"As a sniper, I’ve killed more than a few Nazis. I have a passion for
observing enemy behaviour. You watch a Nazi officer come out of a bunker, acting
all high and mighty, ordering his soldiers every which way, and putting on an
air of authority. The officer hasn’t got the slightest idea that he only has
seconds to live."
Vasily Zaitsev’s account of the hell that was Stalingrad is moving and harrowing. This was a battle to
the death – fighting street by street, brick by brick, living like rats in a
desperate struggle to survive. Here, the rules of war were discarded and a
psychological war was being waged. In this environment, the sniper was king – an
unseen enemy who frayed the nerves of brutalised soldiers.
Zaitsev volunteered to fight at Stalingrad in 1942. His superiors recognized quickly his
talent, and made him a sniper. He adapted his hunting skills to the ruins of the
city, watching his prey with nerves of steel. In his first ten days,
Zaitsev killed 40 Germans. He achieved at least 225 kills and the tactics he
developed are still being studied.
Zaitsev was used a symbol of Russian resistance against the Nazis. His
exploits, including a famous ‘duel’ with a Nazi sniper, remain the stuff of
legend. His account is absorbing to anyone interested in Second World War and
seeing how one person could survive in the most extreme of
conditions.
Vasily Zaitsev was born in 1915, and spent his early life as a hunter in
the Urals. He joined the Russian navy in 1937, and volunteered for Stalingrad after hearing about the appalling losses.
Zaitsev’s mastery as a sniper became legendary, and he was awarded several times
for his skill, including the coveted gold star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He died in 1991.
