The best snipers of the Second World War: German and Soviet. Soviet snipers during the Great Patriotic War

Soviet snipers actively worked on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War and sometimes played great value at the end of the battle. Sniper work was dangerous and hard. The guys had to lie for hours or even days in constant voltage and full combat readiness in a wide variety of terrain. And it didn’t matter that it was a field, a swamp or snow. this post will be dedicated to Soviet soldiers - snipers and their heavy burden. Glory to the heroes!

As I remember, about ten years ago for “ round table" in a popular television program, former cadet of the Central Women's Sniper Training School A. Shilina said:

“I was already an experienced fighter, having 25 fascists under my belt, when the Germans got a “cuckoo”. Every day, two or three of our soldiers are missing. Yes, it shoots so accurately: from the first round - in the forehead or temple. They called in one pair of snipers, but it didn’t help. It doesn't take any bait. They order us: whatever you want, but we must destroy it. Tosya, my best friend, and I dug in - the place, I remember, was swampy, with hummocks and small bushes all around. They began to conduct surveillance. We spent a day in vain, then another. On the third, Tosya says: “Let’s take it. Whether we stay alive or not, it doesn’t matter. The soldiers are falling..."

She was shorter than me. And the trenches are shallow. He takes a rifle, attaches a bayonet, puts a helmet on it and begins to crawl, run, crawl again. Well, I should look out. The tension is enormous. And I’m worried about her, and I can’t miss the sniper. I see that the bushes in one place seem to have moved slightly apart. He! I immediately took aim at him. He shot, I was right there. I hear people shouting from the front line: girls, hurray for you! I crawl up to Tosa and see blood. The bullet pierced the helmet and grazed her neck with a ricochet. Then the platoon commander arrived. They lifted her up and into the medical unit. It all worked out... And at night our scouts pulled out this sniper. He was seasoned, he killed about a hundred of our soldiers...”

In the combat practice of Soviet snipers, there are, of course, better examples. But it was not by chance that he started with the fact that front-line soldier Shilina told about. In the previous decade, at the instigation of the Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, some publicists and researchers in Russia have been trying to establish in society the opinion that the sniper is an overly inhumane front-line specialty, making no distinction between those who set the goal of exterminating half of the world’s population and those who opposed this goal . But who can condemn Alexandra Shilina for the fact given at the beginning of the essay? Yes, Soviet snipers came face to face with Wehrmacht soldiers and officers at the front, sending bullets at them. How else? By the way, the German fire aces opened their account much earlier than the Soviet ones. By June 1941, many of them had destroyed several hundred enemy soldiers and officers - Poles, French, and British.

...In the spring of 1942, when there were fierce battles for Sevastopol, a sniper of the 54th rifle regiment 25th Division Primorsky Army Lyudmila Pavlichenko was invited to the neighboring unit, where Hitler’s shooter brought a lot of trouble. She entered into a duel with German ace and won it. When we looked at the sniper book, it turned out that he destroyed 400 French and British, as well as about 100 Soviet soldiers. Lyudmila’s shot was extremely humane. How many people did she save from Nazi bullets!

Vladimir Pchelintsev, Fedor Okhlopkov, Maxim Passar... During the Great Patriotic War, these and other names of snipers were widely known among the troops. But who won the right to be called the number one ace sniper?

IN Central Museum The Russian Armed Forces, among many other exhibits, contains a Mosin system sniper rifle of the 1891/30 model. (number KE-1729) “In the name of Heroes Soviet Union Andrukhaeva and Ilyina.” Initiator of the 136th sniper movement rifle division Southern Front political instructor Khusen Andrukhaev died heroically in heavy battles for Rostov. In his memory, a sniper rifle named after him is being established. During the days of the legendary defense of Stalingrad, the best sniper of the guard unit, Sergeant Major Nikolai Ilyin, used it to defeat the enemy. Behind short term With 115 destroyed Nazis, he increases the score to 494 and becomes the best Soviet sniper during the Great Patriotic War.

In August 1943, near Belgorod, Ilyin died in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. The rifle, now named after two heroes (Nikolai Ilyin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on February 8, 1943), was traditionally awarded to the best sniper of the unit, Sergeant Afanasy Gordienko. He brought his count from it to 417 destroyed Nazis. This honorable weapon failed only when it was hit by a shell fragment. IN total This rifle killed about 1,000 enemy soldiers and officers. Nikolai Ilyin fired 379 accurate shots from it.

What was characteristic of this twenty-year-old sniper from the Lugansk region? He knew how to outwit his opponent. One day Nikolai tracked down an enemy shooter all day. It was clear from everything that an experienced professional was lying a hundred meters away from him. How to remove a German "cuckoo"? He made a stuffed animal out of a padded jacket and a helmet and began to slowly lift it. Before the helmet had time to rise even halfway, two shots rang out almost simultaneously: the Nazi shot through the scarecrow, and Ilyin through the enemy.

When it became known that graduates of the Berlin sniper school had arrived at the front near Stalingrad, Nikolai Ilyin told his colleagues that the Germans were pedants and had probably studied classical techniques. We need to show them Russian ingenuity and take care of the baptism of Berlin newcomers. Every morning, under artillery fire and bombing, he sneaked up on the Nazis for a sure shot and destroyed them without missing a beat. At Stalingrad, Ilyin’s tally increased to 400 enemy soldiers and officers killed. Then there was Kursk Bulge, and there he again flashed his ingenuity and ingenuity.

Ace number two can be considered a Smolensk resident, assistant chief of staff of the 1122nd Infantry Regiment of the 334th Division (1st Baltic Front) Captain Ivan Sidorenko, who destroyed about 500 enemy soldiers and officers and trained about 250 snipers for the front. In moments of calm, he hunted the Nazis, taking his students with him on the “hunt.”

Third on the list of the most successful Soviet sniper aces is the sniper of the 59th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 21st Division (2nd Baltic Front) Guard, Senior Sergeant Mikhail Budenkov, who killed 437 Nazi soldiers and officers. This is what he said about one of the battles in Latvia:

“There was some kind of farmstead on the offensive path. German machine gunners settled there. It was necessary to destroy them. In short dashes I managed to reach the top of the height and kill the Nazis. Before I had time to catch my breath, I saw a German running into the farmstead in front of me with a machine gun. A shot - and the Nazi fell. After some time, a second man with a machine gun box runs behind him. He suffered the same fate. A few more minutes passed, and hundreds of one and a half fascists ran from the farmstead. This time they ran along a different road, further away from me. I shot several times, but realized that many of them would escape anyway. I quickly ran up to the killed machine gunners, the machine gun was working, and I opened fire on the Nazis from their own weapons. Then we counted about a hundred killed Nazis.”

Other Soviet snipers were also distinguished by amazing courage, endurance and ingenuity. For example, Nanai Sergeant Maxim Passar (117th rifle regiment 23rd Infantry Division, Stalingrad Front), which accounted for 237 killed Nazi soldiers and officers. While tracking an enemy sniper, he pretended to be killed and spent the entire day lying in no man's land in an open field, among the dead. From this position, he fired a bullet at the fascist shooter, who was under the embankment, in the water drainage pipe. Only in the evening Passar was able to crawl back to his own people.

The first 10 Soviet sniper aces destroyed over 4,200 enemy soldiers and officers, the first 20 killed more than 7,500

The Americans wrote: “Russian snipers showed great skill in German front. They encouraged the Germans to produce on a large scale optical sights and sniper training."

Of course, one cannot help but talk about how the results of Soviet snipers were recorded. Here it is appropriate to refer to the materials of the meeting held in the summer of 1943 with the Deputy Chairman of the Council People's Commissars K.E. Voroshilov.

According to the recollections of ace sniper Vladimir Pchelintsev, those present at the meeting proposed introducing a single, strict order recording the results of combat work, a single “Sniper’s Personal Book” for everyone, and in a rifle regiment and company - “Sniper Combat Activity Logs”.

The basis for recording the number of killed fascist soldiers and officers should be the report of the sniper himself, confirmed by eyewitnesses (company and platoon observers, artillery and mortar spotters, reconnaissance officers, officers of all levels, unit commanders, etc.). When counting the destroyed Nazis, each officer is equal to three soldiers.

In practice, this is basically how accounting was carried out. Perhaps the last point was not observed.

Special mention should be made about female snipers. They appeared in the Russian army during the First World War, most often they were widows of Russian officers who died in the war. They sought to take revenge on the enemy for their husbands. And already in the first months of the Great Patriotic War, the names of girl snipers Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Natalya Kovshova, Maria Polivanova became known to the whole world.

Yudmila, in the battles for Odessa and Sevastopol, destroyed 309 Nazi soldiers and officers (this is the highest result among female snipers). Natalia and Maria, who accounted for over 300 Nazis, glorified their names with unparalleled courage on August 14, 1942. On that day, not far from the village of Sutoki (Novgorod region), Natasha Kovshova and Masha Polivanova, repelling the onslaught of the Nazis, were surrounded. With the last grenade they blew themselves up and the German infantry surrounding them. One of them was 22 years old at the time, the other was 20 years old. Like Lyudmila Pavlichenko, they were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Following their example, many girls decided to master sniper skills in order to participate in battles with weapons in their hands. They were trained in super marksmanship directly in military units and connections. In May 1943, the Central Women's Sniper Training School was created. More than 1,300 female snipers emerged from its walls. During the fighting, the students exterminated more than 11,800 fascist soldiers and officers.

...At the front, Soviet soldiers called them “private soldiers without a mistake,” like, for example, Nikolai Ilyin at the beginning of his “sniper career.” Or - “sergeants without a miss”, like Fedora Okhlopkova...

Here are lines from letters from Wehrmacht soldiers that they wrote to their relatives.

“A Russian sniper is something terrible. You can't hide from him anywhere! You can't raise your head in the trenches. The slightest carelessness and you’ll immediately get a bullet between the eyes...”

“Snipers often lie in one place for hours in ambush and take aim at anyone who shows up. Only in the dark can you feel safe.”

“In our trenches there are banners: “Caution! A Russian sniper is shooting!”

Highly skilled snipers were worth their weight in gold during World War II. Fighting on Eastern Front The Soviets positioned their snipers as skilled marksmen, noticeably dominant in many ways. The Soviet Union was the only one that trained snipers for ten years, preparing for war. Their superiority is confirmed by their “death lists.” Experienced snipers killed many people and, undoubtedly, were of great value. For example, Vasily Zaitsev killed 225 enemy soldiers during Battle of Stalingrad.

10. Stepan Vasilyevich Petrenko: 422 killed.

During World War II, the Soviet Union had more skilled snipers than any other country on Earth. Due to their continued training and development during the 1930s, while other countries were reducing their specialist sniper teams, the USSR had the best marksmen in the world. Stepan Vasilyevich Petrenko was well known among the elite.

His highest professionalism is confirmed by 422 killed enemies; The effectiveness of the Soviet sniper training program is confirmed by accurate shooting and extremely rare misses.

During the war, 261 marksmen (including women), each of whom killed at least 50 people, were awarded the title of outstanding sniper. Vasily Ivanovich Golosov was one of those who received such an honor. His death toll is 422 enemy killed.

8. Fedor Trofimovich Dyachenko: 425 killed.

During World War II, 428,335 people are believed to have received Red Army sniper training, of whom 9,534 used their qualifications in lethal experience. Fyodor Trofimovich Dyachenko was one of those trainees who stood out. Soviet hero with 425 endorsements, received the Distinguished Service Medal for “superior heroism in military operations against an armed enemy.”

7. Fedor Matveevich Okhlopkov: 429 killed.

Fedor Matveevich Okhlopkov, one of the most respected snipers of the USSR. He and his brother were recruited into the Red Army, but the brother was killed in battle. Fyodor Matveevich vowed to avenge his brother. Who took his life. The number of people killed by this sniper (429) did not include the number of enemies. Which he killed with a machine gun. In 1965 awarded the order Hero of the Soviet Union.

6. Mikhail Ivanovich Budenkov: 437 killed.

Mikhail Ivanovich Budenkov was among those snipers that few others could only aspire to. Amazingly successful sniper with 437 kills. This number did not include those killed by machine guns.

5. Vladimir Nikolaevich Pchelintsev: 456 killed.

This number of casualties can be attributed not only to skill and skill with a rifle, but also to knowledge of the terrain and the ability to properly camouflage. Among these qualified and experienced snipers was Vladimir Nikolaevich Pchelintsev, who killed 437 enemies.

4. Ivan Nikolaevich Kulbertinov: 489 killed.

Unlike most other countries during World War II, women could be snipers in the Soviet Union. In 1942, two six-month courses attended exclusively by women yielded results: almost 55,000 snipers were trained. 2,000 women took an active part in the war. Among them: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who killed 309 opponents.

3. Nikolai Yakovlevich Ilyin: 494 killed.

In 2001, a film was made in Hollywood: “Enemy at the Gates” about the famous Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev. The film depicts the events of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942–1943. A film about Nikolai Yakovlevich Ilyin has not been made, but his contribution to the Soviet military history was just as important. Having killed 494 enemy soldiers (sometimes listed as 497), Ilyin was a deadly marksman for the enemy.

2. Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko: approximately 500 killed

Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko was drafted in 1939 at the beginning of World War II. During the 1941 Battle of Moscow, he learned to snipe and became known as a bandit with lethal aim. One of his most famous deeds: he destroyed a tank and three others vehicles using incendiary ammunition. However, after an injury received in Estonia, his role in subsequent years was primarily teaching. In 1944 Sidorenko was awarded the prestigious title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

1.Simo Hayha: 542 Killed (possibly 705)

Simo Haiha, a Finn, is the only one not Soviet soldier on this list. Nicknamed “ White death” by Red Army troops because of camouflage disguised as snow. According to statistics, Heiha is the bloodiest sniper in history. Before taking part in the war he was a farmer. Incredibly, he preferred an iron sight to an optical sight in his weapon.

Highly skilled snipers were worth their weight in gold during World War II. Fighting on the Eastern Front, the Soviets positioned their snipers as skilled marksmen, noticeably dominant in many ways. The Soviet Union was the only one that trained snipers for ten years, preparing for war. Their superiority is confirmed by their “death lists.” Experienced snipers killed many people and, undoubtedly, were of great value. For example, Vasily Zaitsev killed 225 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Maxim Alexandrovich Passar(1923-1943) - Soviet, during the Great Patriotic War he destroyed 237 enemy soldiers and officers.
In February 1942, he volunteered to go to the front. In May 1942, he underwent sniper training in units of the North-Western Front. Killed 21 Wehrmacht soldiers. Joined the CPSU(b).
From July 1942 he served in the 117th Infantry Regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division, which fought as part of the 21st Army Stalingrad Front and the 65th Army of the Don Front.
Was one of the most productive snipers The Battle of Stalingrad, during which he destroyed more than two hundred enemy soldiers and officers. For the liquidation of M. A. Passar German command a reward of 100 thousand Reichsmarks was assigned.

He made a great contribution to the development of the sniper movement in the Red Army, took an active part in practical training shooters. The snipers of the 117th Infantry Regiment trained by him destroyed 775 Germans. His speeches on sniper tactics were repeatedly published in the large-circulation newspaper of the 23rd Infantry Division.
On December 8, 1942, M. A. Passar received a shell shock, but remained in service.

On January 22, 1943, in a battle near the village of Peschanka, Gorodishchensky district, Stalingrad region, he ensured the success of the offensive of the regiment's units, which was stopped by enemy flank machine-gun fire from camouflaged fortified positions. Secretly approaching to a distance of about 100 meters, Senior Sergeant Passar destroyed the crews of two heavy machine guns, which decided the outcome of the attack, during which the sniper died.
M. A. Passar is buried in mass grave on the Square of Fallen Fighters in the workers' village of Gorodishche, Volgograd Region.

Mikhail Ilyich Surkov(1921-1953) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 1st battalion of the 39th rifle regiment of the 4th rifle division of the 12th army, sergeant major.
Before the war he lived in the village of Bolshaya Salyr, now Achinsk region Krasnoyarsk Territory. He was a taiga hunter.
In the Red Army since 1941 - drafted by Achinsky (in award list- Atchevsky) RVC. Candidate for the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1942. At the end of the war he was transferred to the rear to train snipers.
After the war, Mikhail Ilyich returned to native village. Died in 1953.

The best Soviet sniper of the Great Patriotic War, the number of destroyed opponents according to Soviet sources is 702. Row Western historians questions this figure, believing that it is fabricated Soviet propaganda in order to neutralize the result of the Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, which he achieved during Soviet-Finnish War 1939-1940. However, Simo Häyhä became known in the USSR only after 1990.

Natalya Venediiktovna Kovshova(November 26, 1920 - August 14, 1942) - Hero of the Soviet Union, sniper during the Great Patriotic War.

Natalya Venediktovna Kovshova was born on November 26, 1920 in Ufa. Subsequently, the family moved to Moscow. In 1940, she graduated from Moscow school No. 281 in Ulansky Lane (now No. 1284) and went to work at the trust organization aviation industry"Orgaviaprom", created in the late autumn of the same year. She worked as an inspector in the HR department. In 1941, she was preparing to enter the Moscow University aviation institute. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she volunteered for the Red Army. Completed sniper courses. At the front since October 1941.
In the battle of Moscow she fought in the ranks of the 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division. (The division was formed during the critical days for Moscow in the fall of 1941 from volunteer battalions, which included students, professors, elderly workers, schoolchildren). Since January 1942, a sniper in the 528th Infantry Regiment (130th Infantry Division, 1st shock army, Northwestern Front). On the personal account of sniper Kovshova there are 167 exterminated fascist soldiers and officers. (According to the testimony of her fellow soldier Georgy Balovnev, at least 200; the award sheet specifically mentions that among Kovshova’s hit targets were “cuckoos” - enemy snipers and enemy machine gun crews). During her service, she trained soldiers in marksmanship.

On August 14, 1942, near the village of Sutoki, Parfinsky district, Novgorod region, together with her friend Maria Polivanova, she entered into battle with the Nazis. In an unequal battle, both were wounded, but did not stop fighting. Having shot through the entire supply of ammunition, they blew themselves up with grenades along with the enemy soldiers who surrounded them.
She was buried in the village of Korovitchino, Starorussky district, Novgorod region. At the Novodevichy cemetery there is a cenotaph in the grave of her father.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously on February 14, 1943 (together with M. S. Polivanova) for dedication and heroism shown in battle.

Zhambyl Yesheevich Tulaev(May 2 (15), 1905, Tagarkhai ulus now Tunkinsky district, Buryatia - January 17, 1961) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, sniper of the 580th Infantry Regiment of the 188th Infantry Division of the 27th Army of the North-Western Front, sergeant major

Born on May 2 (15), 1905 in the Tagarkhai ulus, now a village in the Tunkinsky district of Buryatia, in peasant family. Buryat. Graduated from 4th grade. Lived in the city of Irkutsk. Worked as manager of a container depot. In the Red Army since 1942. In the active army since March 1942. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1942. Sniper of the 580th Infantry Regiment (188th Infantry Division, 27th Army, Northwestern Front) Foreman Zhambyl Tulaev from May to November 1942 exterminated two hundred and sixty-two Nazis. He trained three dozen snipers for the front.
By Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR dated February 14, 1943 for exemplary performance combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism demonstrated by Sergeant Major Tulaev Zhambyl Yesheevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and medal " Golden Star"(No. 847).
Since 1946, Lieutenant Zh. E. Tulaev has been in reserve. Returned to his native Buryatia. He worked as chairman of a collective farm and secretary of the local village council. Died on January 17, 1961.

Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko September 12, 1919, Chantsovo village, Smolensk province - February 19, 1994, Kizlyar - Soviet sniper who destroyed about 500 enemy soldiers and officers during the Great Patriotic War. Hero of the Soviet Union

Participant of the Great Patriotic War since November 1941. He fought as part of the 4th Shock Army of the Kalinin Front. He was a mortarman. In the winter counter-offensive of 1942, the mortar company of Lieutenant Sidorenko fought from the Ostashkovsky bridgehead to the city of Velizh Smolensk region. Here Ivan Sidorenko became a sniper. In battles with German fascist invaders was seriously wounded three times, but returned to duty each time.
Assistant Chief of Staff of the 1122nd Infantry Regiment (334th Infantry Division, 4th Shock Army, 1st Baltic Front), Captain Ivan Sidorenko, distinguished himself as the organizer of the sniper movement. By 1944, he killed about 500 Nazis with a sniper rifle.

Ivan Sidorenko trained more than 250 snipers for the front, most of whom were awarded orders and medals.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 4, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed, Captain Ivan Mikhailovich Sidorenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. "(No. 3688).
I. M. Sidorenko finished his combat career in Estonia. At the end of 1944, the command sent him to training courses military academy. But he didn’t have to study: old wounds opened up, and Ivan Sidorenko had to go to the hospital for a long time.
Since 1946, Major I.M. Sidorenko has been in reserve. Lived in the city of Korkino Chelyabinsk region. He worked as a mining foreman at a mine. Then he worked in various cities of the Soviet Union. Since 1974 he lived in the city of Kizlyar (Dagestan), where he died on February 19, 1994.

Fedor Matveevich Okhlopkov(March 2, 1908, Krest-Khaldzhai village, Bayagantaysky ulus, Yakut region, Russian empire- May 28, 1968, p. Krest-Khaldzhay, Tomponsky district, YASSR), RSFSR, USSR - sniper of the 234th Infantry Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Born on March 2, 1908 in the village of Krest-Khaldzhay (now located in the Tomponsky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) in the family of a poor peasant. Yakut. Primary education. He worked as a miner hauling gold-bearing rocks at the Orochon mine in the Aldan region, and before the war as a hunter and machine operator in his native village.
In the Red Army since September 1941. From December 12 of the same year at the front. He was a machine gunner, a squad commander of a company of machine gunners of the 1243rd Infantry Regiment of the 375th Division of the 30th Army, and from October 1942 - a sniper of the 234th Infantry Regiment of the 179th Division. By June 23, 1944, Sergeant Okhlopkov killed 429 Nazi soldiers and officers with a sniper rifle. Was wounded 12 times.
On June 24, 1945, he took part in the Victory Parade over Nazi Germany on Red Square in Moscow.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin were awarded only in 1965.

After the war he was demobilized. Returned to his homeland. From 1945 to 1949 - head of the military department of the Tattinsky RK CPSU. On February 10, 1946, he was elected as a deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. From 1949 to 1951 - director of the Tattinsky procurement office for the extraction and procurement of furs. From 1951 to 1954 - manager of the Tattinsky district office of the Yakut meat trust. In 1954-1960 - collective farmer, state farm worker. Since 1960 - retired. Died on May 28, 1968. He was buried in the cemetery of his native village.

It should be noted that in the list of the 200 best snipers of the Second World War there are 192 Soviet snipers, the first twenty snipers of the Red Army destroyed about 8,400 enemy soldiers and officers, and the first hundred accounted for about 25,500. Thanks to our grandfathers for the Victory!

I decided to add a small photo project about Red Army snipers for my topic: "ABOUT THE SOVIET SOLDIER. FOR READERS OF THIS BLOG "- writes a friend scaramanga_1972 . There are a lot of people there: about women in the war and front-line boys (this is the main source of my pride!), about volunteers and militias, red cavalrymen, artillerymen, mortarmen, armor-piercing soldiers, marines, scouts, sappers, about those who filmed and wrote during the war years , and much more. But there was no photo project about snipers. Now will be!

Soviet sniper in position in August 1941

Sniper F.I. Fedorov, personal count - 28 Germans. July 1941. Southwestern Front

"During the Second World War Soviet command great attention devoted to sniper training. For example, during the 4 years of the war, about 7,283 snipers were trained in the 23rd NKVD division alone. In addition, sniper teams from June 1941 to July 1943. were able to destroy 31,177 fascists.

A sniper team, part of the 31st NKVD division, whose units were guarding railways in the center of the Soviet Union, and underwent internships at the front twice. During their combat practice in 1942, a company of snipers was able to destroy 1438 German soldiers and officers. And a year later, during the second trip to the front, a team of snipers completely destroyed 4,491 enemy soldiers in 2 months, while their own losses totaled: 7 people were killed and 11 were wounded.

1941

In ambush

By his order dated August 17, 1942, the chief internal troops NKVD Major General I.S. Sheredeg summed up the combat practice of snipers and set tasks further development sniper movement. As noted in the document, over a short period of time, snipers who were involved in protecting the rear Leningrad Front, were able to exterminate 5091 fascists, snipers of the division F.E. Dzerzhinsky - 1051 fascists, and the 2nd Streltsy motorized rifle division- destroyed 660 fascists.

Already in May 1943, Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Colonel General A.N. Apollonov reported State Committee Defense, that in 1 year, starting in May 1942, the NKVD troops trained 27,604 snipers, of whom almost half underwent combat training at the front. According to the calculations of the snipers themselves, confirmed by the command of the units in which they served, about 182,445 fascist soldiers and officers were disabled (killed and wounded).

Sniper Duryagin is in position. Battle for Leningrad. 1941-1942

Soviet sniper with SVT-40 in position on the Volkhov Front

According to official data, in the summer of 1943, during the defense of the Kursk salient, each rifle regiment included specially trained sniper teams of 25-30 people. Sometimes snipers had to solve very original problems: shoot at airplanes, dogs that carried explosive pack charges and other unusual targets.

NKVD snipers, in addition to actively striking enemy positions on the front line, effectively destroyed German sabotage and reconnaissance groups that operated in the rear of our troops. In addition, Soviet snipers themselves were part of our reconnaissance and sabotage groups, which were redirected behind the front line. Each such group consisted of: a commander, a radio operator, a demolitionist, an assistant demolitionist, a sniper and two machine gunners. In the summer of 1942 alone, 387 such groups were deployed at the front.

Soviet sniper in a pine forest

Sniper F.I. Fedorov. 28 Germans killed. Southwestern Front, July 1941

It is also worth considering that during the Second World War, much attention was also paid to the exchange of experience in sniper skills. Various meetings, conferences, and sniper gatherings were actively held, where experienced fighters could share the secrets of their skills.

So, in the period from January 18 to February 14, 1943, a meeting of NKVD snipers took place, at which the results of the combat work of sniping aces for last year, and also outlined the main ways for the further development of the sniper movement in different parts troops. 291 people took part in the meeting. After the conference and methodological lessons The participants of the rally, having become part of the combined battalion, underwent training in the combat ranks of the 49th Army. As a result, 2,375 fascists were killed by snipers. And on July 28, 1943 I.V. Stalin received the best snipers in the Kremlin Soviet army, which significantly contributed to the further rise and development of the sniper movement."

Group of snipers