The Greatest Sniper Duel in History was a Myth

[DTomato]

The legendary Stalingrad Sniper Battle that never really happened. https://medium.com/war-is-boring/b4a3d1627e44

[Ranger33]

Enemy at the Gates was on TV today and I couldn't bring myself to watch it after just finishing Antony Beevor's Stalingrad. Such a tragic moment in human history deserves better than a Hollywood script with a forced love triangle and other nonsense. Besides that I was already under the impression that the whole legendary sniper duel was Soviet propaganda more than anything already.

[Jevhaddah]

Enemy at the Gates is about as historically accurate as Braveheart [:D]

I have this book in my collection:

http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Sniper-Vass ... 0615121489

and he was a sailor man, (just like me) well educated (just like me)and I think a CPO (unlike me)[8D].

Cheers

Jev

[bairdlander2]

Still I think it is a better film then "Saving Private Ryan"

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Jevhaddah
and he was a sailor man, (just like me) well educated (just like me)and I think a CPO (unlike me)[8D].

Cheers

Jev

More important than that, he used to be a hunter in the Urals, his homeland [8D]

[Jevhaddah]

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

ORIGINAL: Jevhaddah
and he was a sailor man, (just like me) well educated (just like me)and I think a CPO (unlike me)[8D].

Cheers

Jev

More important than that, he used to be a hunter in the Urals, his homeland [8D]

It's da troof [:D]

Cheers

Jev

[CarnageINC]

For a real epic sniper duel read the memoirs of Carlos Hathcock. Its documented pretty well on both sides it seems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock

He was one bad ass IMO [&o]

[Terminus]

Enemy at the Gates got three things right: The names Stalingrad, Vassily Zaitsev and Nikita Chrustyev(sic).

That's it.

[TulliusDetritus]

What surprised me was how the main star (Jude Law) was portraying a shy, humble guy (Zaitsev).

You don't usually this traits in such movies [;)] Think about Afflek in that infamous movie. Every time he was breathing he was killing one or two Japanese [:D]

[Hotschi]

Movies and reality are two completely different things. I couldn't name a single war movie which got it all right...

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

Movies and reality are two completely different things. I couldn't name a single war movie which got it all right...

Paths of Glory

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

What surprised me was how the main star (Jude Law) was portraying a shy, humble guy (Zaitsev).

You don't usually this traits in such movies [;)] Think about Afflek in that infamous movie. Every time he was breathing he was killing one or two Japanese [:D]

warspite1

Oi! Don't diss that fine actor Ben Affleck. He was great in that brilliant film Pearl Harbor [&o]

[Darkspire]

Don't diss that fine actor Ben Affleck

Mr wooden top [:)]

I have my doubts of his abilities trying to portray Bruce Wayne in 2015, how on earth he landed that one I will never know, casting folks must have had an off day or three, he did a bad enough job of portraying Matt Murdock.

Darkspire

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

What surprised me was how the main star (Jude Law) was portraying a shy, humble guy (Zaitsev).

You don't usually this traits in such movies [;)] Think about Afflek in that infamous movie. Every time he was breathing he was killing one or two Japanese [:D]

warspite1

Oi! Don't diss that fine actor Ben Affleck. He was great in that brilliant film Pearl Harbor [&o]

Someone might actually believe you when you say that with a straight face. [:D]

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: CarnageINC

For a real epic sniper duel read the memoirs of Carlos Hathcock. Its documented pretty well on both sides it seems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock

He was one bad ass IMO [&o]

Although mythbusters did a show on the whole snipe through the enemies scope thing and found that a normal jacketed round couldn't make it through the scope. An AP round would get through.

A few nights ago I was watching some other show where they were trying to duplicate the story and they had the same problem, the normal jaketed round couldn't make it through the scope. They changed the scope to one with fewer lenses, (supposedly more like the type that was used byt the VC/NVA) and it did get through that one.

[CGGrognard]

In the book Stalingrad by Michael K. Jones, the whole sniper duel story was to boost morale among the Russian troops. This created competition between units and soldiers themselves thereby allowing the Russian soldiers to rally around something positive in what was a very difficult time for them.

[Alpha77]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Enemy at the Gates got three things right: The names Stalingrad, Vassily Zaitsev and Nikita Chrustyev(sic).

That's it.

Well some of the actions scenes were ok. Also I found the ruins of the city quite good modelled and had a warlike feeling.

But the story was bonkers sadly. Guess the German Stalingrad movies were better, there are 2 of em btw. The 2nd one in b/w still was named "Hunde wollt ihr ewig leben" It was quite good.


I think Talvisota was one of the best war movies regarding small units actions and showing the harshness of war.

[Blond_Knight]

I think everything prior to Jude Law shooting the German officers from the fountain was probably correct and actually happened.

[demyansk]

There is a movie out there called Stalingrad with English subtitles.

[gunny]

Ha! so the whole Thorvald versus Koenig debate is moot. Robbins novel called War of the Rats stated Koenig was a pseudoname as it was very common. The Germans did not want it known their chief Sniper Thorvald was taken out. Incidently Robbins did a lot of research on the Russian side and even interviewed the blind and aged vet Zaitsev when he wrote his novel. But completely fictionalized the German dialog as there were no records to fill in these blanks. Worth the read for sure. Even if it not even factual now at best.