When Germany, invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, perhaps it was the biggest mistake Hitler made that forced several thousand troops into a land that many would die from cold rather than war. What was even more astounding was the fact that thousands of common people especially women who rose up from the cities of Russia to join the army. Clerks, cooks, nurses all enlisted and were trained for a unique role of becoming Women snipers. Over 2000 were trained and among them some gained fame like former Kindergarten teacher Tanya Baramzina who notched upo 16 kills on the Belorussian front. While many photos existed, an entire batch was colorized by Russian translator Olga Shirnin and the results were remarkable. Take a look at Russian female snipers.
1 Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Nicknamed Lady Death, Lyudmila Pavlichenko was one of the most feared Russian female snipers in WWII having picked off 300 Nazis. Pavlichenko from Ukraine joined the Red Army’s 25th Chapayev Rifle Division in June 1941 as one of the 2000 female snipers picked for the lethal job. She fought in Odessa and Sevastopol on the Crimean border where she notched up a total of 309 kills including 29 enemy snipers.
Pavlichenko survived the war after she was removed from combat duty because of injuries sustained in Mortar fire. She was wounded four times and even took a blast of shrapnel to her face. Pavlichenko was the most successful female sniper in Combat history. She was awarded the gold star of the hero of the Soviet Union and her image is also on a postage stamp.
2 Roza Shanina
Roza Shanina was responsible for 59 confirmed kills and was labeled by a Canadian newspaper as the “unseen terror of east Prussia”. She enlisted after the death of her brother in 1941. Shanina served in the battle of Vilnius and was the first woman sniper to be awarded the Order of Glory. She was killed in action from shrapnel injuries sustained while protecting a wounded commander during the East Prussian offensive. Shanina was only 19 when she entered the war.
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