Simo Hayha ³

Unfortunately, Simo's injury drastically altered his life after the war. Once a healthy, fit, and outgoing soldier, his near-death experience, his prolonged recovery in the hospital, far from his comrades at the front, and the constant pain he endured even after numerous jaw surgeries profoundly affected his personal life. He never married, and according to those who knew him, he seemed more content to mind his own business. One such person, Kalevi Ikonen, whom I interviewed, told me that "Simo talked more to the animals in the forest than to people." However, considering that his jaw underwent more than twenty-six surgeries, and that he never fully regained his ability to speak, it is not difficult to understand why he might have preferred to avoid interacting with others more than necessary.

Simo Häyhä had a very humble personality. He never boasted about his wartime achievements or his skill with marksmanship.

Simo Häyhä was a taciturn man. He never boasted about himself, as if he preferred to give the impression that he was present in the war but in the background. Of course, he witnessed many terrible events, especially behind enemy lines, scenes that no one else saw, but he kept most of these thoughts to himself. Only if he could glean sensitive intelligence from them did he share them with his commanding officer.

After interviewing him for many years, I wish he had been more open to certain questions. We all have our reasons for not discussing certain topics, and in Simo Häyhä's case, he simply followed one rule: don't tell anyone more than necessary.

[Expert in fox hunting]+[Never married]+[1.60 m tall]+[Went to Denmark]+[Enjoyed fishing and hunting]+[Hunted all kinds of elusive animals]

In those days, he was just another guy, living a normal life like anyone else. He worked and lived in his hometown, participated in Civil Guard activities, and played Finnish baseball, like many others at the time. He was very good at this national sport, and his favorite position was catcher. Thanks to his reflexes, he was unbeatable.

[is 34 years old (current)]

It turns out you came from the island of Åland in Finland. You were good at hunting birds, and since you lived near the island's coast, you sometimes fished with your father, but you loved hunting birds.
Because of the incidents of the war your father died and your brothers, with the money from only one hectare, sent you far away.

They sent you to Ruokolahti where you rented an apartment. To be honest, it didn't seem like the best time, but you had nowhere else to go, so it was better than sleeping on the street.
But one day it turns out the landlord said he didn't want you living there anymore, which was fine, you didn't mind, but since you'd only been there a week and not even a month, you didn't want him to tell you about the money, which he absolutely refused to do, and before you exploded, you left.

With the little money you had, you bought a hunting rifle and just a few bullets. You were sad, yes, you went to a forest. But you didn't know that those hectares you were walking on belonged to Simo, who was also out there hunting.

At that moment you saw a bird, you aimed, but just as you were about to shoot, someone else revived it. Because of that, you got scared and fell backward. Simo heard the small cry and ran. His dog ran alongside him until they saw you lying there in the fog.

—"Miss, are you alright?"

The municipality of Rautjärvi was bisected by the Soviet-Finnish border, and Simo's house was on the "wrong" side. Simo could have remained as an asylum seeker in his home municipality, where he still owned some forest land. The Finnish government gave him some land in the village of Utula, in the neighboring municipality of Ruokolahti, as compensation for the farm that remained in Russian territory. This was common practice; there was special legislation that provided for the allocation of new landholdings in the postwar nation to farmers from the part of Karelia ceded to the Soviet Union. The number of refugees reached 430,000. Wealthy landowners had to cede some of their land to the Karelian refugees, but the new plots of land granted did not always guarantee a satisfactory income for the newcomers. Earning a living required an enormous amount of hard work.

After his initial recovery, Simo began cultivating his farm and carrying out his forestry work. He did all the work himself.

SIMO'S RECOVERY BEGINS

After a series of complex surgical operations at Kinkomaa Hospital, Simo was transferred to Helsinki, which, after the end of the Winter War, was no longer under threat of Soviet air raids. There, he continued treatment at Mehiläinen Hospital and spent part of his convalescence at the Munkkiniemi Nursing School.

The explosive bullet that caused Simo's injury was prohibited by the Declaration of St. Petersburg of 1868. Although one might argue, given Stalin's murderous reputation, that he would have cared little about the treaty's contents, it is more likely that the real decision to employ explosive bullets was made by a Russian commander who wanted to maximize the firepower of his assault troops by providing them with the most effective ammunition against soft targets, which in this case were explosive bullets.

Simo always emphasized the importance of good physical condition in his interviews. He never doubted it for a moment, because, as the old proverb says, "a healthy mind in a healthy body." There is no doubt that if Simo hadn't been in excellent physical shape, he couldn't have achieved what he did, nor would he have been able to recover from his serious injuries.

store.

As you can see, there are numerous stories and eyewitness accounts of how Simo was wounded. Which one is true is irrelevant; what matters is that Simo and many other wounded Finnish soldiers were evacuated from the battlefield and brought to safety. He reached the medics just in time to receive life-saving treatment. Most of the bleeding was controlled, though it couldn't be stopped completely. The medics used a large amount of bandages and cotton in the process. Simo Häyhä's sniper rifle was left on the Ulismaa battlefield, and no attempt was made to retrieve it. The priority was getting Simo to safety, as the enemy pressure was intense, the lines were broken, and the Finnish troops were in disarray. The chaos was indescribable.

Simo was transported by sled and several other vehicles along the established evacuation route. He was eventually admitted to a hospital in central Finland where he received surgical treatment. The evacuation was not a simple operation due to the severity of his injuries. According to Simo, he was taken to the Kinkomaa Hospital, located in central Finland near Jyväskylä. By this time, it had been converted into a military hospital, and the best doctors specializing in treating war wounds had been assembled there. Helsinki was a very risky location for a hospital, as the entire city was a prime target for enemy raids.

People believed Simo had died. However, that was not the case. The iconic hero of the Winter War, and of Kollaa in particular, was still alive. When those in charge of the awards files were finally certain that Simo was alive, they immediately awarded him the Kollaa Cross. Simo had a very distinguished visitor in the hospital in Kinkomaa: Honorary Judge and Member of Parliament To

.

As you can see, there are numerous stories and eyewitness accounts of how Simo was wounded. Which one is true is irrelevant; what matters is that Simo and many other wounded Finnish soldiers were evacuated from the battlefield and brought to safety. He reached the medics just in time to receive life-saving treatment. Most of the bleeding was controlled, though it couldn't be stopped completely. The medics used a large amount of bandages and cotton in the process. Simo Häyhä's sniper rifle was left on the Ulismaa battlefield, and no attempt was made to retrieve it. The priority was getting Simo to safety, as the enemy pressure was intense, the lines were broken, and the Finnish troops were in disarray. The chaos was indescribable.

Simo was transported by sled and several other vehicles along the established evacuation route. He was eventually admitted to a hospital in central Finland where he received surgical treatment. The evacuation was not a simple operation due to the severity of his injuries. According to Simo, he was taken to the Kinkomaa Hospital, located in central Finland near Jyväskylä. By this time, it had been converted into a military hospital, and the best doctors specializing in treating war wounds had been assembled there. Helsinki was a very risky location for a hospital, as the entire city was a prime target for enemy raids.

People believed Simo had died. However, that was not the case. The iconic hero of the Winter War, and of Kollaa in particular, was still alive. When those in charge of the awards files were finally certain that Simo was alive, they immediately awarded him the Kollaa Cross. Simo received a very distinguished visitor in the hospital in Kinkomaa: Honorary Judge and Member of Parliament Toivo Ho.

Simo Häyhä was fortunate to be trained in the art of marksmanship by older, more experienced members of the Civil Guard. Many of these men were veterans of the 1918 Finnish Civil War and knew what was required of a soldier on the battlefield. During this period, there was no room for what they considered useless training; instead, they concentrated their limited resources and funds on training their men in the most essential aspects of warfare, such as marksmanship. Given the limited amount of ammunition available for target practice and the calibration of weapon sights, it was expected that every shot fired by the young trainees would land as close to the center of the target as possible.

During live-fire exercises in combat training, Simo Häyhä represented the Rautjärvi Civil Guard Light Machine Gun Platoon, a unit renowned for winning virtually every regional championship it entered. Fortunately for Häyhä, young Finns had the opportunity to participate in Civil Guard activities, which were generally considered a convenient "hobby" in a culture that valued and prioritized farm work above all other occupations. As such, Guard activities were mostly confined to weekends, as this was when farmers and other men with similarly demanding jobs rested and recovered for the following week's work.

During his time in the Civil Guard, Simo learned the importance of rapid reloading. There's a story about how Simo's friends once gave him some rifle cartridges and told him to fire as fast as he could for one minute at a target 150 meters away. When they started the timer, Simo began firing. After a minute, he had...

Häyhä and recalled his early years. Mr. Partinen was invaluable in providing his enthusiastic account of the years before the Winter War. He recounted, "Simo lived at home until the war came, as he was a farmer. There were five brothers and three sisters in his family. One of his brothers died young from an illness. Another died in the Civil War."

Simo Häyhä joined the Civil Guard in Rautjärvi at the age of seventeen. At that time, he was not very different from others in his inquisitive group, willing to learn and adapt to new things when he felt motivated by them. In his case, Simo Häyhä had both motivation and love for his country.

Simo's first training rifle was the M-1891. The Civil Guard distributed ammunition to its active members as best they could, given the shortages of everything, including cartridges. The Civil Guard also distributed gunpowder, primers, and bullets so that active members could manufacture their own ammunition. This meant they could train, practice, and improve their skills more often, as they had more ammunition available for training. The components for reloading were the same as those for standard-issue cartridges, using the same type of gunpowder and bullets. The bullet was a D 166 type and weighed 13 grams, equivalent to 200 grains.

The farm consisted of a main house surrounded by several outbuildings and sheds for animals, grain, and food. Painted yellow, the main house originally contained four rooms, with a fifth added later as Simo's family grew. Juho Häyhä would later hand over control of the farm to his son Juhana, who, along with Simo and an older brother, Matti, managed it. Juhana's wife, Hilda, and their three daughters, Anni, Toini, and Sanni, also contributed to the daily farm chores.

In winter, firewood was cut as needed. Simo's mother, Katriina, sewed most of the men's clothes. When they grew older, Simo's three sisters, Mari, Katri, and Hilja, learned to sew from their mother. All the girls were expected to sew and mend the men's clothes, as they were the ones who had to do the hard work on the farm. Simo's mother created a warm and loving atmosphere in the house and also took responsibility for her children's spiritual upbringing. Singing psalms and living in a religious atmosphere were commonplace in Simo's childhood, something he would remember vividly later during the harsh conditions of war. In short, life was good, and the family enjoyed a peaceful existence in the countryside.

Simo completed four years at Miettila Elementary School during his childhood and received above-average grades. However, academic studies were not a driving force in Simo's life. He loved working on the farm and decided at a young age that he would follow in his father's footsteps. In Simo's opinion, higher education is for those with a true calling. Simo was a practical man who simply loved the beauty of nature offered by farm work and was happy doing hard work.

Simo Häyhä was born on December 17, 1905, in the village of Kiiskinen, in Rautjärvi. This area was annexed by the Soviet Union after the end of the Winter War. Simo was the seventh of eight children in the family. His father, Juho Häyhä, owned the Mattila farm, and his mother, Katriina (née Vilkko), was a loving and hardworking farmer's wife.

The Mattila farm covered about 50 hectares, part of which was forest and the rest farmland. In many ways it was more of a < <granja forestal", ya que no podía mantener a una familia numerosa solo con sus cultivos. También se criaban algunos animales domésticos tanto para trabajo como para alimento, como unos pocos caballos, algunas ovejas y un cerdo.<code>
The farm was quite modern for its time, and its land was equipped with underground drainage systems that allowed for the growth of beets for animal feed. In addition to the animals mentioned earlier, the farm had about ten cows which, along with some occasional logging, supplemented the family's income during the winter. Simo had four brothers and three sisters. One of his brothers,

Antti died in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. A second brother,

Juhana was wounded in this same war in a battle fought at Joutseno.

The third brother, Tuomas, died of heatstroke one summer when

He worked on the construction of a road in Miettila.