Vasilij Ghrighor'evich Zajciev (Cyrillic:Василий Григорьевич Зайцев) (March 23, 1915 – December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II who killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and its allies between 10 November and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Before November 10, he had already killed 32 soldiers of the ax with his regular Mosin rifle. The number of mavericks he trained is estimated at 28. These killed more than 3,000 enemy soldiers. Some sources indicate that Zajciev's performance was not unique and that another Soviet soldier, only identified as Zikan, also killed 224 German soldiers before November 20.
Zajciev served until January 1943, when an eye injury kept him out of action. However, Professor Filatov restored his sight.
After returning to the front, Zajciev ended the war on the Dniester River with the rank of captain. After the war, Zajciev took care of a factory in kyiv.
According to the book Stalinghrad by Anthony Beevor, some Soviet sources stated that the Germans brought in the head of their sniper school, Major Heinz Thorvald, to stop Zajciev. Zajciev, after a hunt lasting several days, spotted his opponent hiding under a piece of corrugated iron and fired. This supposed duel is depicted in the film Stalingrad directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud in 2001.
The telescopic sight of Thorvald's rifle, allegedly Zajciev's most prized trophy, is still on display in Moscow's Armed Forces Museum. However, the entire story remains essentially unconfirmed. There is absolutely no mention of her in any Soviet military report.
Zajciev was born in Yelino, grew up in the Ural Mountains, and learned marksmanship by hunting deer. Zajciev died at the age of 76 in kyiv.