Vasily peered over the sight of his rifle and surveyed the remains of the factory in front of him. Weeks of shelling had reduced it to a few standing walls and heaps of rubble. The sky was grey and the smell of burning hung in the air. Kulikov, laying two meters away, scanned the ground with his binoculars, looking for movement, for a tell tale, for something to indicate where the Germans would be found.

“There. Between the chimney and tree just about 400 meters on the left,”said Kulikov.

Vasily looked through the telescopic sight. “380 meters, Nikolay. A peaked hat. Another officer.” The Mosin-Nagant fired. A brief burst of pink spray and a pair of binoculars fell on this side of the rubble.

“Got him! Good shot. How many does that make?”

“Not enough.”

Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev was awarded a “Hero of the Soviet Union” medal and is credited with 242 verified sniper kills, including 11 enemy snipers.