White Death

If you're a student of military exploits and you don't know the name Simo Häyhä, shame on you. He was a farmer and hunter who heard the call of duty when the Soviet army invaded Finland during the Winter War of 1939-1940. With a bunch of guys like him and often outnumbered 100 to 1, the Finns held off the Russians and made them sue for peace.

Häyhä stood just 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) tall, which was one basis for his choice of weapon, an M/28 or M28/30 Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle that suited his small frame. He also rejected a scoped rifle in favour of basic iron sights for other reasons: it meant he presented less of target as he could keep his head lower; it negated the risk of his position being exposed by sun glare in a telescopic lens; and lastly open sights were not prone to fogging up or breaking which was a concern in the snow and ice of the Winter War. Häyhä was a professional.

He shot with iron sights, and he'd pack the snow in front of his position so that the muzzle blast wouldn't reveal his location.

Another tactic this greatest of gunmen used to conceal his own position from the enemy was to compact the snow before him so that his shot would not disturb the snow, and in true commando fashion he also kept his mouth was full of snow so that his breath did not give him away.

At the end of the war, what was his score? Over 700 enemy soldiers. Over 500 with the iron-sighted Mosin-Nagant, the remainder with a sub-machine gun.

That's your Friday afternoon history lesson.