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Vasily Zaitsev

Soviet sniper (1915-1991) · Russia · Writers · Died at 76

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A Soviet sniper who killed 225 German soldiers in two months during the Battle of Stalingrad - a tally that made him a wartime legend and the central figure in a 2001 Hollywood film.

Historical FiguresComedianStand Up20th Century

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

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In their own words 3

,
Vasily Zaitsev
,
3 statements, newest first

  1. The arrival of the Nazi sniper set us a new task. We had to find him, study habits and methods, and patiently await the moment for one, and only one, well-aimed shot.

    Quoted in "The Sniper at War: From the American Revolutionary War to the Present Day" - Page 67 - by Michael E. Haskew - History - 2005., Own words

  2. There was no ground for us beyond [the] Volga.

    Quoted in "Notes of a Sniper: For us There is no Land Beyond the Volga" - Zaytsev,Vasily - Vladivostok:Moscow/2826 Press Inc., Own words

  3. The duel went on for three days, but it ended in our victory in a matter of seconds. The German was well prepared for it. He had liquidated two Soviet snipers before that.

    Quoted in "The Voice of Russia," Copyright 2002., Own words

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Awards

Order of Lenin
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
Order of the Red Banner
Hero of the Soviet Union
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
Medal "For Courage"
Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
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"
Honorary Citizen of Volgograd
Order of the Patriotic War
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"
Guards unit
Badge "25 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War"

About this person

Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev was born 23 March 1915 and served as a sniper in World War II. Between 22 September and 19 October 1942, he killed 40 enemy soldiers; then, from 10 October through 17 December during the grinding fight for Stalingrad, he killed 225 more. The Soviet Union made him a Hero, and his wartime exploits became the spine of William Craig's 1973 book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which in turn became the 2001 film of the same name, with Jude Law playing Zaitsev. David L. Robbins featured him again in the 1999 novel War of the Rats. He died 15 December 1991, decades after the siege that fixed his name in place.

Country
Russia
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1915 to 1991 · aged 76

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