The future sniper, who became a legend during his lifetime, was born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elino, Chelyabinsk Region, into a peasant family. The boy was named Vasily. From childhood, his grandfather taught his little grandchildren Vasily and Maxim to hunt. And when Vasily turned 12 years old, his grandfather gave him a gun as a gift. Subsequently, this weapon became a threat to all fascist invaders.

After studying in the 7th grade of a rural school, Zaitsev began his studies at the Magnitogorsk Technical School, from which he graduated at the age of 15 with a degree in fittings.

Zaitsev became a member of the Pacific Fleet in 1937. After studying at the Military Economic School, he was appointed to the position of head of the financial department. Soon he was caught by the terrible news about the beginning of the war.

Vasily was not going to sit in the accounting department while others gave their lives for the freedom of their native country. He submitted a report on enlistment in the fighting troops five times. Finally his requests were heard. In September 1942, Vasily went to war. Zaitsev was enlisted in the 248th division. Having completed accelerated courses in military operations in the city, Vasily Grigorievich became a participant in the Stalingrad meat grinder.

It was here that his talent as a marksman was fully revealed. Possessing excellent eyesight and excellent hearing, Vasily was very good at choosing places to fire. Once, from a distance of 800 steps, unimaginable at that time, with a simple rifle he was able to destroy three Nazis. Soon the commander of the 1047th regiment presented Vasily with the medal “For Courage”. An excellent addition to it was the sniper rifle. In just one war month, Zaitsev eliminated 225 German invaders. Including 11 snipers. The fight between our fighter and the head of the Berlin sniper school, won by Zaitsev, became famous (it was even filmed).

But the war spares no one. In the first winter month of 1943, while repelling an enemy attack on the regiment's position, Vasily was seriously wounded by a fascist mine. For some time he completely lost his sight, but thanks to the efforts of Professor Filatov, who performed several complex operations on Zaitsev in the capital, the already famous officer returned to duty. At the end of February 1943, Zaitsev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Also in 1943, he joined the Communist Party of the USSR.

In the spring of 1944, Vasily Grigorievich returned to the active army again. During the war, Zaitsev fulfilled his duty in various positions. He ran a sniper school. During the war, two manuals were published from the pen of Zaitsev, which became guidelines for the training of riflemen. Later, Vasily commanded a mortar platoon, and then a company. He became a participant in the liberation of Donbass from the Nazis, liberated Odessa, and crossed the Dnieper.

In the spring of 1944, while repelling a German attack, Vasily Grigorievich personally destroyed 18 Nazis and was again seriously wounded. This happened on May 10th. For the heroism shown in that battle, Vasily Zaitsev received the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Zaitsev spent the victorious days of May 45 in the hospital. Zaitsev visited the defeated Nazi capital after the Victory. There he met his comrades and received a rifle, which today is an exhibit of the city defense museum in Volgograd.

When the war ended, Vasily Grigorievich remained to live in Kyiv and worked as the head of a mechanical engineering plant. For special services during the defense of Stalingrad and its liberation from the Nazis in the spring of 1980, V.G. Zaitsev became an Honorary Citizen of this hero city.

The famous sniper passed away on December 15, 1991. He was buried in Kyiv. And only in 2006 did Zaitsev’s last wish come true. On January 31, his remains were buried on Mamayev Kurgan - in the city where he became a legend.

The legendary sniper of the Great Patriotic War Vasily Zaitsev during the Battle of Stalingrad, in a month and a half, destroyed more than two hundred German soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers.
WARRIOR
The war found Vasily Zaitsev serving in the Pacific Fleet as head of the financial unit, to which he was appointed thanks to his education. But Vasily, who received his first hunting rifle as a gift from his grandfather at the age of 12, did not even think about working in the accounting department. He wrote five reports asking to be sent to the front. Finally, the commander heeded the requests, and Zaitsev left for the active army to defend his homeland. The future sniper was enlisted in the 284th Infantry Division.
DESERVED “SNIPER”
After short military training, Vasily, together with other Pacific soldiers, crossed the Volga and took part in the battles for Stalingrad. From the very first meetings with the enemy, Zaitsev proved himself to be an outstanding shooter. Using a simple “three-ruler”, he skillfully killed an enemy soldier. During the war, his grandfather’s wise hunting advice was very useful to him. Later Vasily will say that one of the main qualities of a sniper is the ability to camouflage and be invisible. This quality is necessary for any good hunter.
Just a month later, for his demonstrated zeal in battle, Vasily Zaitsev received the medal “For Courage”, and in addition to it... a sniper rifle! By this time, the accurate hunter had already disabled 32 enemy soldiers.


SNIPER SMART
A good sniper is a living sniper. The feat of a sniper is that he does his job again and again. To succeed in this difficult task, you need to perform a feat every day and every minute: beat the enemy and stay alive!
Vasily Zaitsev firmly knew that the pattern was the path to death. Therefore, he constantly came up with new hunting models. Hunting another hunter is especially dangerous, but even here our soldier always rose to the occasion. Vasily, as if in a chess game, outplayed his opponents. For example, he made a realistic sniper doll, and he disguised himself nearby. As soon as the enemy revealed himself with a shot, Vasily began to patiently wait for his appearance from cover. And time didn't matter to him.

FROM SMART TO SCIENCE
Zaitsev commanded a sniper group and, caring for the growth of them and his own professional skills, accumulated considerable didactic material, which later made it possible to write two textbooks for snipers. One day, two riflemen, returning from a firing position, met their commander. The punctual Germans have gone to lunch, which means they can take a break themselves - anyway, you won’t be able to catch anyone in your crosshairs. But Zaitsev noted that now is the time to shoot. It turns out that even when there was no one to shoot at, the smart hunter calmly calculated the distances to the places where the enemy might appear and wrote them down in a notebook, so that on occasion, without wasting a second, he could hit the target. After all, there may not be another chance.

DUEL WITH A GERMAN “SUPER SNIPER”
The Soviet marksman greatly annoyed the German “machine,” so the German command sent its best marksman from Berlin to the Stalingrad front: the head of the sniper school. The German ace was given the task of destroying the “Russian hare”. In turn, Vasily received an order to destroy the German “super sniper”. A game of cat and mouse began between them. From the actions of the German, Vasily realized that he was dealing with a seasoned professional. But as a result of several days of mutual hunting, Vasily Zaitsev outwitted the enemy and emerged victorious.
This duel made our sniper famous worldwide. This plot is reflected in modern cinema: in the 1992 Russian film “Angels of Death” and in the Western “Enemy at the Gates” (2001).


GROUP HUNT
Unfortunately, there was no time to celebrate the victory in the principled duel. Division commander Nikolai Batyuk congratulated Vasily and assigned his group of snipers a new important task. It was necessary to disrupt the impending German offensive on one of the sections of the Stalingrad front. “How many fighters do you have at your disposal,” asked the commander. - "13". - “Well, I hope you can handle it.”
In carrying out the task, Zaitsev’s group used a new combat tactic at that time - group hunting. Thirteen sniper rifles took aim at the most attractive points in the enemy's position. The calculation is this: Hitler’s officers will come out for a final inspection of the offensive line - fire!
The calculation was completely justified. The offensive was disrupted. True, the experienced fighter Vasily Zaitsev, in the heat of battle, launched an open attack on the German infantry, not expecting that the German artillery would fire a salvo at friends and foes...


RETURN TO THE FRONT
When Vasily came to his senses, he was enveloped in darkness. As a result of the severe injury, his eyes were seriously damaged. In his memoirs, he admits that when his hearing became more acute, he was thinking about picking up a rifle... Fortunately, after several operations, his vision returned, and on February 10, 1943, sniper Zaitsev saw the light again.
For the demonstrated military skill and valor, the commander of the sniper group was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. However, as at the beginning of his military journey, Vasily did not even think of staying away from the main events and soon returned to the front. He celebrated victory in the Great Patriotic War with the rank of captain.

Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev became a legend during his lifetime. Accustomed to the taiga, to hunting, and to weapons since childhood, in Stalingrad, Sergeant Major 1st Article Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers in a month and a half of fighting. Ten of them, the same snipers, were hunting for him and his partners. The eleventh, who arrived from Germany itself specifically to please Zaitsev, settled down forever there, in Stalingrad. The Russian hunter always emerged victorious from deadly duels...

“For us, the soldiers and commanders of the 62nd Army, there is no land beyond the Volga. We have stood and will stand to the death!” V. Zaitsev

short biography

Childhood

Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev was born on the twenty-third of March 1915 in the village of Elenkina, Orenburg province (Chelyabinsk region), into an ordinary peasant family. From early childhood he was taught to shoot a hunting rifle by his grandfather Andrei Alekseevich, and at the age of 12 he received a rifle as a gift. Vasily recalled: “In my memory, my childhood is marked by the words of my grandfather Andrei, who took me hunting with him, there he handed me a bow with homemade arrows and said:

“You have to shoot accurately, in the eye of every animal. Now you are no longer a child... Use your cartridges sparingly, learn to shoot without missing a beat. This skill can be useful not only when hunting for four-legged animals...”

It was as if he knew or foresaw that I would have to carry out this order in the fire of the most brutal battle for the honor of our Motherland - in Stalingrad... I received from my grandfather a letter of taiga wisdom, love of nature and worldly experience.”

Vasily's incomplete secondary education fit into seven classes, after which the guy entered the construction technical school in Magnitogorsk, which he graduated in 1930. In 1937, he entered service in the Pacific Fleet as a clerk in the artillery department.

Years of war

The Great Patriotic War found him in the post of head of the financial unit in Preobrazhenie Bay. In the summer of 1942, after several reports with a request to be sent to the front, Vasily Zaitsev ended up in the 284th Infantry Division. And in September 1942 he took part in the battle for Stalingrad.

From the very beginning, Vasily Grigorievich showed himself to be a skillful and extraordinary sniper, from a distance of 800 meters he could destroy three opponents at once from an ordinary soldier’s rifle

For his courage and outstanding sniper abilities he was awarded the medal “For Courage” and a sniper rifle. The fame of the outstanding sniper spread on all fronts. The sniper rifle handed to the shooter that day is now exhibited in the Volgograd State Panorama Museum “Battle of Stalingrad” as an exhibit. In 1945, the rifle was made personalized. After the Victory, an engraving was attached to the butt: “To the Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Captain Vasily Zaitsev. He buried more than 300 fascists in Stalingrad.”

Post-war years

Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev, post-war years

Vasily Zaitsev finished his military career in the post-war years, studied at the All-Union Institute of Textile and Light Industry, worked in Kyiv as director of the Ukraina clothing factory, and headed the light industry technical school. The war hero met his wife Zinaida Sergeevna while holding the position of director of an automobile repair plant, and she worked as the secretary of the party bureau of a machine-building plant.

By the decision of the Volgograd City Council of People's Deputies of May 7, 1980, for special services shown in the defense of the city and in the defeat of Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad, V. G. Zaitsev was awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd.” The hero is depicted in a panorama of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Zaitsev retained his accuracy into old age. One day he was invited to evaluate the training of young snipers. After the shooting, he was asked to demonstrate his skills to the young fighters.

A 65-year-old warrior, taking a rifle from one of the young fighters, knocked out a “ten” three times.

That time the cup was awarded not to excellent marksmen, but to him, an outstanding master of marksmanship.

Vasily Zaitsev died on December 15, 1991. He was buried in Kyiv at the Lukyanovsky cemetery. Subsequently, the will of the heroic warrior was fulfilled - to bury him in the blood-soaked soil of Stalingrad, which he so heroically defended. And on January 31, 2006, the last will of the legendary sniper was fulfilled; his ashes were solemnly reburied on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.

Vasily Zaitsev - hero of the Battle of Stalingrad

From Vasily’s memoirs: “At night we crossed the Volga to Stalingrad. The city was burning... Near the ruins of houses I saw the corpses of women and children. That night I arrived at the front for the first time. And I immediately saw a terrible picture of the crimes of Hitler’s bandits... I am a simple person, of a gentle character. Born in the Urals, worked as an accountant. In my life I have never felt such anger as I was inflamed that night. And I decided to take merciless revenge on the enemy.”

Already in the first battles with the enemy, Zaitsev showed himself to be an outstanding shooter. Once Zaitsev, from a distance of 800 meters from a window, shooting from an ordinary three-line rifle, destroyed three enemy soldiers. As a reward, Zaitsev received a cash prize, a sniper rifle with an optical sight, and a medal “For Courage.” By that time, Zaitsev had killed 32 enemy soldiers using a simple “three-line rifle”. Soon people in the regiment, division, and army started talking about him. Zaitsev combined all the qualities inherent in a sniper - visual acuity, sensitive hearing, restraint, composure, endurance, military cunning. He knew how to choose the best positions and disguise them; usually hid from enemy soldiers in places where they could not even imagine a Soviet sniper. The famous sniper beat the enemy mercilessly.

Only in the period from November 10 to December 17, 1942, in the battles for Stalingrad, Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers

In total, Zaitsev’s group destroyed 1,126 enemy troops in four months of fighting. Zaitsev's comrades-in-arms were Nikolai Ilyin, who had 496 Germans on his account, Pyotr Goncharov - 380, Viktor Medvedev - 342. It should be noted that Zaitsev's main merit is not in his personal combat account, but in the fact that he became a key figure in deployment of sniper movement among the ruins of Stalingrad. Zaitsev was especially glorified by a sniper duel with a German “super sniper”, whom Zaitsev himself calls Major König (Heinz Thorwald) in his memoirs.

The legendary fight with the German “super sniper”

In order to reduce the activity of Russian snipers and thus raise the morale of their soldiers, the German command decides to send the head of the Berlin sniper squad, SS Colonel Heinz Thorwald, to the city on the Volga to destroy the “main Russian hare.” Torvald, transported to the front by plane, immediately challenged Zaitsev, shooting down two Soviet snipers with single shots. Now the Soviet command was also worried, having learned about the arrival of the German ace. The commander of the 284th Infantry Division, Colonel Batyuk, ordered his snipers to eliminate Heinz at any cost.

The task was not easy. First of all, it was necessary to find a German, study his behavior, habits, handwriting. And this is all for one single shot. Thanks to his vast experience, Zaitsev perfectly studied the handwriting of enemy snipers. By the camouflage and firing of each of them, he could determine their character, experience, and courage. But Colonel Thorvald puzzled him. It was impossible to even understand in which sector of the front he was operating. Most likely, he changes positions quite often, acts with great caution, tracking down the enemy himself.

One day at dawn, together with his partner Nikolai Kuznetsov, Zaitsev took a secret position in the area where their comrades had been wounded the day before. But the whole day of observation did not bring any results. But suddenly a helmet appeared above the enemy trench and began to slowly move along the trench. But her swaying was somehow unnatural. “Bait,” Vasily realized. But for the whole day not a single movement was noticed. This means that the German lay in a hidden position all day without giving himself away. From this ability to be patient, Zaitsev realized that in front of him was the head of a sniper school. On the second day, the fascist again showed nothing of himself. Then we began to understand that this was the same guest from Berlin. The third morning at the position began as usual. A battle was breaking out nearby. But the Soviet snipers did not move and only observed the enemy positions. But political instructor Danilov, who went with them into the ambush, could not stand it. Having decided that he had noticed the enemy, he leaned out of the trench quite a bit and just for a second. This was enough for the enemy shooter to notice him, take aim and shoot him. Fortunately, the political instructor only wounded him. It was clear that only a master of his craft could shoot like that. This convinced Zaitsev and Kuznetsov that it was the guest from Berlin who fired and, judging by the speed of the shot, was right in front of them. But where exactly?
There is a bunker on the right, but the embrasure in it is closed. There is a damaged tank on the left, but an experienced shooter will not climb there. Between them, on a flat area, lies a piece of metal, covered with a pile of bricks. Moreover, it has been lying there for a long time, the eye has become accustomed to it, and you won’t even notice it right away. Maybe a German under the leaf? Zaitsev put his mitten on his stick and raised it above the parapet. A shot and an accurate hit. Vasily lowered the bait in the same position as he raised it. The bullet entered smoothly, without drift. Like a German under a sheet of iron. The next challenge is to get him to open up. But today it is useless to do this. It’s okay, the enemy sniper will not leave the successful position. It's not in his nature. The Russians definitely need to change their position.

The next night we took a new position and began to wait for dawn. In the morning, a new battle between infantry units broke out. Kulikov fired at random, illuminating his cover and piqued the interest of the enemy shooter. Then they rested throughout the first half of the day, waiting for the sun to turn around, leaving their shelter in the shadows, and illuminating the enemy’s with direct rays. Suddenly, right in front of the leaf, something sparkled. Optical sight. Kulikov slowly began to lift his helmet. The shot clicked. Kulikov screamed, stood up and immediately fell without moving. The German made a fatal mistake by not counting the second sniper. He leaned out a little from under cover right under Vasily Zaitsev’s bullet. Thus ended this sniper duel, which became famous at the front and was included in the list of classic techniques of snipers around the world.

Born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elininsk, now Agapovsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, in a peasant family. In 1930, he received a specialty in fittings at the FZU school (now SPTU...

Born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elininsk, now Agapovsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, in a peasant family. In 1930, he received a specialty in fittings at the FZU school (now SPTU No. 19 in the city of Magnitogorsk). Since 1936 in the Navy. He graduated from military economic school and served in the Pacific Fleet until 1942.

Since September 1942 in the active army. During the period from October 10 to December 17, 1942, the sniper of the 1047th Infantry Regiment (284th Infantry Division, 62nd Army, Stalingrad Front) Junior Lieutenant V.G. Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers. Directly at the forefront, he taught sniper training to soldiers and commanders, and trained 28 snipers. On February 22, 1943, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In total, he killed 242 enemies (officially), including several famous snipers.

After the war he was demobilized. He worked as director of the Kyiv Machine-Building Plant. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (twice), the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and medals. The ship plying along the Dnieper bears his name.

Vasily Zaitsev became one of the most famous snipers of the Battle of Stalingrad. Just as the spirit of art lives in a real artist, so in Vasily Zaitsev lived the talent of a most magnificent shooter. Zaitsev and the rifle seemed to form a single whole.

The legendary Mamayev Kurgan!... Here, at a height dug up by shells and bombs, Pacific sailor Vasily Zaitsev began his combat sniper count.

Remembering those harsh days, Marshal of the Soviet Union V.I. Chuikov writes:

“A massive sniper movement developed in the battles for the city. It began in Batyuk’s division on the initiative of the remarkable sniper Vasily Zaitsev, and then spread to all parts of the army.

The glory of the fearless Vasily Zaitsev thundered on all fronts, not only because he personally exterminated over 300 Nazis, but also because he taught the art of sniper to dozens of other soldiers, as they were called then - “hares”... Our snipers forced the Nazis to crawl around ground and played a significant role both in the defense and offensive of our troops.”

Zaitsev's life path is typical of his contemporaries, for whom the interests of the Motherland are above all. The son of a Ural peasant, he served in the Pacific Fleet as an anti-aircraft gunner since 1937. The diligent, disciplined sailor was accepted into the Komsomol. After studying at the military economic school, he was appointed head of the financial department in the Pacific Fleet, in Preobrazhenye Bay. While working as a quartermaster, Zaitsev lovingly studied weapons and pleased the commander and colleagues with excellent results in shooting.

It was the 2nd year of the bloody war. Foreman 1st Article Zaitsev has already submitted 5 reports with a request to be sent to the front. In the summer of 1942, the commander finally granted his request and Zaitsev left for the active army. Together with other Pacific Islanders, he was enlisted in the division of N.F. Batyuk, crossed the Volga on a dark September night and began to participate in the battles for the city.

One day, the enemies decided to burn alive the brave souls who broke into the territory of the Metiz plant. With an air strike, German pilots destroyed 12 gas storage facilities. Literally everything was burning. It seemed that there was nothing alive left on the Volga land. But as soon as the fire subsided, the sailors again rushed forward from the Volga. Fierce battles continued for five days in a row for every factory workshop, house, and floor.

Already in the first battles with the enemy, Vasily Zaitsev showed himself to be an outstanding shooter. One day the battalion commander called Zaitsev and pointed out the window. The fascist was running 800 meters away. The sailor took careful aim. A shot rang out and the German fell. A few minutes later, 2 more invaders appeared in the same place. They suffered the same fate.

In October, from the hands of the commander of his 1047th regiment, Metelev, he received a sniper rifle and a medal “For Courage”. By that time, Zaitsev had killed 32 Nazis using a simple “three-line rifle”. Soon people in the regiment, division, and army started talking about him.

During the battles for Stalingrad, the front-line press took the initiative in developing the sniper movement, which arose at the front at the initiative of the Leningraders. She talks widely about the famous Stalingrad sniper Vasily Zaitsev, about other masters of accurate fire, and called on all soldiers to mercilessly exterminate the fascist invaders.

In 1942, during the brutal battles for Stalingrad, Soviet snipers delivered sensitive blows to the Germans.

Skillfully camouflaging themselves, patiently waiting, they lay in wait for the enemy at the most unexpected moment and destroyed him with one well-aimed shot.

Vasily Zaitsev especially annoyed the Nazis.

Vasily Zaitsev is the famous sniper of the 62nd Army of the Stalingrad Front, Hero of the Soviet Union, the best sniper of the Battle of Stalingrad. During this battle from November 10 to December 17, 1942, he destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers.

In order to reduce the activity of Russian snipers and thus raise the morale of their soldiers, the German command decides to send the head of the Berlin sniper squad, SS Colonel Heinz Thorwald, to the city on the Volga to destroy the “main Russian hare.”

Torvald, transported to the front by plane, immediately challenged Zaitsev, shooting down two Soviet snipers with single shots.

Now the Soviet command was also worried, having learned about the arrival of the German ace. The commander of the 284th Infantry Division, Colonel Batyuk, ordered his snipers to eliminate Heinz at any cost.

The task was not easy. First of all, it was necessary to find a German, study his behavior, habits, handwriting. And this is all for one single shot.

Thanks to his vast experience, Zaitsev perfectly studied the handwriting of enemy snipers. By the camouflage and firing of each of them, he could determine their character, experience, and courage. But Colonel Thorvald puzzled him. It was impossible to even understand in which sector of the front he was operating. Most likely, he changes positions quite often, acts with great caution, tracking down the enemy himself.

One day at dawn, together with his partner Nikolai Kuznetsov, Zaitsev took a secret position in the area where their comrades had been wounded the day before. But the whole day of observation did not bring any results.

But suddenly a helmet appeared above the enemy trench and began to slowly move along the trench. But her swaying was somehow unnatural. “Bait,” Vasily realized. But for the whole day not a single movement was noticed. This means that the German lay in a hidden position all day without giving himself away. From this ability to be patient, Zaitsev realized that in front of him was the head of a sniper school. On the second day, the fascist again showed nothing of himself.

Then we began to understand that this was the same guest from Berlin.

The third morning at the position began as usual. A battle was breaking out nearby. But the Soviet snipers did not move and only observed the enemy positions. But political instructor Danilov, who went with them into the ambush, could not stand it. Having decided that he had noticed the enemy, he leaned out of the trench quite a bit and just for a second. This was enough for the enemy shooter to notice him, take aim and shoot him. Fortunately, the political instructor only wounded him. It was clear that only a master of his craft could shoot like that. This convinced Zaitsev and Kuznetsov that it was the guest from Berlin who fired and, judging by the speed of the shot, was right in front of them. But where exactly?

SMART SNIPER ZAYTSEV

There is a bunker on the right, but the embrasure in it is closed. There is a damaged tank on the left, but an experienced shooter will not climb there. Between them, on a flat area, lies a piece of metal, covered with a pile of bricks. Moreover, it has been lying there for a long time, the eye has become accustomed to it, and you won’t even notice it right away. Maybe a German under the leaf?

Zaitsev put his mitten on his stick and raised it above the parapet. A shot and an accurate hit. Vasily lowered the bait in the same position as he raised it. The bullet entered smoothly, without drift. Like a German under a sheet of iron.

The next challenge is to get him to open up. But today it is useless to do this. It’s okay, the enemy sniper will not leave the successful position. It's not in his nature. The Russians definitely need to change their position.

The next night we took a new position and began to wait for dawn. In the morning, a new battle between infantry units broke out. Kulikov fired at random, illuminating his cover and piqued the interest of the enemy shooter. Then they rested throughout the first half of the day, waiting for the sun to turn around, leaving their shelter in the shadows, and illuminating the enemy’s with direct rays

Suddenly, right in front of the leaf, something sparkled. Optical sight. Kulikov slowly began to lift his helmet. The shot clicked. Kulikov screamed, stood up and immediately fell without moving.

The German made a fatal mistake by not counting the second sniper. He leaned out a little from under cover right under Vasily Zaitsev’s bullet.

Thus ended this sniper duel, which became famous at the front and was included in the list of classic techniques of snipers around the world.

By the way, curiously, the hero of the Battle of Stalingrad Vasily Zaitsev did not immediately become a sniper.

When it became clear that Japan would not start a war against the USSR, troops began to be transferred from Siberia and the Far East to the German front. This is how Vasily Zaitsev fell under Stalingrad. Initially, he was an ordinary infantryman-shooter of the famous 62nd Army of V.I. Chuikova. But he was distinguished by enviable accuracy.

September 22, 1942 The division in which Zaitsev served broke into the territory of the Stalingrad hardware plant and took up defensive positions there. Zaitsev received a bayonet wound, but did not leave the formation. Having asked his shell-shocked comrade to load the rifle, Zaitsev continued to fire. And, despite being wounded and lacking a sniper scope, he destroyed 32 Nazis in that battle. The grandson of the Ural hunter turned out to be a worthy student of his grandfather.

“For us, the soldiers and commanders of the 62nd Army, there is no land beyond the Volga. We have stood and will stand to the death!” V. Zaitsev

Zaitsev combined all the qualities inherent in a sniper - visual acuity, sensitive hearing, restraint, composure, endurance, military cunning. He knew how to choose the best positions and disguise them; usually hid from enemy soldiers in places where they could not even imagine a Russian sniper. The famous sniper beat the enemy mercilessly.

Only in the period from November 10 to December 17, 1942, in the battles for Stalingrad, V.G. Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers, and his comrades in arms in the 62nd Army - 6000.

V. Zaitsev died on December 15, 1991. He was buried in Kyiv at the Lukyanovsky military cemetery, although his last wish was to be buried in the Stalingrad land that he defended.

On January 31, 2006, the ashes of Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev were solemnly reburied in Volgograd on Mamayev Kurgan.