In Spain, the famous memoirs of the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev, who became famous during the Battle of Stalingrad, were published. They caused a mixed reaction in society, and based on their motives, the film "Enemy at the Gates" was made.

“Use each cartridge wisely, Vasily,” the father instructed his son when they went hunting for wolves in the taiga together. He used the experience gained then in Stalingrad in relation to other wolves - in human form, but also gray. “Every day I killed 4 to 5 Germans,” he would later write. Chilling memoirs of a sniper Vasily Zaitsev (1915-1991), Hero Soviet Union, one of the most famous representatives of this difficult and terrible profession. Published in Spain by the Crítica publishing house, they tell the reader about the fierce battle fought by snipers during the Second World War. We find ourselves in the heart of the most brutal battle, when the shooter sitting in the shelter sees the eyes of the man he is about to kill. The memories of a participant in those events directly allow us to look into the inner world, to follow the actions of the fighters, who always instilled overwhelming fear and some kind of unhealthy worship. In a word, to lift that mystical cover that always surrounds the sniper.

The memoirs of Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev tell how a sniper acted during the Battle of Stalingrad, on whose personal account there were 242 killed Germans, including 11 enemy snipers (destruction of enemy snipers was one of the priorities). The dramatic events in which Zaitsev participated formed the basis of the film "Enemy at the Gates", directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Historians such as Anthony Beevor dismiss as pure fiction some of the sniper's story, including a lengthy and intense duel with an experienced German sniper sent specifically to eliminate Zaitsev (which is what the plot is about). Be that as it may, memories are interesting description cruel and bloody battle in Stalingrad and are read with bated breath.

In one of the episodes, Zaitsev orders his group of three pairs of snipers not to shoot at German officers who, thinking they are safe, are washing near the trench. “These are just lieutenants,” he says. “If we swat a small fish, the oily fish will never stick their head out.” The next day they returned to their original position. We decided not to touch the soldier who leaned out. And that's when the ones they've been waiting for show up. A colonel accompanied by a sniper with an excellent rifle, a major with a Knight's Cross framed in oak leaves, and another colonel smoking cigarettes with a long and exquisite mouthpiece. “Our shots fired. We aimed at the head, as written in the training manual, and four fascists collapsed to the ground, having expired. There was also a case when he shot at a German officer who had an Iron Cross on his chest. “I pulled the trigger and the bullet went through the award. The German fell back, spreading his arms wide.

Zaitsev begins his reminiscences with a story about his childhood. His grandfather was a hereditary Ural hunter and gave him his first gun. Going hunting, he lubricated himself with badger fat so that the assurance would not smell him. While hunting wolves, he learned to follow the trail and sit in ambush, which would later help him "in the fight against other two-legged predators that invaded our homeland." The future sniper had a good education. He graduated from the construction college and accounting courses, worked as an insurance inspector.

In 1937 he was drafted into the army and sent as a sailor to Pacific Fleet, and since then he always proudly wore a vest under military uniform. Zaitsev was eager to fight, asked to be assigned to a company of snipers and, already being a foreman, on September 21, 1942 ended up in Stalingrad. It felt like hell. He will write in his diary that there was a thick smell of roasted meat in the air.

In his first fight, when the ammunition runs out, a short and broad-faced Zaytsev, not at all like Jude Law, who played him, engages in hand-to-hand combat with a German and kills him. Here we see the war exactly as it is: “Eventually, he stopped resisting, and I smelled a nauseating smell. Dying, the fascist, in addition to everything else, messed himself up.

During the defense of the famous plant "Red October" is going through difficult moments. There is a so-called "war of rats" when the enemy hides in the basements and manholes of the destroyed city. At the end of October, a colonel saw how Zaitsev destroyed an enemy machine-gun crew, consisting of three people, with three shots from an ordinary soldier's rifle. “Give him a sniper rifle,” the colonel ordered. Moisin Nagant 91/30 was brought to Zaitsev, and the colonel told him: “There are already three of them. Now keep score." So he became a sniper and got a taste: “I liked being a sniper and having the right to choose an object; when fired, it seemed to me that I heard the bullet pierce the skull of the enemy. Zaitsev hits from a long distance - 550 meters or more. The scope allows you to clearly see the target.

“You know if he has shaved, you see the expression on his face, you watch him hum something to himself. And while your subject rubs his hand across his forehead or tilts his head to adjust his helmet, you are looking for best point for a shot. He does not suspect that he has a few seconds left to live. There is no doubt, no remorse. “Adjusting the front sight between his eyes was easy. I pulled the trigger, it twitched for a few seconds and froze motionless.

Zaitsev paints Soviet fighters exclusively in a heroic and noble light, and the Germans are cruel: they finish off the wounded with flamethrowers or throw them to be eaten by dogs. Fascists for the sniper are "snakes" that squirm when he presses them to the ground with his foot.

The memoirs contain a lot of advice for snipers (Zaitsev then became an instructor). Spring or key - a good place to fire at the enemy. After the shot, immediately change position so that you are not detected.

It takes no more than two seconds for a shooter to aim and pull the trigger, but surveillance and camouflage can take hours or even days. You have to become invisible. Patience is the key to success. Contrary to popular belief, snipers do not act alone, but in pairs and even groups, using all sorts of baits and dummies to lure the enemy into a trap.

The famous duel, about which the film "Enemy at the Gates" tells, is devoted to a whole chapter of the book. The memoirs say that a captured German soldier reported that the German high command, concerned about the growing losses, sent a certain Major Koenings, director of the Wehrmacht sniper school, located near Berlin, to Stalingrad with the sole task of eliminating the famous Russian shooter.

German and Russian snipers (played by Ed Harris in the film) play a deadly game. As a result, Zaitsev manages to outwit and kill German ace. He drags his corpse out of hiding and, together with a rifle and documents, hands it over to the division commander. The alleged sight of this alleged (and lost) German sniper is on display at the Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow.

“There has never been a German sniper major by the name of Koenings,” Beevor said in a conversation with me, who studied this issue in detail in his famous book “Stalingrad”. He is not mentioned either in official German sources or in Soviet ones. “I have studied all the reports of snipers on the Battle of Stalingrad, available in the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense in Podolsk, and I can say with full confidence that the famous duel between a German and a Soviet sniper never took place. If it had really taken place, it would certainly have been reflected in the reports, since Soviet propaganda would certainly have taken advantage of such an opportunity. The whole story was invented after the Battle of Stalingrad.”

Beevor recalls that Anno invited him to view his painting “in the vain hope that I would not be too critical; I warned him in advance about my position. The French director bought the rights to the book by William Craig, which formed the basis of the film. And Craig believed in the propaganda story about the duel of snipers and the stories of Tanya Chernova (her role is played by Reicher Weiss in the film) that she was also a sniper and the shooter's lover. Poor Zaitsev, army political workers used him for their own purposes, completely rewriting his biography and turning it into a legend. All this led to the fact that after the war he became depressed and began to drink.

In reality, the historian notes, Zaitsev's exploits were greatly exaggerated, and he was not even the best Soviet sniper in Stalingrad. And the best was Sergeant Anatoly Chekhov (not the most suitable surname for someone who is engaged in such a dangerous trade), another hero of the urban war, whom Vasily Grossman interviewed and even accompanied during a combat mission on Mamaev Kurgan, where the most fierce battles took place. to see how it works. Unlike Zaitsev, whom Grossman also personally knew, Chekhov, who used something like a silencer, did not look at the faces, but at the insignia. On the first day of fighting, he destroyed nine Germans; in the second - 17, and in eight days - 40. In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, Chekhov liquidated 256 enemy soldiers. In 1943, near Kursk, he lost both legs. Other famous Soviet snipers were Ivan Sidorenko, who set a kind of record by eliminating 500 German fighters. On account of five more shooters, more than 400 Germans were killed. The famous female sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko destroyed 309 enemy soldiers and officers. After the end of the war, she became a historian.

Grossman did not write anything about any long duel, but he described the fight between Zaitsev and the German sniper, which lasted ... 15 minutes. It was this episode, according to Beevor, that was blown up to the scale of the legend about the full drama of the fight between Zaitsev and Major Koenings, whom no one had ever heard of, allegedly sent in order to eliminate the Soviet sniper.

At the end of his memoirs, Zaitsev writes about the wounds received at the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. He lost his sight from the rupture of German shrapnel and spent a lot of effort to restore it. He was not allowed to return to the front in order to preserve such a vivid example of Soviet patriotism, and the famous sniper began to train new generations of fighters. The manuals written by him are still used in Russian military schools. At the end of the war, Zaitsev was demobilized with the rank of captain and worked at a textile factory in Kyiv, constantly remembering combat missions. He died ten days before the collapse of the USSR, he is buried on Mamaev Kurgan, where there were fierce battles. Perhaps even now the spirit of the great shooter continues to watch his objects from there among the ruins of Stalingrad that have dissolved in time.

lurking death

Other notable snipers include:

- Finn Simo Hayha ("White Death"), the best sniper of all time, who killed 505 Soviet troops during the Soviet-Finnish war (while he did not use a telescopic sight).

Vasily Zaitsev, legendary sniper, a hero of the Soviet Union about whom several films were made, was born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elenkina, Orenburg province ( Chelyabinsk region), in an ordinary peasant family. FROM early childhood was taught to shoot from a hunting rifle by his grandfather Andrei Alekseevich, and at the age of 12 he received a gun as a gift.

Vasily's incomplete secondary education fit into seven classes, after which the guy entered the construction technical school in Magnitogorsk, from which he graduated in 1930. In 1937, he entered the service in the Pacific Fleet as a clerk in the artillery department. Great Patriotic War found him at the post of head of the financial unit in Preobrazhenie Bay.

In the summer of 1942, after several reports asking to be sent to the front, Vasily Zaitsev ended up in the 284th Infantry Division. And in September 1942 he took part in the battle for Stalingrad.

From the very beginning, Vasily Grigorievich showed himself to be a skillful and extraordinary sniper, from a distance of 800 meters he could destroy three opponents from an ordinary soldier's rifle at once. For courage and outstanding sniper abilities, he was awarded the medal "For Courage" and a sniper rifle. The fame of an outstanding sniper spread on all fronts.

Vasily Zaitsev combined many valuable qualities for a fighter and shooter: sensitive hearing, sharp eyesight, endurance, composure and military cunning. Accurately choosing the best positions, he knew how to perfectly mask them and remain invisible to the Germans. On his account, only in the battle for Stalingrad, there are 225 destroyed Nazis, among whom were eleven snipers.

And the whole world knows about the victorious battle with the experienced German super-sniper Heinz Thorwald, sent specifically to destroy Vasily Zaitsev. Since, in turn, Zaitsev was given the task of eliminating Torvald, which was carried out with success.

In January 1943, a brave sniper was seriously wounded by a mine explosion during the failure of the Nazi attack on a regiment of our troops near Stalingrad by the Zaitsev group. He went blind and only after repeated operations by Professor Filatov was able to restore his sight. At the end of February 1943 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the future, Vasily Zaitsev led a sniper school, led a mortar platoon and later commanded a company. I had a chance to take part in such high-profile battles as the battle for the Dnieper and the liberation of Donbass. The victory found the fighter in the Kiev hospital, where he was treated after another injury. Vasily Zaitsev became the author of two teaching aids for snipers and one author's technique, still used in sniper hunting - hunting in "sixes", when three pairs of snipers (observers and shooters) at once block the same battle zone.

When the Great Patriotic War ended, Vasily Zaitsev began to live in Kyiv and work as a commandant of the city district. At the same time he entered extramural All-Union Institute of Textile and Light Industry, then headed the garment factory "Ukraine" and led the technical school of light industry. Zaitsev was also invited to participate in the testing of the Dragunov sniper rifle.

Hero of the USSR Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev died on December 15, 1991, was buried at the Lukyanovsky cemetery (Kyiv), despite his last desire to find a last refuge in the land of Volgograd. His will was fulfilled only on January 31, 2006, when the ashes of the legendary shooter were reburied on Mamaev Kurgan (Volgograd).

Two feature films were made about the great sniper, hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Zaitsev: "The Enemy at the Gates" (2001, USA - Germany - Great Britain) and "Angels of Death" (2002, Russia). Also, a documentary film "Legendary Sniper" (2013, Russia) was filmed about his biography.

Biographies and exploits of Heroes of the Soviet Union and holders of Soviet orders:

Vasily Zaitsev is a famous Soviet sniper who became famous during the Battle of Stalingrad. During the street fighting for the city, he single-handedly defeated more than two hundred soldiers. german army. He was part of the 62nd army of the front. With vast experience, this sniper learned the strategy of the enemy army, which allowed him to repel attacks for two months. At the same time, he managed not only to fight off the enemy, but he himself took active offensive actions.

Life before the war

Vasily Zaitsev was born into a peasant family in 1915 in the Orenburg province. From early childhood, he learned to shoot under the guidance of his grandfather and soon became an excellent shooter. He said that his grandfather, being a Ural hunter, taught him to walk on the beast. The child mastered all the intricacies of the hunting craft, which later helped him in the war. The boy received an incomplete secondary education, then entered the construction college in Magnitogorsk.

Seven years later, in 1937, the future hero of the Soviet Union entered the Navy in the artillery department as a clerk. In the service, he strictly followed discipline, was diligent and accurate, for which he was enrolled in the Komsomol. Vasily Zaitsev also studied at the Military Economic School, so after a while he was appointed head of the economic unit in the Pacific Fleet.

Service at the beginning of the war

The sniper applied several times for voluntary participation in hostilities. From the fifth time, his request was granted, and he left for the army. In September 1942, together with his colleagues, he crossed the Volga River and began to participate in the battles. Already at the very beginning of hostilities, he showed himself to be an outstanding shooter. Vasily Zaitsev hit the enemy the first time, for which he soon received the award "For Courage".

Soon he became known to the entire regiment. He received a sniper rifle, from which he hit many enemies. The fighter was distinguished not only by unusual accuracy, but also by cunning, the ability to disguise himself, to hide in the most unusual places. The soldier knew how to hide in those places where his presence could not be expected.

Memories of the Battle of Stalingrad

He left memoirs in which he tells about the first combat experience on this front. According to him, at first he had to fight with all the other soldiers on an equal footing. Several times he met with the Germans hand-to-hand on the outskirts of the city and subsequently gave great importance those days when he first found himself in a combat position and took a direct part in the battle. His memoirs contain a lot of valuable information about the situation that was in the city during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Vasily Zaitsev (sniper) - Hero of the Soviet Union, took part in the defense of the famous city plant "Red October". In the first months, he, along with his colleagues, had to fight enemies who were hiding in basements and sewer manholes, which greatly complicated the operation to liberate the city.

Duel with a German fighter

Vasily Zaitsev (sniper) fought with the head of the German school of shooters, H. Torvald, who was sent to the city specifically to fight Soviet soldiers. His task was to destroy the Soviet soldier himself. The latter recalled that it was a very difficult battle, but he, along with his colleagues, managed to find a good position that allowed them to defeat the enemy. Torvald carefully studied the tactics of Soviet snipers and their combat positions.

For a while he acted quietly, undercover. He began to attack suddenly, and under his blows fell the best students Zaitseva - three fighters. However, the German fell into the trap of Vasily Grigorievich - a mannequin doll, a trick that he often used during battles. According to historians, the enemy of the Soviet soldiers turned out to be very experienced, and his rifle was equipped with last word technology. Therefore, the victory that Vasily Zaitsev (sniper) won was very significant for raising the morale of Soviet soldiers.

Features of tactics

He developed a special style of fighting in a besieged city. He usually led small groups to combat positions, but forbade his fighters to immediately strike the enemy. Invariably it main goal was to defeat the representatives of the high command. Therefore, whenever his groups met with enemy forces, the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev waited some time before the command officers appeared. Then he gave the order to open fire. In the implementation of this strategy, the soldier pursued the goal of defeating those who directly led the operations in order to behead the enemy.

Zaitsev also has the merit of using the so-called group hunting for the enemy. The essence of the tactics was that the members of the group took aim at the most important points the Nazis and when they appeared on the battle strip, they unexpectedly opened fire. This method fully justified itself, and the German offensive was thwarted. Zaitsev was sometimes so carried away that he once went into the open against the German infantry. Fortunately, the enemy fired a volley without looking, and the sniper survived, but was badly wounded. The legendary fighter rose to the rank of captain during the war years.

Shooting technique

The legendary hero used special methods in the course of combat operations. So, even in the absence of an enemy, he figured out and calculated, like an experienced hunter, a possible place for the appearance of the enemy, so that he could hit for sure during a sortie. He was constantly developing new shooting strategies, realizing that his habits could be learned by the enemy and, therefore, could one day be played against him. This skill Soviet soldier created him worldwide fame, as evidenced by the film dedicated to him. Vasily Zaitsev (sniper) was known throughout the regiment for his extraordinary ingenuity.

One of his most famous tricks was that he made a model of a doll, while he himself hid nearby, tracking down the enemy. When the latter revealed himself with a shot, Zaitsev began to wait until he came closer. At the same time, he could wait an infinitely long time, regardless of the circumstances.

Service in the following years of the war

The following year, he took part in a special operation to disrupt the enemy attack on the right flank. During the fighting, he was seriously wounded and blinded. However, after a complex operation, his sight returned to him again. He led a mortar regiment and was also director of a sniper school. The remaining years of the war, he fought on the Ukrainian front, took part in many operations to liberate the country's largest cities. The future hero made a great contribution to the theory of sniper training. Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev himself wrote two textbooks on combat, in which he outlined his observations on the implementation of cover operations for military groups with arrows and special observation formations.

Personal life

The story about Vasily Zaitsev may be of interest to schoolchildren, so a story about his biography can be given to students as a report. For some time he worked at a car factory, where he met his wife, whose name was Zinaida Sergeevna. She served as secretary of the Politburo at a machine factory. An interesting fact is that the legendary sniper retained accuracy until old age. It is known that he always adhered to the rule of not firing a single extra shot. The only exception was the Victory Parade, during which he saluted with weapons. When he was already 65 years old, he took part as a guest of honor in shooting competitions and beat all the young participants, hitting the top ten three times, after which the main prize was awarded to him, and not to the players themselves.

Meaning

The role of the legendary fighter is difficult to overestimate. He was, in fact, the initiator of the sniper movement in our country. This was fully manifested during the Patriotic War. Zaitsev created his own school and trained his soldiers right on the battlefield. It is indicative that he wrote his scientific manuals right during the conduct of hostilities. After being wounded, while being treated, he shared his experience with representatives of the General Staff, as well as with the Institute for the Study of War. He brought up a whole generation of students who proved to be outstanding fighters on the fronts. One of his pupils, V. Medvedev, also became famous as a talented sniper, who, in turn, trained a new combat group.

Rifle history and exhibition

In the year of the Victory, the Soviet command presented Zaitsev with a personalized rifle as a reward, which gained some fame thanks to its owner.

An interesting fact is that the famous fighter received it in Berlin during the capture of the city by the Red Army. The weapon was kept in the Kiev museum, and then was transferred to Volgograd. A whole exposition was devoted to Zaitsev himself, where his weapons, personal documents, and photographs were exhibited. However, there is a plan to turn this personal exhibition into an exposition on the Battle of Stalingrad.

Confession

Zaitsev received several prestigious awards. His most important achievement is receiving the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, he was awarded several medals, including the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree. It should also be mentioned that the streets in different cities are named after him, the ship, as well as many competitions in sniper shooting are dedicated to his name.

After the war

After 1945 he settled in Kyiv, where he continued his service. He served as commandant of the Pechersk region. Apart from military activities, this man is also famous for his contribution to the development of industry. He held a number of prominent positions in factories and plants, was the director of a textile technical school. Hero of the Soviet Union Zaitsev Vasily continued to work in the military industry in subsequent years.

He took part in testing the Dragunov sniper rifle. The legendary sniper died in 1991 in Kyiv, bequeathed to bury his ashes in Stalingrad. This request was fulfilled only in 2006, when his remains were buried on Mamaev Kurgan.

Image in painting

Zaitsev is depicted in the famous panorama dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. This indicates how important his figure was for the Soviet people. His image was used in ideological propaganda. The picture was created in 1944, that is, during the war. The main part of the composition is occupied by the defense and defense of Mamaev Kurgan; in this operation, as mentioned above, the famous sniper took an important part.

In film art

In addition, the hero of the cinema was Vasily Zaitsev. A film about him was made in 2001. The famous British actor D. Low starred in the title role. The tape was based on the famous episode of the confrontation between a fighter and a German major. The critics reacted with restraint to this film, because, according to a number of reviewers, the role of ordinary defenders of the city was belittled in the film. In addition, the documentary film "Legendary Sniper" is dedicated to the image of the famous fighter (release date - 2013). Such an interest in the personality of the hero testifies to how great his significance was not only for Soviet army, but also for military world history. It should also be mentioned about the domestic film, the main character of which is the sniper Ivan. The prototype of this character was Zaitsev and his military biography. The role was played by the famous actor F. Bondarchuk.

Famous sniper during World War II. Streets are named after him, most people in the post-Soviet space know about him. History remembered Vasily as one of the most productive shooters.

Vasily Zaitsev: biography

Vasily was born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Eleninka, Orenburg Region (now Chelyabinsk) in an ordinary peasant family. He studied at a rural school, where he graduated from the 7th grade. At the age of 15, he already graduated from the construction technical school, where he studied as a fitter.

Since childhood, Vasily's grandfather, Andrey, often took him and his brother hunting with him. Already at the age of 12, the future sniper had a gun. Grandfather taught his grandchildren the intricacies of hunting, surveillance, patience and shooting instincts. Perhaps these lessons predetermined the future of Vasily.

In 1937, Vasily Zaitsev served as a clerk in the Pacific Fleet. Then he is trained in accounting and continues to serve as the head of the financial department. With the outbreak of war, he asks the command to send him to the front. After 5 reports, he gets the go-ahead. And 27-year-old Vasily is sent to the zone of the most fierce and bloody battles - to Stalingrad. Later, in the city on the Volga, where the Nazi invasion was stopped, he will say his famous phrase: "There is no land for us beyond the Volga. We stood and will stand to the death!"

Sniper of the 62nd Army

Before the front, Vasily underwent a little training. From the first days, he proved himself to be an extremely accurate shooter, killing 3 Nazis with a conventional rifle from a distance of almost a kilometer. The command transferred him to a group of snipers. There he received a sniper weapon - a mass-produced weapon, quite simple. From it, Zaitsev managed to destroy 32 invaders. After that, the novice sniper gains fame among the entire group of troops.

The hunt for the hunter

In almost one month, Vasily kills 225 Nazis. Rumors about him are crawling all over the country and even around the world. In the partially occupied and almost completely destroyed Stalingrad, Zaitsev's name is of particular importance. He becomes a real hero, one of the symbols of resistance. Leaflets with new achievements of the shooter are regularly distributed among the population and personnel Red Army.

Rumors about Vasily Zaitsev reach the Nazi leadership. They understand its importance in terms of propaganda, so they send their best ace sniper on a mission to kill the Soviet shooter. This ace was Major König (according to other sources - Heinz Thorwald, possibly König - call sign). He trained snipers in a special school and was a true professional. Immediately upon arrival, he wounds one Red Army shooter and falls into the weapon of another. Conventional sniper rifles zoom in 3-4 times, since it is already difficult for a shooter to work with a large increase. The increase on the rifle of the Nazi major was tenfold! This speaks of the professionalism and virtuosity of Koenig.

Fight with the Major

Having learned about the arrival of a super sniper in the city, the Soviet leadership gives the order to destroy him personally to Zaitsev, later this fight will be considered legendary. It reflected not only the battles of two snipers, but also the battle of two peoples, two ideologies.

After a long hunt, Vasily discovered Koenig's position. The long wait was justified: a ray of sun was reflected for a moment from the German's optics. This was enough for Vasily, in a second the Nazi fell dead. Soviet propaganda joyfully informed the people: Vasily Zaitsev won. Hero of the Soviet Union will later describe in detail

After the war, he remained to live in Kyiv. He worked as a manager in a garment factory.

Died in 1991. After 15 years, he was reburied with honors in Stalingrad, as he bequeathed.

Vasily Zaitsev: film

The figure of the Soviet sniper was widely reflected in culture: many documentaries and a large number of works have been written. The most famous feature film about Vasily Zaitsev is Enemy at the Gates, an American production. Zaitsev is played by Jude Law.

Main story line revolves around the fight between Vasily Zaitsev and Koenig. There is also a parallel love line with a sniper girl and Vasily's friend. Filmed in 2001, the film boasts great visual effects. The scene of crossing the Volga and landing Soviet troops in Stalingrad turned out to be extremely colorful and catchy. It demonstrates the heavy losses of the Soviet troops: blood everywhere, the dead lie next to the living, pain, screams, panic. The scenery of Stalingrad itself also turned out to be quite good: devastation, concrete desert - all this looks very atmospheric. A large crowd allows you to assess the scale of the battles.

But the film was shot by the Americans, so it could not do without propaganda. The Soviet leadership is shown entirely as cowards, bloodthirsty murderers, tyrants. The scene when the newly arrived recruits go on a frontal attack on a tank with one rifle for two, and then the commanders shoot their own in the back, makes you think. There are also a number of inconsistencies. For example, the commander of Zaitsev and the entire Stalingrad Front was Khrushchev, who in reality was not even close there. Just a colorful figure of Nikita Sergeevich is very familiar to the American inhabitants.

"Enemy at the Gates" is a good movie from a purely technical point of view, but spoiled by propaganda. However, if we discard the explicit American component, then you can watch with pleasure.

Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev became a legend during his lifetime. Accustomed from childhood to the taiga, to hunting, to weapons, in Stalingrad the foreman of the 1st article Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers in a month and a half of fighting. Ten of them, the same snipers, hunted for him and his partners. The eleventh, who had arrived from Germany itself, especially to Zaitsev's soul, calmed down forever in the same place, in Stalingrad. The Russian hunter has always emerged victorious from deadly duels...

“For us, the soldiers and commanders of the 62nd Army, there is no land beyond the Volga. We stood, and we will stand to the death!” V. hares

short biography

Childhood

Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev was born on March 23, 1915 in the village of Elenkina, Orenburg province (Chelyabinsk region), in an ordinary peasant family. From early childhood he was taught to shoot from a hunting rifle by his grandfather Andrei Alekseevich, and at the age of 12 he received a gun as a gift. Vasily recalled: “In my memory, childhood is marked by the words of grandfather Andrei, who took me hunting with him, handed me a bow with homemade arrows and said:

“You need to shoot accurately, every animal in the eye. Now you are no longer a child ... Use your ammo sparingly, learn to shoot without a miss. This skill can come in handy for more than just four-legged hunting…”

It was as if he knew or foresaw that I would have to carry out this order in the fire of the most cruel battle for the honor of our Motherland - in Stalingrad ... I received from my grandfather a letter of taiga wisdom, love for nature and worldly experience.

War years

The Great Patriotic War found him at the post of head of the financial unit in Preobrazhenie Bay. In the summer of 1942, after several reports asking him to be sent to the front, Vasily Zaitsev ended up in the 284th Infantry Division. And in September 1942 he took part in the battle for Stalingrad.

From the very beginning, Vasily Grigorievich showed himself to be a skillful and extraordinary sniper, from a distance of 800 meters he could destroy three opponents at once from an ordinary soldier's rifle

For courage and outstanding sniper abilities, he was awarded the medal "For Courage" and a sniper rifle. The fame of an outstanding sniper spread on all fronts. The sniper rifle handed over to the shooter that day is now on display at the Volgograd State Panorama Museum "Battle of Stalingrad" as an exhibit. In 1945, the rifle was given a name. After the Victory, an engraving was attached to the butt: “To the Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Captain Vasily Zaitsev. Buried more than 300 fascists in Stalingrad.

Postwar years

Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev, post-war years

FROM military career Vasily Zaitsev graduated in the post-war years, studied at the All-Union Institute of Textile and Light Industry, worked in Kyiv as the director of the garment factory "Ukraine", led the technical school of light industry. The war hero met his wife Zinaida Sergeevna while holding the position of director of an auto repair plant, and she worked as a secretary of the party bureau of a machine-building plant.

By the decision of the Volgograd City Council of People's Deputies of May 7, 1980, V. G. Zaitsev was awarded the title " Honorable Sir Hero City of Volgograd. The hero is depicted in the panorama of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Zaitsev retained his marksmanship until old age. Once he was invited to evaluate the training of young snipers. After the shooting, he was asked to demonstrate his skills to young fighters.

A 65-year-old warrior, having taken a rifle from one of the young fighters, knocked out the “ten” three times

At that time, the cup was awarded not to excellent shooters, but to him, an outstanding master of shooting.

Vasily Zaitsev died on December 15, 1991. He was buried in Kyiv at the Lukyanovsky cemetery. Subsequently, the testament of the warrior-hero was fulfilled - to bury him in the blood-soaked land of Stalingrad, which he so heroically defended. And on January 31, 2006, the last will of the legendary sniper was fulfilled, his ashes were solemnly reburied on Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd.

Vasily Zaitsev - hero of the Battle of Stalingrad

From the memoirs of Vasily: “At night we crossed the Volga - to Stalingrad. The city was on fire... Near the ruins of houses, I saw the corpses of women and children. That night I arrived at the front for the first time. And I immediately saw a terrible picture of the crimes of the Nazi bandits ... I am a simple, gentle person. Born in the Urals, worked as an accountant. Never in my life have I experienced such anger as flared up in me that night. And I decided to mercilessly take revenge on the enemy.

Already in the first battles with the enemy, Zaitsev showed himself to be an outstanding shooter. Once Zaitsev from a distance of 800 meters from the window, firing from an ordinary three-line rifle, destroyed three soldiers enemy. As a reward, Zaitsev received a cash prize, a sniper rifle with an optical sight, and a medal "For Courage". By that time, Zaitsev had killed 32 enemy soldiers from a simple "three-ruler". Soon they started talking about him in the regiment, division, army. Zaitsev combined all the qualities inherent in a sniper - visual acuity, sensitive hearing, endurance, composure, endurance, military cunning. He knew how to choose the best positions, to mask them; usually hiding from enemy soldiers where they could not even assume a Soviet sniper. The famous sniper beat the enemy mercilessly.

Only in the period from November 10 to December 17, 1942, in the battles for Stalingrad, Zaitsev destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers, including 11 snipers

In total, Zaitsev's group destroyed 1,126 enemy servicemen in four months of fighting. Zaitsev's comrades-in-arms were Nikolai Ilyin, who had 496 Germans on his account, Pyotr Goncharov - 380, Viktor Medvedev - 342. It should be noted that Zaitsev's main merit is not in his personal combat account, but in the fact that he became key figure in the deployment of a sniper movement among the ruins of Stalingrad. Zaitsev was especially famous for the sniper duel with the German "super sniper", whom Zaitsev himself calls Major König (Heinz Thorwald) in his memoirs.

The legendary battle with the German "super sniper"

In order to bring down the activity of Russian snipers and thus raise the morale of their soldiers, the German command decides to send the head of the Berlin sniper SS Colonel Heinz Thorwald to the city on the Volga to destroy the “main Russian hare”. Torvald, transferred to the front by plane, immediately challenged Zaitsev, shooting two Soviet snipers with the only shots. Now the Soviet command was already worried, having learned about the arrival of the German ace. Commander of the 284th rifle division Colonel Batyuk ordered his snipers to eliminate Heinz at any cost.

The task was not an easy one. First of all, it was necessary to find a German, to study his behavior, habits, handwriting. And that's all for one single shot. Thanks to his vast experience, Zaitsev perfectly studied the handwriting of enemy snipers. By the disguise and firing of each of them, he could determine their character, experience, courage. But Colonel Thorvald puzzled him. It was not even possible to understand in which sector of the front he was operating. Most likely, he changes positions quite often, acts with great caution, tracking down the enemy himself.

Once at dawn, together with his partner Nikolai Kuznetsov, Zaitsev took a secret position in the area where their comrades had been wounded the day before. But the whole day of observation did not bring any results. But suddenly a helmet appeared above the enemy trench and began to slowly move along the trench. But her swaying was somehow unnatural. "Bait," Vassily realized. But for the whole day there was not a single movement noticed. This means that the German lay in a hidden position all day, without betraying himself in any way. From this ability for patience, Zaitsev realized that he himself was the head of the sniper school. On the second day, the fascist again did not give himself away. Then we began to understand that we had the same guest from Berlin. The third morning in position began as usual. A fight broke out nearby. But the Soviet snipers did not move and only watched the positions of the enemy. But here political instructor Danilov, who went with them into an ambush, could not stand it. Deciding that he had noticed the enemy, he leaned out of the trench quite a bit and only for a second. This was enough to notice him, take the gun at gunpoint and shoot the enemy shooter. Fortunately, the political instructor only wounded him. It was clear that only a master of his craft could shoot like that. This convinced Zaitsev and Kuznetsov that it was the guest from Berlin who fired, and, judging by the speed of the shot, was right in front of them. But where exactly?
On the right is a bunker, but the embrasure in it is closed. On the left is a wrecked tank, but an experienced shooter will not climb there. Between them on a flat area is a piece of metal, littered with a bunch of bricks. Moreover, it has been lying for a long time, the eye is used to it, you will not immediately pay attention. Maybe a German under the sheet? Zaitsev put his mitten on a stick and lifted it above the parapet. Shot and accurate hit. Vasily lowered the bait in the same position as he raised it. The bullet entered straight, without demolition. Like a German under an iron sheet. The next task is to get it open. But today it is useless to do so. Nothing, the enemy sniper from a good position will not leave. It's not in his nature. The Russians, on the other hand, need to change their position.

The next night they took up a new position and waited for dawn. In the morning, a new battle of infantry units broke out. Kulikov fired at random, illuminating his cover and piqued the interest of the enemy shooter. Then they rested all the first half of the day, waiting for the sun to turn around, leaving their shelter in the shade, and illuminating the enemy's with direct rays. Suddenly, in front of the leaf, something glittered. Optical sight. Kulikov slowly began to raise his helmet. A shot clicked. Kulikov screamed, got up and immediately fell down without moving. The German made a fatal mistake by not calculating the second sniper. He leaned out a little from under cover right under the bullet of Vasily Zaitsev. Thus ended this sniper duel, which became famous at the front and entered the list of classic sniper tricks around the world.