History UsefulNotes / SimoHayha

!!Tropes applied to Simo Häyhä:
* AceCustom: Used an awarded custom-built Sako M2-28 later in the war.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: The Russians are well-known for their fighting prowess in snowy environments. Apparently nobody told that to Hayha, who ripped through them like a blowtorch to a pile of snow.
* BoomHeadshot: Dished them out in considerable numbers. Took one as well, and then ''killed the guy who did it'', then [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat lived through it]].
* BoringButPractical: He became the best sniper in history using only a trusty Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle. It didn't even have a scope because it added a lightshow target and higher silhouette for the shooter.
* ColdSniper: If we are being strictly literal then the "White Death" carried snow in his mouth to prevent visible steam escaping his mouth. In terms of temperament, he was closer to FriendlySniper.
* {{Conscription}}: Häyhä was a conscript, not a professional soldier.
* CoolOldGuy: Given that he lived to the ripe old age of 96, he became this by default. [[TheSeventies In 1978]], during the first "Simo Häyhän Kilpailu" (shooting competition named after him), he demonstrated exquisite shooting at 175, 375, 400 and 490 meters, despite his age [[HandicappedBadass and faltering eyesight]].
* DeathByIrony: Häyhä shot over 500 Russian soldiers using the Finnish version of the Russian-made Mosin-Nagant. Essentially, all Russians killed by him were HoistByHisOwnPetard.
** Not to mention the ridiculous number of snipers he sniped.
** Massively subverted when he finally got shot. He was shot through the jaw (essentially a headshot)... And survived the coma that resulted.
** Finally, Russia's efforts to stop him become absolutely hilarious when you consider their other exploits. The common joke of "Never invade Russia in the Winter" has existed in some form or another for centuries, due to the incredibly harsh Russian winters making the Soviets adept cold-weather fighters. However, they apparently weren't prepared for a Finnish Winter, since Häyhä used it to his advantage to kill hundreds of them.
* TheDreaded: The Russians were so scared of him that they tried to kill him with ''artillery barrages over vast forest areas'' just to be sure.
** And when he awoke, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere they left.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Conscripted, decided to spend months defending his homeland, gets shot in the face. He survives the war and lived happily till the age of 96. Death knew better than to come after him before he was Goddamned good and ready.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: The cold in the winter of 1939-1940 in Kollaa was even more bitter than an ordinary Finnish winter, and Simo had to lie perfectly still for hours to avoid detection. He used to suck on sugar cubes just to give the body some energy to keep warm enough - fainting meant instant death, [[HumanPopsicle turning into a statue]]. As plenty of [[https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/524528687819944756/ unfortunate Soviet sentries]] found out.
* FacialHorror: The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek, [[http://frontierpartisans.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2amHhMq.jpg lopsiding his face]] for [[https://www.simohayha.com/assets/simohayha/simo-hayha-medals.jpg the rest of his days]]. Through sheer willpower, he managed to walk back to base, where he fell into a coma due to this injury.
* FieldPromotion: He went from ''Alikersantti'' (Corporal) to ''Vänrikki'' (Second Lieutenant) in four months.
* FriendlySniper: He was apparently a very friendly person out of battle.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: For the Soviets. From a friendly farmer and hunter to a nigh-unstoppable killing machine.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: "I did what I was told to as well as I could."
* ImprobableAimingSkills:
** Oh, yeah. All those kills? Done without a scope, for good reason.[[note]]To clarify, the light that reflected off the scope gave away the positions of those who used them. Little wonder he went scopeless, aye?[[/note]] Before the war, his home was full of marksmanship trophies. Also, check his entry on OneHitPolykill.
** He even held the record for longest ''possible'' range kill (over 800 yards) until Carlos Hathcock beat it in Vietnam, using an 8x scope mounted to an M2 Browning. Again, Simo's record was set without a scope, surrounded by blinding snow, with blowing ice cold wind in his face, so his record is still damn impressive. ''Hathcock looked up to him''.
* MadeOfIron: Oh, yes. Simo's most inimitable feat might very well be tanking that sniper round in the face and living another ''63'' years after the fact.
* MemeticBadass: While it is very hard to exaggerate just how much of a badass he really was, it's not impossible, and he still became something of a Finnish folk hero in the vein of Davy Crockett.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The White Death. It's also FluffyTheTerrible, since Russians also call sugar "the white death".
* NiceGuy: A FriendlySniper, and quite humble.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Shot in the jaw with an exploding bullet meant for ''tanks''. Got back up and shot the guy who did it. Walked back to camp. '''Badass.'''
* NoPronunciationGuide: His name could be rendered phonetically as "[[http://translate.google.fi/#fi/en/Simo%20H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4 see-mo how-hah]]" (click the listen button), which is rather counter-intuitive to English speakers (but makes perfect sense in Finnish).
* NoScope: Enforced and justified by him. Made his kills with iron sights at best, which he felt was more practical than telescopic sights because they reflected light and gave away his position. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Something his enemies quite often did]].
* OneManArmy: Over 700 Russian soldiers (admittedly, many were probably also conscripted) vs one Finnish conscript; the conscript wins.
* OneHitPolykill: He once shot eight Russian soldiers with one bullet. [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere They thought they were being attacked by multiple snipers, and ran away.]]
* PersonOfMassDestruction: As much as a OneManArmy in RealLife probably could be.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Was only 5'3. (That is 160 cm for Finns and Russians alike.)
* RedBaron: "The White Death."
* RealityIsUnrealistic: There is no fictional character who can follow his achievement [[FreakierThanFiction without using some sort of supernatural power.]]
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: After he had been shot in the face (with an ''[[NoOneCouldSurviveThat anti-tank round]]''), the information that got back to his hometown was that he had died. Häyhä read his own obituary in the newspaper while he was recuperating in the hospital and to correct the report, sent a letter to his family. According to his brother, it simply read: "Call off the funeral, you don't have a corpse."
* RetiredBadass: After racking up the largest kill count of anyone in history, [[CallToAgriculture he goes back to farming]].
* SimpleYetAwesome: He went to war with only a gun, ammo, and [[ImprobableAimingSkills really good aim]]. He then managed to terrify the pants off one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
* SniperDuel: He won all of them, [[TakingYouWithMe even the one where he got shot]], [[MadeOfIron because he survived that one too]]. He prepped himself specifically to outmatch enemy snipers by not using a scope. Other snipers revealed themselves with the light glinting off of their scopes.
* SniperRifle: His WeaponOfChoice. ''Without'' a scope, to boot.
* SuperweaponSurprise: He ''was'' the superweapon.
* TakingYouWithMe: Subverted in a positive way (for him). He got shot through the jaw, and afterward sniped the one that did it and walked back to base before expiring... Except he woke up nine days later.
* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: Downplayed, in that while he was shot in the head, it his jaw rather than his brain. Still, even a headshot only put the man down for a week and a half.
* ViolationOfCommonSense: It's naturally harder to get headshots without a scope. However, the scope could glint and could very easily betray your location, which is why Simo didn't use one. That many of his enemy snipers died because of this probably supported this.
* WeaponOfChoice: A Mosin-Nagant and, later on an AceCustom Sako M2-28. He used a sub-machinegun as well.
----

*** EverythingTryingToKillYou: The cold in the winter of 1939-1940 in Kollaa was even more bitter than an ordinary Finnish winter, and Simo had to lie perfectly still for hours to avoid detection. He used to suck on sugar cubes just to give the body some energy to keep warm enough - fainting meant instant death, [[HumanPopsicle turning into a statue]]. As plenty of [[https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/524528687819944756/ unfortunate Soviet sentries]] found out.

''[[caption-width-right:250: [[Music/{{Sabaton}} "You're in the sniper's sight! The first kill tonight! Time to die!"]]]]''

* ''Manga/RecordOfRagnarok'' has Simo listed as one of humanity's representatives to fight against the gods.

Put simply, '''Simo Häyhä (7 December 1905 – 1 April 2002)''' was ''the'' deadliest individual rifleman in military history.

* BoringButPractical: As noted above, he became the best sniper in history using only a trusty Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle. It didn't even have a scope because it added a lightshow target and higher silhouette for the shooter.

* CoolOldGuy: Given that he lived to the ripe old age of 96, he became this by default. Also doubles as a BadassGrandpa.
** [[TheSeventies In 1978]], during the first "Simo Häyhän Kilpailu" (shooting competition named after him), he demonstrated exquisite shooting at 175, 375, 400 and 490 meters, despite his age [[HandicappedBadass and faltering eyesight]].

* {{Determinator}}: See NoOneCouldSurviveThat. That is how determined he was to continue fighting.

Using his extensive knowledge of the surrounding forest as well as a knack for camouflage (he dressed in all white and even kept snow in his mouth so as to mask his breathing and avoid giving away his position), [[OneManArmy he racked up to an incredible 704-742 kills-estimate (542 by rifle, and around 200 by submachine gun)]]. While his Russian counterparts would spend a few days at a time in the field, he ''just stayed out there,'' taking food, ammo[[note]] The fact that Finland used a locally-produced Mosin-Nagant that chambered the same round as the Russian original was pretty convenient[[/note]], and whatever else he needed from the bodies of Russians he killed. All the more impressive was that he did all of this ''without a scope or a spotter''. He instead used the trusty iron-sights on the rifle, as he noticed that using a scope presented a target due to the glint off the lens; when asked later in life how he had become such an incredible shot, Simo answered simply: "Practice. And clear days."[[note]]In forested terrain, where battles are fought at shorter ranges, a trained marksman can easily hit a target as large as a man without a scope. Extreme-long-range hits like those that happen in modern Afghan or Iraqi Wars are a different story.[[/note]]

* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: After he had been shot in the face, the information that got back to his hometown was that he had died. Häyhä read his own obituary in the newspaper while he was recuperating in the hospital and to correct the report, sent a letter to his family. According to his brother, it simply read: "Call off the funeral, you don't have a corpse."

* FacialHorror: The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek, [[http://frontierpartisans.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2amHhMq.jpg lopsiding his face]] for [[https://www.simohayha.com/assets/simohayha/simo-hayha-medals.jpg the rest of his days]]. Through sheer willpower, he managed to kill the man who did this to him and return to base, where he fell into a coma due to this injury.

** He even held the record for longest range kill (over 800 yards) until Carlos Hathcock beat it in Vietnam, using an 8x scope mounted to an M2 Browning. Again, Simo's record was set without a scope, surrounded by blinding snow, with blowing ice cold wind in his face, so his record is still damn impressive. ''Hathcock looked up to him''.

The Russian forces were absolutely terrified of Häyhä, nicknaming him [[RedBaron The White Death]]. They attempted numerous times to kill him, from sending teams of countersnipers after him ([[AssassinOutclassin none came back alive]]) to [[TheresNoKillLikeOverKill artillery bombing any place they thought he was hiding]]. Each of these attempts was met with failure, and Simo continued to stomp any enemy who came within his sights. Eventually, the Russians had a stroke of luck when one sniper, after Simo had wiped out the whole team, managed to ''shoot him through the jaw with a 14.5mm explosive round from a fucking anti-tank rifle'', blowing half of his cheek away. Incredibly, Simo managed to pick up his gun and kill the sniper, and walked back to his nearest unit, where he was sent to the hospital, whereupon he slipped into a coma. A ceasefire was ordered, and [[AsleepForDays eleven days later, on the day Simo awoke]], the Russian army withdrew. While almost certainly a coincidence, it was nonetheless an incredible one. With the Winter War over, Simo [[CallToAgriculture returned to farming]], where he spent the majority of his life breeding dogs and hunting moose. When asked if he regretted killing so many people, all Simo had to say was: [[JustFollowingOrders "I did what I was told to as well as I could"]]. He passed away in 2002, aged 96.

Using his extensive knowledge of the surrounding forest as well as a knack for camouflage (he dressed in all white and even kept snow in his mouth so as to mask his breathing and avoid giving away his position), [[OneManArmy he racked up an incredible 704-742 confirmed-kills estimate (542 by rifle, and around 200 by submachine gun)]]. While his Russian counterparts would spend a few days at a time in the field, he ''just stayed out there,'' taking food, ammo[[note]] The fact that Finland used a locally-produced Mosin-Nagant that chambered the same round as the Russian original was pretty convenient[[/note]], and whatever else he needed from the bodies of Russians he killed. All the more impressive was that he did all of this ''without a scope or a spotter''. He instead used the trusty iron-sights on the rifle, as he noticed that using a scope presented a target due to the glint off the lens; when asked later in life how he had become such an incredible shot, Simo answered simply: "Practice. And clear days."[[note]]In forested terrain, where battles are fought at shorter ranges, a trained marksman can easily hit a target as large as a man without a scope. Extreme-long-range hits like those that happen in modern Afghan or Iraqi Wars are a different story.[[/note]]

* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: After he had been shot in the face, the information that got back to his hometown was that he had died. Häyhä read his own obituary in the newspaper while he was recuperating in the hospital and got on the phone to correct people back home about this.

Using his extensive knowledge of the surrounding forest as well as a knack for camouflage (he dressed in all white and even kept snow in his mouth so as to mask his breathing and avoid giving away his position), [[OneManArmy he racked up an incredible 704-742 confirmed-kills estimate (542 by rifle, and around 200 by submachine gun)]]. While his Russian counterparts would spend a few days at a time in the field, he ''just stayed out there,'' taking food, ammo[[note]] The fact that Finland used a locally-produced Mosin-Nagant that chambered the same round as the Russian original was pretty convenient[[/note]], and whatever else he needed from the bodies of Russians he killed. All the more impressive was that he did all of this ''without a scope or a spotter''. He instead used the trusty iron-sights on the rifle, as he noticed that using a scope presented a target due to the glint off the lens (when asked later in life how he had become such an incredible shot, Simo answered simply: "Practice. And clear days."[[note]]In forested terrain, where battles are fought at shorter ranges, a trained marksman can easily hit a target as large as a man without a scope. Extreme-long-range hits like those that happen in modern Afghan or Iraqi Wars are a different story.[[/note]]

Put simply, '''Simo Häyhä (7 December 1905 – 1 April 2002)''' was ''the'' deadliest single individual in history.[[note]]The other possible contender, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, probably did more damage, but cheated. He used a Stuka dive-bomber.[[/note]]

* BoringButPractical: As noted above, he became the best sniper in history using only a trusty Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle. It didn't even have a scope because it added a lightshow target.
* ColdSniper: If we are being strictly literal then the "White Death" carried snow in his mouth. In terms of temperament, he was closer to FriendlySniper.

* {{Determinator}}: See NoOneCouldSurviveThat That is how determined he was to continue fighting.
* TheDreaded: The Russians were so scared of him that they tried to kill him with ''artillery missions'' for crying out loud!

* One of the playable characters in ''VideoGame/{{Sanctum}} 2'' is a white-bodied robotic sniper called SiMo.

The Russian forces were absolutely terrified of Häyhä, nicknaming him [[RedBaron The White Death]]. They attempted numerous times to kill him, from sending teams of countersnipers after him ([[AssassinOutclassin none came back alive]]) to [[TheresNoKillLikeOverKill artillery bombing any place they thought he was hiding]]. Each of these attempts was met with failure, and Simo continued to stomp any enemy who came within his sights. Eventually, the Russians had a stroke of luck when one sniper, after Simo had wiped out the whole team, managed to ''shoot him through the jaw with a 14.5mm explosive round from a fucking anti-tank rifle'', blowing half of his cheek away. Incredibly, Simo managed to pick up his gun and kill the sniper, and walked back to his nearest unit, where he was sent to the hospital, whereupon he slipped into a coma. A ceasefire was ordered, and [[AsleepForDays eleven days later, on the day Simo awoke]], the Russian army withdrew. While almost certainly a coincidence, it was nonetheless an incredible one. With the Winter War over, Simo [[CallToAgriculture returned to farming]], where he spent the majority of his life breeding dogs and hunting moose. When asked if he regretted killing so many people, all Simo had to say was: [[IDidWhatIHadToDo "I did what I was told to as well as I could"]]. He passed away in 2002, aged 96.

* MemeticBadass: While it is very hard to exaggerate just how much of a badass he really was, it's not impossible, and he still became something of a Finnish folk hero in the vein of Davy Crockett. For the record, the Russian withdrawal on the same day he came out of his coma wasn't a coincidence; Uncle Joe heard he was conscious again and told the army to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere nope the fuck out of Finland]], on the off chance that ''the White Death'' wasn't just a nickname.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' has a ShoutOut to Häyhä in a minor sidequest titled "The White Death", featuring an angara sniper on the [[SingleBiomePlanet Ice Age planet]] Voeld who contacts [[PlayerCharacter Ryder]] by radio to have him/her flush out a Kett Wraith he's hunting.
* Mosin-Nagant's exclusive equipment in ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline'' is the Hayha Memory Chip, which grants her significant damage boost and slight increase to evasion.

* He has been featured in both Website/BadassOfTheWeek and Cracked's [[http://www.cracked.com/article_17019_5-real-life-soldiers-who-make-rambo-look-like-pussy.html "5 Real Life Soldiers Who Make Rambo Look Like A Pussy".]]

** Oh, yeah. All those kills? Done without a scope, for good reason[[note]]To clarify, the light that reflected off the scope gave away the positions of those who used them. Little wonder he went scopeless, aye? [[/note]]. Before the war, his home was full of marksmanship trophies. Also, check his entry on OneHitPolykill

* {{Conscription}} Häyhä was a conscript, not a professional soldier.
* CoolOldGuy: Given that he lived to the ripe old age of 96, he became this by default. Also doubles as a BadassGrandpa

Using his extensive knowledge of the surrounding forest as well as a knack for camouflage (he dressed in all white and even kept snow in his mouth so as to mask his breathing and avoid giving away his position), [[OneManArmy he racked up an incredible 704-742 confirmed-kills estimate (542 by rifle, and around 200 by submachine gun)]]. While his Russian counterparts would spend a few days at a time in the field, he ''just stayed out there,'' taking food, ammo[[note]] The fact that Finland used a locally-produced Mosin Nagano that chambered the same round as the Russian original was pretty convenient[[/note]], and whatever else he needed from the bodies of Russians he killed. All the more impressive was that he did all of this ''without a scope or a spotter''. He instead used the trusty iron-sights on the rifle, as he noticed that using a scope presented a target due to the glint off the lens (when asked later in life how he had become such an incredible shot, Simo answered simply: "Practice. And clear days."[[note]]In forested terrain, where battles are fought at shorter ranges, a trained marksman can easily hit a target as large as a man without a scope. Extreme-long-range hits like those that happen in modern Afghan or Iraqi Wars are a different story.[[/note]]