the Rautjarvi municipality in the Viipuri Province of Southern Finland near the borders with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before joining the military service, he was a farmer, hunter, and skier. His hunting experience taught him how to exploit the battlefield terrain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At 17, he joined the Finnish voluntary Civil Guard. Successful in various local shooting competitions, he was awarded for his skilled marksmanship. In 1925 at 19, he started his 15 months of military service in the Bicycle Battalion 2 in Raivola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Simo did not receive formal sniper training until 1937 at a training center in Utti. He served as a military sniper in the Finnish Army during the Winter War under Lieutenant Aarne Juutilainen in the 6th company of Infantry Regiment 64. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He ranked as an Alikersanti (Corporal). When the Soviet Union launched an attack on Finland, Simo leaped to defend his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was among the few soldiers tasked with defeating the overwhelming military strength of the Red Army. Camouflaged in complete white, Simo, alongside other snipers, stationed themselves in the snowpits in cold weather temperatures between 45 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simo dealt with the extreme cold by dressing in multiple layers of clothing. He also kept sugar and bread in his pocket to keep his body warm. In addition, he developed clever tactics to keep him invisible from enemies in the cold for hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One was that he kept the snow in his mouth while sniping to prevent his breath in the cold air from revealing his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is reported to have killed 25 Red Army men in one day. He was a master at using smoke, sounds, and artillery fire to cover his tracks when changing positions. Without relying on maps, Simo depended on his memory to find the best hiding spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his private war memoir titled Sotamuistoja, which was discovered in 2017, Simo estimated he killed over 500 enemy soldiers during the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Incredibly, Simo achieved this feat in less than 100 days. With a Finnish-produced M28\/30 (a Civil Guard variant of the Moshin-Nagant Rifle) and a Suomi KP\/-31 submachine gun, Simo never missed a target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, he was named the deadliest sniper in history, and his record of sniper kills still stands today. In addition, Simo became the leading theme of Finnish propaganda, featuring in several newspapers as a hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-16.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSimo H\u00e4yh\u00e4 Early Life and Military Years<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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