Sniper par Excellence
Is there any field in which women are less equipped than men? Many cite arguments ranging from biological diversity to emotional architecture of a woman’s mind to counter claims of unqualified equality of the sexes. As an example, serving as a soldier or an army general is often cited an an exclusively male domain. Feminists across the globe seriously dispute such a notion, dismissing it as overplay of an overconfident and preconditioned masculine mind set.
Perhaps the best resolution of the argument lies in the facts: there is an area of expertise one would commonly associate with men, but where statistically women have fared consistently at par with men. This relates to a field requiring extraordinary skills of shooting and stealth. This area demands razor sharp reflexes and a firm and steady focus in benumbing, nerve-wracking situations. It belongs to the world of sniping.
Snipers are special. They are exceptional soldiers who have in them an incredible combination of shooting skill, cunning, presence of mind and patience. Military history tells us that a single sniper at the right time in the right place can change the course of battle, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
The honour and distinction of being some of the deadliest, sharpest and most successful snipers go to women. Klavdiya Kalugina, Tatyana Baramzina, Mariya Polivanova, Roza Shanina, Lidiya Gudovantseva, Nina Lobkovskaya, Aliya Moldagulova, Nina Petrova, and Natalya Kovshova are some of the deadliest snipers known in military annals. They all belonged to the Soviet Union, and why not? The Red Army specifically groomed and trained women in the science, art and skill of sharp-shooting as snipers. The systematic way in which they raised a whole cohort of women snipers (about 2,000 strong) remains a high point of the ingenuity and imagination of Russian Generals; and a testament to the ability women can display as soldiers, with the right training and opportunity.
One who stands head and shoulders above this bevy of braves is Lyudmila Pavlichenko, with a tally of 309 confirmed kills, notably including some of the most accomplished and feared snipers from the enemy camp. Her sobriquet of ‘Lady Death’ was well earned, though less flatteringly, she was also referred to by her enemies as “the Russian bitch from hell.” Hitler’s men, at one stage, desperate to stop her, went on air blaring repeatedly the message “Lyudmila Pavlichenko, come over to us. We will give you plenty of chocolate and make you a German officer.”
Born Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko at Bila Tsekva, Ukraine, and a tomboy while growing up, Pavlichenko had an inborn passion for sharpshooting. A married woman with a child, she still chose to respond to the call to national service after Operation Barbarossa. She volunteered for military service in 1941. While assigned traditional nurse duty in the 25th Rifle Division, she insisted on serving as a soldier, a decidedly unfeminine choice. In her memoirs, she narrated how commanders relented and allowed her sniper duty when she passed an impromptu “audition” at a hill near Odessa. She was handed a rifle with a telescopic sight and told to shoot at two distant enemy targets, whom she picked off easily.
Pavlichenko saw action at Belyayevka, on the Eastern Front, and within days made her first kills. Sent to Odessa, she bagged an astounding 187 confirmed kills in less than three months. Severely wounded by mortar fire in 1942, she spent a relatively short time on the front lines. She was made a Lieutenant in the Red Army, perhaps the only woman to be given this rank for such a brief period of service. Having already written history by having 309 confirmed kills, she was not returned to the field and instead was tasked with propaganda.
She was sent to America to enlist support for a second front in Europe, to divide German forces and relieve pressure on Soviet troops. She was the first Soviet citizen welcomed at the White House. The legendary FDR was so taken by her heroics that he invited her to go on a tour of forty-three cities to tell Americans of her experiences as a woman in combat. In Chicago she told a large crowd: “I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascists. Gentlemen, don’t you think that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
When asked how she felt about killing, Pavlichenko said: “Every German who remains alive will kill women, children and old folks. Dead Germans are harmless. Therefore, if I kill a German, I am saving lives.” Another legend of military sniping, the Finn Simo Häyhä (‘White Death’) with 505 confirmed kills, had replied in relation to his killings, “I only did my duty, and what I was told to do, as well as I could.” Perhaps the shared ability of good soldiering present in the form of being emotionless about your enemy is what made both of them such great snipers.
Her patriotic fervour matched by her ferocious aggression and unequalled combativeness resulted in Pavlichenko becoming the deadliest female sniper in history, as also one of the most decorated woman soldiers of all time, earning the Order of Lenin (twice) and the title, “Hero of the Soviet Union.” She remained modest of her achievements till the end, which came not in combat, but of a stroke, observing “the only feeling I have is the great satisfaction a hunter feels who has killed a beast of prey.”
The battle for equality of sexes unceasingly holds central space in the journey of human social evolution. It generates deeply divisive debates, and will continue to throw up questions with difficult and divergent answers. Over time though, the acrimony in relation to the subject has been diluted and diminished, with better informed maturity and increasing understanding of each other’s anatomies, minds and psychologies. It is thus impossible not to be spellbound with the gratification and grandeur of a freedom and an emancipation so eloquently portrayed by Pavlichenko’s life.
For millions of women and men alike, her remarkable and astounding achievements nurture an ardent wish to emulate and a passionate desire to relate. The exceptional heroics and resolve of women like Pavlichenko pave the ground that separates these often divergent perspectives leading to better recognition and appreciation of the talents and genius of both genders.
scribo ad LX 