History YouShallNotPass / RealLife

* UsefulNotes/SimoHayha, a farmer and awarded hunter, is one of the most famous snipers in the world. His nickname was "the White Death". During the Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1941, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was made for the Finnish snipers. Remarkably, all of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days – in other words, approximately five kills per day – at a time of year with very few hours of daylight and without the use of a scope[[note]]Häyhä preferred iron sights for several reasons: a scope requires the sniper to raise his head higher, making him a larger target; the icy temperatures meant that scopes tended to fog over; sunlight could have reflected off the lens and betrayed his position[[/note]]. At one point, he had to stop acting as a sniper and ended up using a machine gun, adding an estimated 200-250 unconfirmed kills to his tally. He was so effective that the Soviets began hunting him specifically, with counter-snipers and artillery strikes, until on March 6, 1940 Häyhä was shot in his lower left jaw by a Russian soldier. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his cheek was missing", but he did not die, regaining consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. (He lived for more than 60 years after being wounded, finally passing away in 2002 at age 96.) Although awarded a special Mosin Nagant, he never used one (as is popularly believed); his actual weapon was a Finnish Civil Guard standard issue M/28-30 rifle.

** Order 227 was taken to its absolute logical extreme with the story of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House Pavlov's House]] during the Battle of Stalingrad. A platoon of between 30-50 soldiers held a fortified apartment building for two months against the full brunt of Nazi invasion force. The Germans would attack the building several times a day, only for Pavlov and his men to respond with a barrage of machine gun & rifle fire, along with calling in artillery strikes from the other side of the Volga to strike the assaulting enemy. Hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties were inflicted on the Germans trying to capture the house, to which General Chuikov once quipped that more Germans were lost trying to take Pavlov's House than they did taking Paris. It's been said in many sites that if such scenario were to be made into a film, [[RealityIsUnrealistic the audience would call it ridiculous.]]

* From UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Russian Order 227: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_227 Not A Step Back]]. And then taken to its absolute logical extreme with the story of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House Pavlov's House.]] Long story short, a squad of 25 soldiers held a fortified apartment building for two months against the full brunt of Nazi invasion force, outnumbered ''100,000 to one''. It's been said in many sites that if such scenario were to be made into a film, [[RealityIsUnrealistic the audience would call it ridiculous.]]
* The motto of the Soviet 62nd Army at Stalingrad was "There's no land for us beyond the Volga". Their commander, Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, upon being ordered to defend the city, summed up his task as "We will defend the city or die in the attempt". They nearly died, but in the end, the Germans didn't pass (as an army: the survivors passed as prisoners) and the 62nd Army was granted Guards status (basically the Soviet way to declare you a BadassArmy) as the 8th Guards Army. Two bits of graffiti etched into a ruined wall told the story:

* In the Battle of Raseiniai ((23–27 June 1941), a single KV-1 or KV-2 tank (accounts vary) advanced far behind the German lines after attacking a column of German supply trucks. The tank stopped on a road across soft ground and was engaged by four 50 mm anti-tank guns of the 6th Panzer Division's anti-tank battalion. The tank was hit several times but fired back and destroyed all four enemy AT guns. An 8.8cm FlaK of the divisional anti-aircraft battalion was moved about 730 m (800 yd) behind the lone Soviet tank but was knocked out by the tank before it could manage to score a hit. During the night, German combat engineers tried to destroy the tank with satchel charges but failed despite possibly damaging the vehicle's tracks. Early on the morning of June 25, German tanks fired on the KV from the nearby woodland while another 8.8cm FlaK fired at the tank from its rear. Of several shots fired, only two managed to penetrate the tank. German infantry then advanced towards the KV tank and it responded with machine-gun fire against them. Eventually, the tank was knocked out by grenades thrown into the hatches. According to some accounts, the dead crew was recovered and buried by the approaching German soldiers with full military honors, while in other accounts, the crew escaped from their crippled tank during the night.

* In the Battle of Raseiniai ((23–27 June 1941), a single KV-1 or KV-2 tank (accounts vary) advanced far behind the German lines after attacking a column of German supply trucks. The tank stopped on a road across soft ground and was engaged by four 50 mm anti-tank guns of the 6th Panzer Division's anti-tank battalion. The tank was hit several times but fired back and destroyed all four enemy AT guns. An 8.8 cm FlaK of the divisional anti-aircraft battalion was moved about 730 m (800 yd) behind the lone Soviet tank but was knocked out by the tank before it could manage to score a hit. During the night, German combat engineers tried to destroy the tank with satchel charges but failed despite possibly damaging the vehicle's tracks. Early on the morning of June 25, German tanks fired on the KV from the nearby woodland while another 8.8 cm FlaK fired at the tank from its rear. Of several shots fired, only two managed to penetrate the tank. German infantry then advanced towards the KV tank and it responded with machine-gun fire against them. Eventually, the tank was knocked out by grenades thrown into the hatches. According to some accounts, the dead crew was recovered and buried by the approaching German soldiers with full military honors, while in other accounts, the crew escaped from their crippled tank during the night.

* In the Battle of Raseiniai ((23–27 June 1941), a single KV-1 or KV-2 tank (accounts vary) advanced far behind the German lines after attacking a column of German supply trucks. The tank stopped on a road across soft ground and was engaged by four 50 mm anti-tank guns of the 6th Panzer Division's anti-tank battalion. The tank was hit several times but fired back and destroyed all four enemy AT guns. An 8.8cm FLaK of the divisional anti-aircraft battalion was moved about 730 m (800 yd) behind the lone Soviet tank but was knocked out by the tank before it could manage to score a hit. During the night, German combat engineers tried to destroy the tank with satchel charges but failed despite possibly damaging the vehicle's tracks. Early on the morning of June 25, German tanks fired on the KV from the nearby woodland while another 8.8cm FlaK fired at the tank from its rear. Of several shots fired, only two managed to penetrate the tank. German infantry then advanced towards the KV tank and it responded with machine-gun fire against them. Eventually, the tank was knocked out by grenades thrown into the hatches. According to some accounts, the dead crew was recovered and buried by the approaching German soldiers with full military honors, while in other accounts, the crew escaped from their crippled tank during the night.

* In the Battle of Raseiniai ((23–27 June 1941), a single KV-1 or KV-2 tank (accounts vary) advanced far behind the German lines after attacking a column of German supply trucks. The tank stopped on a road across soft ground and was engaged by four 50 mm anti-tank guns of the 6th Panzer Division's anti-tank battalion. The tank was hit several times but fired back and destroyed all four enemy AT guns. An 8.8cm FlaK of the divisional anti-aircraft battalion was moved about 730 m (800 yd) behind the lone Soviet tank but was knocked out by the tank before it could manage to score a hit. During the night, German combat engineers tried to destroy the tank with satchel charges but failed despite possibly damaging the vehicle's tracks. Early on the morning of June 25, German tanks fired on the KV from the nearby woodland while another 8.8cm FlaK fired at the tank from its rear. Of several shots fired, only two managed to penetrate the tank. German infantry then advanced towards the KV tank and it responded with machine-gun fire against them. Eventually, the tank was knocked out by grenades thrown into the hatches. According to some accounts, the dead crew was recovered and buried by the approaching German soldiers with full military honors, while in other accounts, the crew escaped from their crippled tank during the night.