Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev

Vasily Zaytsev, also spelt Zaitsev, (Russian: Василий Григорьевич Зайцев) is a world renowned sniper who was in the Russian Red Army during World War Two.

Vasily Zaytsev was born on the 15th March 1915 in a small town hidden away in the Ural Mountains. After coming of age in 1943 Vasily became a clerk in the Soviet Navy but after hearing about the atrocities of the war in Stalingrad he signed himself up for front line duty.

The army signed Vasily up to the 1047th Rifle Regiment of the 284th Rifle Division of the 62nd Army. Vasily was sent to Stalingrad where he soon made a name for himself as a sniper.

Evidence suggests that between October 1942 and January 1943 Vasily killed 242 Axis soldiers and officers, although many like to believe the number was almost five hundred.

During this same period Vasily was training other soldiers to become snipers in the Metiz factory. The total deaths caused by snipers trained by Vasily is believed to be in the region of three thousand.

Those trained by Zaytsev were called Zaichata which means little hares; this is because the surname Zaytsev comes from the Russian word for Hare.

The reason Vasily ceased being a sniper in 1943 is because he sustained an injury to both eyes from what is believed to have been a mortar attack.

For his part in the battle of Stalingrad Vasily was given the award of Hero of the Soviet Union and finished his military service with the military rank of Captain.

After the Second World War Zaytsev moved to Kiev where he managed a factory, Vasily passed away aged seventy six years in 1991.