Page 43 - History of War - Issue 25-16

10 DEADLIEST SNIPERS

Among the most prolific
08.Ivan Sidorenko snipers in history

Red Army Captain Ivan Sidorenko began the war of armour-piercing incendiary from his Mosin
in 1941 iring mortars, but he soon liberated a Nagant. Eventually, in Estonia, Sidorenko was Confirmed kills: 500
rile and began to teach himself the dark art of wounded badly enough to end his sniping
sniping. His talent was recognised and rewarded career, although he continued to instruct and
with an appointment to train other snipers at was credited with training more than 250 Red
a divisional level school. Soon his reputation Army snipers.
reached even German ears and a number of Sidorenko earned more than 500 coni rmed
enemy snipers were dispatched to deal with the kills, making him the most prolii c sniper in
young major, but all failed. history (although critics argue that Finn sniper
Instructing was not enough for Sidorenko Simo Hayha killed more, but many of his kills
and he regularly visited the front to keep his were with a sub machine gun) and awarded
shooting eye in – he was rewarded with no the Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war,
less than three wounds. He once famously Sidorenko worked for a coal mine in the Urals
stopped a German tank with several rounds before passing way in 1987.
“HEWASCREDITEDWITHMORETHAN500CONFIRMEDKILLS, Ivan Sidorenko of the Red Army is regarded

MAKINGSIDORENKOTHEMOSTPROLIFICSNIPERINHISTORY” as the most effective sniper in history with
more than 500 kills to his name

The first shooter
to engage in
a deadly long-
09.William‘Billy’Sing range duel
Of mixed Chinese and English heritage, Billy organised them into two-man teams with one Sing was spotted but the young Australian saw
Sing grew up in rural Queensland, Australia, spotting for his partner. Sing’s spotter described his adversary at the same time. Sing was the
shooting kangaroos to earn a living. He was also him as “a picturesque little man-killer” and he faster shot and managed to hit the Turk sniper in
a competitive ril e shooter, a trait many early soon received nicknames ‘the Murderer’ and the head, adding another to his tally.
snipers share. When war was declared in 1914, ‘the Assassin’. Sing was particularly effective He received the Distinguished Conspicuous
Sing volunteered and was soon sent to Egypt. The conducting what today would be called counter- Medal for “… gallantry from May to September
sniper deployed to the Gallipoli peninsula with sniper missions, working with a spotter who 1915 at Anzac as a sniper. His courage and skill
Australian forces and was engaged in the bloody searched for enemy gunners with a i eld periscope. were most marked and he was responsible for
stalemate with Turkish forces i ring down upon His most famous kill was ‘Abdul the Terrible’, a a very large number of casualties among the
the ANZACs from the ridges above. German-trained Turkish sniper who had been enemy, no risk being too great for him to take.”
Sniping had yet to be formally established brought in to kill Sing. In fact, Sing was credited with 201 conirmed
in the Australian Army and it wouldn’t be until The Turkish sniper watched and waited for Sing kills along with at least another 100 likely
General Birdwood, in charge of all ANZAC forces, to reveal himself from a concealed hide. Eventually, according to those who served with him.

A Turkish sniper in disguise is apprehended
by ANZAC forces in Gallipoli
Left: Private William Edward Sing of Confirmed kills: 201
Clermont, Queensland pictured before he
left Australia for Egypt unConfirmed kills: 100

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