Vasily Zaitsev - Hero of the Soviet Union, famous sniper during the Second World War. Streets are named after him, most people in the post-Soviet space know about him. History remembered Vasily as one of the most productive shooters.
Vasily Zaitsev: biography
Vasily was born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Eleninka, Orenburg region (now Chelyabinsk) in an ordinary peasant family. He studied at a rural school, where he graduated from the 7th grade. At the age of 15, he already graduated from a construction college, where he studied as a fitter.
From childhood, Vasily's grandfather, Andrei, often took him and his brother hunting with him. Already at the age of 12, the future sniper had a gun. Grandfather taught his grandchildren the intricacies of hunting, surveillance, patience and shooting instincts. Perhaps these lessons predetermined Vasily's future.
In 1937, Vasily Zaitsev served as a clerk in the Pacific Fleet. Then he is trained in accounting and continues to serve as the head of the financial department. With the outbreak of war, he asks the command to send him to the front. After 5 reports, he gets the go-ahead. And 27-year-old Vasily is sent to the zone of the most fierce and bloody battles - to Stalingrad. Later in the city on the Volga,where the Nazi invasion was stopped, he will say his famous phrase: "There is no land for us beyond the Volga. We stood and will stand to the death!"
Sniper of the 62nd army
Before the front, Vasily underwent a little training. From the first days, he proved himself to be an extremely accurate shooter, killing 3 Nazis with a conventional rifle from a distance of almost a kilometer. The command transferred him to a group of snipers. There he received a Mosin sniper rifle - a mass-produced weapon, quite simple. From it, Zaitsev managed to destroy 32 invaders. After that, the rookie sniper gains notoriety throughout the group of troops.
Hunting the hunter
In almost one month, Vasily kills 225 fascists. Rumors about him are crawling all over the country and even around the world. In the partially occupied and almost completely destroyed Stalingrad, Zaitsev's name is of particular importance. He becomes a real hero, one of the symbols of resistance. Leaflets with new achievements of the shooter are regularly distributed among the population and personnel of the Red Army.
The rumors about Vasily Zaitsev reach the Nazi leadership. They understand its importance in terms of propaganda, so they send their best ace sniper on a mission to kill the Soviet shooter. This ace was Major König (according to other sources - Heinz Thorwald, possibly König - call sign). He trained snipers in a special school and was a true professional. Immediately upon arrival, he wounds one Red Army rifleman and gets intoanother's weapon. Conventional sniper rifles zoom in 3-4 times, since it is already difficult for a shooter to work with a large increase. The increase on the rifle of the Nazi major was tenfold! This speaks of the professionalism and virtuosity of Koenig.
Fight with Major
Having learned about the arrival of a super sniper in the city, the Soviet leadership gives the order to destroy him personally to Zaitsev, later this fight will be considered legendary. It reflected not only the battles of two snipers, but also the battle of two peoples, two ideologies.
After a long stalking, Vassily discovered Koenig's position. The long wait was justified: a ray of sun was reflected for a moment from the German's optics. This was enough for Vasily, in a second the Nazi fell dead. Soviet propaganda joyfully informed the people: Vasily Zaitsev won. The Hero of the Soviet Union will later describe this duel in detail.
After the war, he stayed in Kyiv. He worked as a manager at a garment factory.
Died in 1991. After 15 years, he was reburied with honors in Stalingrad, as he bequeathed.
Vasily Zaitsev: film
The figure of the Soviet sniper was widely reflected in culture: many documentaries were shot and a considerable number of works were written. The most famous feature film about Vasily Zaitsev is Enemy at the Gates, an American production. Jude Law as Zaitsev.
The main storyline revolves around the duel between Vasily Zaitsev and Koenig. Also parallel is loveline with a sniper girl and Vasily's friend. Filmed in 2001, the film boasts great visual effects. The scene of the crossing of the Volga and the landing of Soviet troops in Stalingrad turned out to be extremely colorful and catchy. It demonstrates the heavy losses of the Soviet troops: blood everywhere, the dead lie next to the living, pain, screams, panic. The scenery of Stalingrad itself also turned out to be quite good: devastation, concrete desert - all this looks very atmospheric. A large crowd allows you to assess the scale of the battles.
But the film was shot by the Americans, so there was some propaganda here. The Soviet leadership is shown entirely as cowards, bloodthirsty murderers, tyrants. The scene when the newly arrived recruits go on a frontal attack on a tank with one rifle for two, and then the commanders shoot their own in the back, makes you think. There are also a number of inconsistencies. For example, the commander of Zaitsev and the entire Stalingrad Front was Khrushchev, who in reality was not even close there. Just a colorful figure of Nikita Sergeevich is very familiar to the American inhabitants.
"Enemy at the Gates" is a good movie from a purely technical point of view, but spoiled by propaganda. However, if we discard the obvious American component, then you can watch with pleasure.
