Finnish Marksman - Simo Hayha

Simo Hayha has always been a personal hero of mine.
His example of Patriotism, sense of purpose and self sacrifice are something we can all take a lesson from. - Grumpy

The following is excerpted in part from an article written at the time of the death at age 96 of Simo Hayha, purported to be the all time high scoring sniper/marksman.

Brief Background On Simo Häyhä :

Simo Häyhä was born in 1906 or 1905 (there seems to be two dates of his birth depending on the reference materials) in Rautajärvi, Finland. The town was in the shadow of the Soviet Union and as was the case with many border areas, the home of Mr. Häyhä was lost to the Soviets in the spoils of the Winter War. Like many of the towns and villages of this region the area was rural,and Mr. Häyhä was what people here in the US would call an outdoorsman spending much of his time outside letting his skills sharpen.


In 1925 Mr. Häyhä joined the Finnish Army for his one year of mandatory service. He must have been suited well for the Army in some regards as when he left he had achieved the rank of corporal. Later Simo Häyhä joined the Suojelskunta (Finnish Civil Guard) serving in his home district. The Civil Guard is a difficult organization to explain to those in America but putting the Civil Guard in US terms it is much like a very well trained National Guard Unit. Even this description is far from perfect but should suffice for the purposes of this article.



Simo Häyhä was called into action during the Winter War with his service under the 6th Company of JR 34 on the Kollaa River. The Finnish stand at Kollaa is often referred to as "The miracle of Kollaa," as the Finnish action here was most heroic. The Finnish forces in the region were under the command of Major General Uiluo Tuompo and they faced the 9th and 14th Soviet Armies. At one point the Finns at Kollaa were facing 12 divisions, some 160,000 men. The Red Army losses in this arena were staggering as the brave Finns took their toll on the communist invaders. There have been those that called the Finnish defense of this key region "fanatical", and it was in the Kollaa area were the famous battle of "Killer Hill" took place with 32 Finns battling 4,000 Soviet soldiers. These were the hunting grounds of Simo Häyhä and it should be noted that even against massive odds the Kollaa positions were still in Finnish hands at the end of the war (March 1940).Mr. Häyhä was credited with over 500 kills with his Mosin Nagant M28 in his service during the Winter War with his service cut short as he was wounded on 3-6-40 by a Soviet sniper. He is also credited with over 200 kills with the Finnish Suomi K31 9mm submachine gun. Simo was shot in the face with what turned out to be an expanding bullet and he was taken out of action due to these wounds. The total time that Simo Häyhä served in the Winter War was 100 days with more than 700 kills credited to him. His last action as a soldier was to recover his rifle and kill the Soviet sniper who had shot him. His record is truly remarkable and is long since remembered in the nation of Finland. During his post-war life he was considered to be a national treasure. As a signal honor, after the Winter War ended, Marshall Gustav Mannerheim spot promoted him from Corporal to Lieutenant, something rarely done in the Finnish military.


Many remember Simo Häyhä only as using the Mosin Nagant M28 rifle with open sights and only credit his high kill total to his role as a sniper; however, this is not entirely correct as Häyhä was also an expert with the Suomi K31 SMG and a large number of the Soviets that he felled were from his K31. Above are examples of the tools of Simo Häyhä in his hunts in Kollaa.

Salient factors:
1: Hayha was a small man. He believed this was a factor in his survival.
2: Hayha used iron sights only, making most of his kills with the M28 at ranges over 400 meters. He said that the use of a scope had two problems. The shooter has to raise his head and expose himself to counter fire. The scope inevitably created a reflection and drew counter fire. He was issued a scoped Swedish Mauser but did not use it.
3: Hayha always operated with a small, highly mobile team of marksmen/spotters and soldiers armed with submachine guns.
4: Hayha's total time in the field was 100 days. This means he averaged 7 kills a day during a time of year when daylight was less than 7 hours, the daylight time increasing in length in the latter months.
5: He chose the M28 as it's length was more suitable for a man his size.
6: Over 200 of his kills were made at short range with a 9mm submachine gun.
7: Hayha was a skilled woodman, having spent most of his life in the Karelian forests. He hunted with the same M28 rifle he had been issued by the Civil Guard and used in the Winter War.