Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev was a Soviet sniper and a Hero of the Soviet Union during World
War II.
Between 10 November and 17 December 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad, he killed
225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy
snipers.
Prior to 10 November, he killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin–Nagant rifle.
Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev made an estimated 400 kills, some at distances
of more than 1,000 metres.
A feature length film, Enemy at the Gates, starring Jude Law as Zaytsev, was based on
part of William Craig's book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which includes
a "sniper's duel" between Zaytsev and a Wehrmacht sniper school director, Major Erwin König.
Early life Zaytsev was born in Yeleninskoye, Orenburg
Governorate in a peasant family of Russian ethnicity and grew up in the Ural Mountains,
where he learned marksmanship by hunting deer and wolves with his grandfather and younger
brother.
He brought home his first trophy at the age of twelve: a wolf that he shot with a single
bullet from his first personal rifle, a large single-shot Berdan rifle, which he was just
barely able to carry on his back at the time.
War career Zaytsev served in the Soviet Navy as a clerk
in Vladivostok.
When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Zaytsev, like many of his comrades, volunteered to
be transferred to the front line.
He was a chief petty officer in the Navy, and was assigned the rank of senior warrant
officer upon transfer to the army.
He was eventually assigned to the 1074th Rifle Regiment of the 284th "Tomsk" Rifle Division,
which became part of 62nd Army at Stalingrad on Sept. 17, 1942.
World War II During Zaytsev's career as a sniper, he would
conceal himself in various locations – on high ground, under rubble, in water pipes,
etc.
After a few kills, he would change his position.
Together with his partner Nikolay Kulikov, Zaytsev would exercise his hide and sting
tactics.
One of Zaytsev’s common tactics was to cover one large area from three positions, with
two men at each point – a sniper and scout.
This tactic, known as the “sixes”, is still in use today, and was implemented during
the war in Chechnya.
Zaytsev took part in the Battle of Stalingrad until January 1943, when he suffered an injury
to his eyes from a mortar attack.
He was attended to by Vladimir Filatov, who is credited with restoring his sight.
On 22 February 1943, Zaytsev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
He then returned to the front and finished the war in Seelow Heights in Germany with
the military rank of Captain.
He became a member of the Communist Party in 1943.
Civil life After the war, Zaytsev settled in Kiev, where
he studied at a textile university before he obtained employment as an engineer.
He rose to become the director of a textile factory in Kiev, and remained in that city
until he died in 1991 at the age of 76, just 10 days before the final dissolution of the
Soviet Union.
He was initially buried in Kiev despite his final request to be buried at Volgograd.
2006 commemoration On 31 January 2006, Vasily Zaytsev was reburied
on Mamayev Kurgan in Stalingrad 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: "For us
there was no land beyond Volga".
Colonel Donald Paquette of the US Sniper School was present and laid a wreath as a sign of
respect to a legendary sniper.
US Army News quoted Colonel Paquette: "Vasily Zaytsev is a legend and every American sniper
must memorize his tactics and methods.
He is a legend amongst snipers.
May he rest in peace."
In popular culture In 2001, a feature length film, Enemy at the
Gates, starring Jude Law as Zaytsev, was based on part of William Craig's book Enemy at the
Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which includes a "sniper's duel" between Zaytsev and a Wehrmacht
sniper school director, Major Erwin König.
Zaytsev himself indicates in his own memoirs that a three-day duel did indeed occur and
that the sniper he killed was the head of a sniper school near Berlin.
However, there is currently no available evidence that any Major Erwin König ever existed,
despite the claim made by the Armed Forces Museum of Moscow that they are in possession
of his telescopic sight.
The duel claimed by Zaytsev however has never officially been determined to be fiction,
and therefore is neither proven nor disproved by historians.
The subject is open to debate.
Awards and honours This article incorporates information from
the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.
Hero of the Soviet Union.
Order of Lenin.
Order of the Red Banner, twice.
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.
Medal "For Courage".
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich
Lenin".
Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad".
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945".
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945".
Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945".
Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945".
Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy".
Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd.
References
Further reading Zaitsev, Vassili.
Thoughts of a Sniper.
Trans.
David Givens, Peter Kornakov, Konstantin Kornakov.
Ed.
Neil Okrent.
Los Angeles: 2826 Press Inc.
ISBN 0-615-12148-9.
Beevor, Antony.
Stalingrad.
London: Penguin Books Ltd.
ISBN 0-14-100131-3.
Robbins, David L..
War of the Rats.
New York: Bantam Books.
ISBN 0-553-58135-X.
The Reader's Digest Illustrated History of World War II.
London: Reader's Digest Association Limited.
ISBN 0-89577-333-3 External links
(Russian) Biography of Vasily Zaytsev at WarHeroes.ru (Russian) Zaytsev, Vasily.
Notes of a Sniper..
Moscow: Sovremennik.
Zaytsev, Vasily Russiapedia Military Prominent Russians at Russiapedia.rt.com
Stick-Breaker and the Hare World War II sniper list