The greatest female sniper of all time was Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko,
an Ukrainian. She was born on 12 July 1916 in the small village of Belaya
Tserkov (the name means "white church" in Ukraine. As a child,
young "Lyuda" was a gifted student. She had an independent streak
and was very opinionated. When she completed ninth grade, her parents
moved to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. She found work at an
arsenal
where she was employed as a grinder. She also joined a shooting club and
developed her talents as a sharpshooter. When the Germans attacked the
Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a 24-year-old student
at Kiev State University, majoring in history. Like many of her classmates,
she rushed to join the military to fight against the Germans. The recruitment
officer eyed her in amazement. 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 it. Then the recruiter tried to persuade her to
become a field nurse, but she refused. She joined the Soviet Army as a
shooter, attached to the 25th Infantry Division. In August 1941, Private
Pavlichenko scored her first two kills near the village of Belyayevka
when her unit was ordered to defend a strategic hill. She worked with
a spotter. Her weapon was a Model 1891/30 Sniper Rifle fitted with a P.E.
4-power scope. It was a 5-shot bolt action rifle which fired a 148 grain
bullet at 2,800 feet per second, with an effective range of over 600 yards.
Anyone who has ever fired a Moisin-Nagant can tell you that it kicks like
a mule! Pavlichenko fought for over two and a half months near Odessa
and recorded 187 kills. When the enemy gained control of Odessa, the Soviet
Independent Maritime Army was pulled out and sent to Sevastopol on the
Crimean Peninsula. In the fierce fighting, Pavlichenko was wounded by
a mortar blast in June 1942. At this time, her score stood at 309. The
Soviet High Command ordered the wounded sniper to board a submarine and
leave Sevastopol. She
was
a heroic role (...continued )