Major Lyudmila Pavlichenko is regarded as the most successful female snipers in history. Starting young, Lyudmila had better aim for killing sparrows with a catapult than most boys her age, she then went on to become an amateur sharpshooter at a sporting club. When Nazi Germany began it’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, she was in her fourth year of studying history in Kiev, Ukraine. Being one of the first few volunteers at the recruiting office, she wasn’t taken seriously. She looked like a model, with well-manicured nails, fashionable clothes, and hairstyle. Pavlichenko told the recruiter that she wanted to carry a rifle and fight. The man just laughed and asked her if she knew anything about rifles. She pulled out her marksmanship certificate and proved that she did (s). She was then assigned to the Red Army’s 25th Rifle Division where she became one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army. She was hesitant at first because she knew her task would be to take lives. She had trouble taking fire upon enemies, until a German shot a young Russian soldier set up near Pavlichenko. “He was such a nice, happy boy,” she said. “And he was killed just next to me. After that, nothing could stop me.” (s) Armed with a Tokarev SVT-40 with a 3.5 telescopic sight, she made her first two kills as a Private in Odessa. After that, Pavlichenko recorded another 187 kills before leaving Odessa. Her unit was pulled and sent to Sevastopol when the Germans gained control, she was ultimately cited for killing 257 German soldiers (s). Her total number of confirmed kills during World War II was 309, including 36 enemy snipers. In June 1942, Pavlichenko was wounded by mortar fire. Because of her growing status, she was pulled from combat less than a month after recovering from her wounds. Pavlichenko was sent to North America for a publicity visit and became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a U.S. President (Franklin Roosevelt). The United States gifted her a Colt automatic pistol, and in Canada, she was presented with a sighted Winchester Rifle, which is now on display in Moscow. She never returned to combat but became an instructor and trained Soviet snipers until the war’s end. In 1943, she was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and was commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp. After the war, Lyudmila Pavlichenko finished off her history degree from Kiev University and went on to assist in research for the Soviet Navy and subsequently worked with the Soviet Committee of the Veterans of War. She was one of only 500 female snipers to exit the war alive.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 04:06:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015