History's Deadliest Sniper - Simo Häyhä "The White Death" - 542 Kills (REACTION)

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Watch What It Do Dave React To History's Deadliest Sniper - Simo Häyhä "The White Death" - 542 Kills
Original Video: • History's Deadliest Sn...
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[@jolyric6441]

Watches were expensive. Some of the parts could be mass-produced, but everything had to be assembled by hand.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

you could say a pocket watch was the IPhone of the era

[@skyjimmy1971]

Definitely considered a luxury item.

[@aSSGoblin1488]

most logistics during this era was still using horses. ww2 was the first oil resource war. though its crazy that axis powers declared war for diesel and gas when the oil refining process takes almost a year and usa was the biggest exporter. there are large oil fields in ukraine but little refining process. crazy crazy crazy.

[@pheonixalchemist]

Until the quartz movement was invented and boomed watches were luxury items, all some level of hand made. Iirc even through WWll most armies only issued one watch per squad as a cost saving measure as most grunts don’t really need to know what time it is.

[@havtor007]

​@@aSSGoblin1488 Don't worry usa sold oil to the axis power til the end.

[@UKSkaface]

Simo used iron sights for his military career because he didn't want a glint off his scope (like the Russian he was sent to counter-snipe) to give his position away. Makes the accuracy of the man even more impressive.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

talk about No Scoping for the Achievement

[@Mazzmaker69]

Yes and no. He also used irons because he grew up hunting with rifles but couldn't afford scopes. It's what he grew up using, it's what he was good with. Secondly, scopes from those era were basically just magnifying glasses on top of your gun. They would constantly fog up or freeze in the kind of weather Finland has during the winter. Third, the scope would cause the shooter to lift up their head just a tiny bit more than if they used irons so the scope made the shooter a bigger targer. With all that in mind, why would Simo use a scope?

[@AKJACKAL99709]

​@Mazzmaker69 the reason any sniper would use a scope is the magnification. Most snipers shoot from a longer range to avoid detection or have more time to escape if detected. This dude was so bad ass that he could sneak up close enough to not need that magnification and still avoid detection. So yes, he did use iron sights for the reasons you mention. However, we must fail to mention the techniques he employed which allowed him to no-scope all those Russians. He also did it without a spotter, which you likely don't need if you're that close. One man is harder to detect than two!

[@ryanhampson673]

The other main reason was his profile was lower. Scopes require you to be just a little bit higher up on the weapon to utilize the scope. Having just iron sights allowed him to stay as low as possible, face welded to the rifle making his silhouette as small as possible.

[@eerokivisto5103]

I left this comment on the original video but... In case you're wondering how Aarne Juutilainen earned the nickname "The Terror of Morocco", the man actually served in the French foreign legion between 1930 and 1935. Apparently he was planning on returning to France to become an officer but his plans were stopped when the Finnish army was mobilized. Also, his brother Ilmari was a fighter ace with 94 aerial victories

[@WurrzagsMorkyMischeif]

When you put Simo on a bicycle, the bicycle instantly becomes a bigger threat than an entire tank battalion

[@G59LexTheDeer]

So with his skis, does he become a human snowmobile? 🤔

[@andrewfox5663]

This man is the reason “the trees are speaking Finnish” is a meme right next to “the trees are speaking Vietnamese.”

[@DR_REDACTED]

The trees? Nah its the snow

[@kuroeltheog]

To me, as a Finn, sisu is the unwillingness to give up at the face of even absolute defeat. Thanks for the reaction! ☺️

[@scar445]

you have reached, and passed, the point of no return. It's not about doing or not doing at this point. It's about doing as much damage on the way down as humanly possible. The refusal to give up because, spite. As a Dane, this is my interpretation.

[@TeeFunkable]

@@scar445 Your interpretation is not far off, but most would not put the context of sisu to "doing damage" or to spite. It's about setting out to do something, and then just going at it come hell or high water. Only person to spite is yourself. Only person who can make you fail is yourself. Only way to fail is to give up. The frozen swamp that needs to dug out or the enemy that needs to be fought is nothing more than.. context. Med venlige hilsen, - En finne, der har boet i Danmark.

[@scar445]

@@TeeFunkable interesting perspective, I had not considered that approach. I will have to think on this.

[@seraphi3387]

I wouldn't be surprised if America adopted that philosophy/mentality at some point in history, directly or indirectly. Sisu is the equivalent of "I exist out of spite". 😂

[@scar445]

@@seraphi3387 I mean.... They are already addicted to the slow death of fast food, but still live...

[@sugibudder]

He did know how to not be hit by artillery, in 1 mission his hiding spot was in the middle of an opening, the artillery hit all the trees around him individually, but didnt think he would be in the middle of the frield where there is no cover.

[@udaranayana8305]

imagine having to send artillery to take out a sniper multiple times, then commit a warcrime but still fail the objective

[@silasmcgee3647]

Task failed successfully

[@siansaksaajalampaanlatinaa]

You are right. I think that Simo was very aware of where the bombs do drop. He probably wasnt there anymore when the artillery started to sing.

[@damiadwalker8464]

Yes pocket watches were a luxury item back in that time period especially for soldiers

[@irystocrattakodachithatmooms]

I'd expect his final kill count to be closer to 600 with unconfirmed included.

[@Leonidae]

it is higher than that. He is usually credited with 505-542 sniper kills and 200+ machine gun kills.

[@irystocrattakodachithatmooms]

@@Leonidae It was stated that the confirmed 542 is between both.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

when the enemy has to resort to committing a literal Warcrime just to take you out that says your a Bad Ass

[@Ironheartempire]

And then you survive even that.

[@JohnFromSC]

St. Petersburg Declaration The 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration prohibits the use of explosive bullets, which are considered to cause unnecessary suffering. The Declaration states that such projectiles "would uselessly aggravate the suffering of disabled men or render their death inevitable". Making war more "civil"... since the 1860s.

[@mikkohapponen5728]

Legend when i was in army 2005. The respect in voices was huge and real

[@One_foot_in_the_Grave]

Hey bro there's a movie called sisu it's not about this guy but hes from the same area going through a very torturous and painful and uphill battle against the occupiers of his country. The movie is amazing and worth watching.

[@whatitdodave]

I love me a good war movie. I still can’t get over how good the movie “Fury” is. And the soundtrack is AMAZING.

[@UKSkaface]

Seconded - well worth the watch!

[@aeto5810]

@@whatitdodave Basically the whole movie is about a Finnish John Wick killing whole bunch of Nazi soldiers. Pretty good movie

[@cursedhawkins1305]

But aren't the enemies in that movie Germans not Russians because the main protagonist is a Russian!

[@UKSkaface]

@@cursedhawkins1305 In Sisu? The main protagonist is Finnish....

[@wavysqwaud]

im glad i recommended this one thanks dave

[@Viroh]

FINLAND AND SISU MENTIONED, TORILLA TAVATAAN VITTU! Happy 2025 btw Dave.

[@Viroh]

This was a very well made video, as a finnish dude who loves history and has read about Häyhä, I learned new things too here! + really entertaining. Gangster video for the White Death.

[@jdmmike7225]

As cool as it sounds to have gotten the name "The White Death" from your ops, it's a known fact that the moniker traces back to Finnish propaganda & news papers. Great reaction G 🤘

[@stephanthomas4410]

Absolute legend, this Simo. Unbelieval aiming, talent, passion and the wish to defend his homeland. My grandfather was also hit by an explosive bullet, but it “only” shot through his hand and ulna( and extremelyshort afer that explode ), leaving him seriously injured (in Leipzig, Germany) and he was then taken prisoner of war by a faction that was on its way back. That saved his life and both his hands, because another faction from the East would most probably have amputated both his hands or left him to die (this faction didn't even have enough for its own soldiers, so no bad words about them from him). But the other faction said that they would not leave the seriously wounded behind, even if they were enemies. After the war, my grandfather, who had risen from ensign to captain, was able to set up a small construction company with his broken hands and a shortened arm. What certainly helped him was that he was not a member of “the party” and was only a reserve officer (i.e. not a volunteer). P.s. Simo aimed for the upper body, not for the head. Unbelievable accuracy, nonetheless.

[@Pterodactylus548]

Psychological effect - you are a squaddy, not NCO of officer and used to think:"sniper targets those with tin buttons on their collar...". Not in this case you think:"I may be the next one..." it certainly affects your will to keep patrolling.

[@maeckknox6535]

Artillery has a much greater range than any sniper a sniper requires a line of sight on a target artillery is miles and miles away with no direct line of sight being called in by radio

[@janizzkar]

So a little bit of the information is represented wrongly. He was born and lived in rautjärvi in south karelia. Kola is more east from there, i said north wrong earlier, but still over 100km away. So he was not fighting in his home area, which makes it even more impressive

[@moser502]

to be fair the Finnish Mosin-Nagant was/is a far superior version of the design if you can find one that wasn't pulled around the Gaza strip for 50 years you got a good one. Though if you find a good one its a 1/100,000 chance.

[@clashof6d]

The finns gave him a nickname too, taika ampuja "magic shooter" but "the white death" nickname came from the soviets. They didn't know who it was so they called him that to refer to him, hot gossip😂

[@Robert-tj3qq]

I love Simo's story !! He lived a long good life !! ♥️

[@MichaelScheele]

"American Sniper" is about Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL sniper who had 160 confirmed kills. Given the extremely high standards for a confirmed kill in Vietnam, Carlos Hathcock (93) and Chuck Mawhinney (103) may very well have exceeded Kyle's total.

[@MalusTmcraeensis]

His last name is pronounced How-ha, btw. A lot of people who aren't finnish don't know how to pronounce it, so I'd figure I'd help.

[@Finkele1]

if you are from usa Ä isn't that hard, It's like you can't. Ö is bit difficult to ppl it seems...like wedding night intetion: "hääyöaie" lol

[@Finkele1]

can't bc britts pronounce it with a and you do with a. Innit?

[@siansaksaajalampaanlatinaa]

It's Häyhä. Learn to say his name right. ❤From 🇫🇮

[@MalusTmcraeensis]

@siansaksaajalampaanlatinaa I'm not saying how it's spelled. I'm just saying how it's pronounced.

[@MalusTmcraeensis]

@siansaksaajalampaanlatinaa you see, there's a difference in writing how something is spelled and how it's pronounced. Example: Stalagmite, how it's spelled. Stuh-lag-mite how it's pronounced. And as I said earlier. How his name is spelled, Häyhä. How would it be pronounced (to English speakers with American dialect) How-ha.

[@IHaveASpork]

Watches at the time were status symbols. Often, the rich and elite had watches.

[@Stevarooni]

"A gold watch" was also a gift of esteem to a long-serving employee retiring.

[@redfury55]

Can that man tell a story or what! Very interesting video, I enjoyed it . Thanks!

[@PamBanFromChilis]

Simo commander got his nickname from being in the French foreign legion

[@rixyl7475]

Wartime bounties are no joke as well. My Grandpa had a massive one during Vietnam.

[@UKSkaface]

Last name is pronounced more like "How-hah" - that's as close as I can get with the English-sounding alphabet. My wife has been trying to get me to pronounce 'äy' properly for about 14 years now...

[@clashof6d]

Well, the ä is like the a from last and y is similar to something, i cant think of any currently😂 So not exactly like that😊

[@UKSkaface]

@clashof6d But closer than how it was pronounced in the video. The English langauge is not capable of making that sound with the letters it has available....

[@duckgoesquack4514]

24:12 Back then, watches had gears and put together by hand and lathe

[@TheBigDawg8]

Need a video of Aarne Juutilainen also, dude was a menace 😂

[@DR_REDACTED]

FAX

[@hahaayukko5543]

Simo had a Finnish nickname, ''taika-ampuja'' which means ''magical shooter''.

[@tarjaikola]

Greetings from Finland🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮 Thanks for the reaction and happy 2025!

[@brandonmercer499]

I don't have much time to reply as I'm at work, but here's a quick copy and paste answer about Exploding Bullets Exploding bullets are considered a war crime because they cause unnecessary suffering to combatants: Origin of the prohibition The St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 prohibited the use of explosive bullets, which were considered to cause unnecessary suffering. The declaration was motivated by the desire to avoid inflicting more suffering than was necessary to render a combatant hors de combat.

[@tonivihermaki898]

The video you shared was first video that i have saw in lifetime that actually "allmost" captured the meaning of "sisu" allmost word is there cos hes foreigner so the deepest parts still missing but hes damn close to it

They don't even allow hollow point ammo. It's now supposed to be ball ammo.

[@Peter_Aranyos_Jr]

Another thing that helped Simo was that the Russians or most of them weren't wearing proper camouflage or white clothes. They were a darker green color. Which helped Simo see them in the snow.

[@GhostWatcher2024]

Simo was a real-life final boss.

[@langbo9999]

Even death waiting a long time to come for him.

[@KaiHellmann]

And Sabaton make song Lauri Allan Törni alias Larry Thorne… SISU look yourube Lauri Allan Törni

[@Sarge80]

Usually it takes quiete awhile for someone to get the MoH i guess it is the same for the Mannerheim Cross, infestigations into the evens leading up to the nomination for the medal, talking to witnesses etc. That can take a few years, Simo should have been awarded one, atleast in my opinion.

[@seanking6184]

Exploding bullets are a War Crime because they cause excessive pain and injury. There killing effectiveness is basically the same as regular bullets making them no better plus regular bullets are cheaper to produce… so it’s basically a type of bullet you use to purposefully inflict maximum suffering as opposed to winning a battle. And he took that shit to his jaw 😅

[@blafonovision4342]

A quality mechanical pocket watch had to be made by hand one at a time. They were *very* expensive.

[@langbo9999]

Yes Watch was very expensive at the time and it was high quality.

[@michalkuban9888]

I was really good with long weapons even the first time... Simo lvl sounds impossibe. Huge respect! Btw. train more with short weapons, they are harder to get used to (at least for me).

[@Mickey-kh9hb]

Exploding bullets are considered cruel and inhumane

[@Flokarl1]

Watches was very expensiive and a symbol of richness - Status in the community

[@snake4450]

Great reaction!

[@Finkele1]

Suomi is name of Finland in our own language....

[@sagamaraia]

If you want to say sisu the Finnish way, say si and su as shortly as possible. The American way to pronounce turns into siisuu, but the word is sisu. Short, with emphasis on the first syllable. Same thing with Simo, you guys say siimou. Drop the long ii and the u at the end. With häyhä, you're saying heihau, it's more like the ha of happy the e from few and another short ha from happy in the end. I'm not sure how easy this advice is, but it might be fun to try it out.

[@BrandonPhilipps-r9b]

Confirmation of a kill occurs when an officer witnesses the kill. Since snipers typically go out alone/in pairs and are enlisted men....for every confirmed kill, there is roughly ten to thirty actual kills. More actual kills if you were a marine sniper in Vietnam, as they made it so that a captain would have to witness the kill for confirmation.

[@KingKoopa0331]

More Fat Electrician, please

[@JuhaTuomarla]

Aarne Juutalainen was fighting for the Foreign Legion in Morocco. Thus the nickname Horror of Morocco.

[@pamtheman5748]

17:00 If he had a partner with him maybe, but since he was alone for many of his early missions, it was probably too risky.

[@ProtoLolZz]

1920s-30s were a time when it was rare to have a clock at all on a whole ass Finnish village, pocket watches were the lamborghinis of Finland at that time.

[@ProtoLolZz]

not to mention that Karelia (the place where Simo had his family farm) was an poverty ridden area with a lot of soviet influence (also known as real communism) so to put it smoothly it was Finnish owned land with the major populus believing in marxist communism.

[@douglascampbell9809]

They knew the first sniper he shot was killed because the problem he was causing stopped happening. Normally snipers work in two person teams so conformations are easy to get.

[@aSSGoblin1488]

most logistics during this era was still using horses. ww2 was the first oil resource war. though its crazy that axis powers declared war for diesel and gas when the oil refining process takes almost a year and usa was the biggest exporter. there are large oil fields in ukraine but little refining process. crazy crazy crazy.

[@tobaobokoomi1693]

We're about to have the Winter War 2.0 soon, too...

[@Finkele1]

There are so many books about winter was and continuation war and absolutely no Odin, Zeus, god, Ukko involved. There are 180 + Mannerheim cross ppl. All did remarkable things. It's your purple heart.

[@erikskole7669]

Everybody gansta till the snowbanks speak finnish....

[@ProtoLolZz]

Exploding bullets are a war crime in the same way as shooting an unarmed enemy, its viewed as cowardly or "too easy" just like napalm strikes are concidered war crimes after the US struck half of vietnam with it.

[@WurrzagsMorkyMischeif]

I remember a really cold line that Simo dropped on a repporter that was interviewing him who asked what he felt when he shot all those Russians. Simo simply said "The recoil"

[@rileytheflamingwookiecooki5646]

Epic.

[@forgottenhollywood]

This is a minor detail, but "Sisu" is pronounced "sis-oo" not "see-sue" - at least that's how everyone in my Finnish family says it.

[@havtor007]

To give an idea about pocket watches in London England during this time people earned a living by having a watch and telling people the time

[@blizzarts6511]

The explosive Vullets or any expanding Bullets are prohipeted due the effect on the body. Wgen someone is hit with a nornal bullet, as long it doesnt hit bones it goes straight through the body and causes damage and it hurts, but the wound can be mended with immediate medicalcare. An explosive Bullet, a soft shell or any expanding bullet, will enter rhe body and the expand or explode, it rips the body internaly. Those bullets were made to kill the horses of enemys or even elephants. Those bullets when not gitting a critical entry point, will make you suffer a long and excruciating painfull death. A normal bullet can kill too, a wound can still kill you afterwards or cripple you. When you see picture of people hit with the s hollowpoint or any other type bullet with rhe same effect, you wont get them out of your head. A doctor made an experiment with corpses to get them banned against humans

[@johncostello6006]

Vid actually starts at 4:25 Also, let's be completely fair with the bike battalion... Lol You just need to pay for the materials needed ONCE (minus repairs), you don't need to spend money on fuel, it's quicker and saves more energy compared to running, you can put "saddle bags" on the bikes so you can carry more equipment than normal, AND a quicker target is a target that's less likely to be hit. So.. Point is... I mean.. I understand why it was at least tried lol

[@tarjaikola]

Also you can bike on paths in the woods! No proper roads needed. There have been bicycle troops from the 1920s. Another interesting fact: the carriages for horses were two wheeled carriages. Again: you can drive them through woods, no need for actual roads. There were 7 200 horses that lost their lives during the Winter War.

[@PAT8888-is2pd]

Check his story about Carlos 'white feather " Hathcock. Amerca's greatest sniper.

[@tulsaviolet]

Sabaton did a Song on it.

[@jansdavisbelerts1196]

What i hate about these reactions is that everyone pauses video 10x in a minute, luckily it wasn't the case here

[@seattan]

About the artillery and Simo's ability to estimate distance from it. Simo would not have been able to judge where artillery could or could not hit. Modern artillery can hit targets 13+ miles away. I don't know what the range for WW2 artillery was but it would have been measured in miles not meters. You don't put artillery on the front lines. It's likely Simo never even saw the cannons that were firing on him unless he was going behind enemy lines. A forward observer is a soldier with specialized training to call back to the artillery and tell them where to fire. I served 4 years from 2006-2010 in the US army as an artilleryman.

[@CountSadistOIII]

🇫🇮🇫🇮❤ Häyhä

[@langbo9999]

The closest to Captain Finland

[@LVUnown]

React to the Big Juicy shelf tour he’s juicy from The Boys

[@craidiefin]

Having a watch was a big deal. Having a clock on the wall wasn't a big deal. Well, atleast pre WW2. WW2 popularized wristwatches on soldiers, practically all who wanted one sooner rather than later. Before WW2 a watch was a luxury item only after the war with allied soldiers popularizing them, watches were rare. And Finland wasn't part of the allies who had more manufacturing capacity than what they knew to do with. So acquiring a watch was not nearly as easy as any and all resources went to the war effort and luxury items just weren't on the table.

[@KeybladeKnight14]

Im here from Record of Ragnarok

[@missyfitch4004]

I dont think this is the guy Sabaton made the song about.

[@SteveKaye-yl7te]

Not sure if people actually grasp how incredibly difficult it is to hit your target at distance with just iron sights, it’s hard to put Into words, don’t believe me. Get a solid accurate bolt action rifle and about a 1000 rounds and let me know how that works out, yes it it possible of course to get hits, of course, but how we was so accurate in combat in freezing temperatures, with a entire Soviet army to kill you by all means necessary is beyond comprehension

[@TheObscureRambler]

It wasn't 1935, and that reindeer sled is... a bit much :D Otherwise, a good video, a good reaction.

[@arnoldwinkler395]

Fat Electrician's video Bat Bomb

[@Ray_Barajas]

Need to watch TFE on Carlos Hathcock aka White Feather. Thats the sniper that TFE says is better then Simu

[@waltsadventure]

11 percent😂😂😂

[@jackwesley7530]

you should look at women snipers russian

[@Hyri3L]

its 1939!!!!!!!

[@davegray3049]

You dont even have to show it you just have yo plan to put it in a video and its a tax right off that just means you bad at you job its still a werite off

[@Viroh]

oh wow the american math skills... he said 450,000 troops is 25% of the finnish people of a 4,000,000 people like bruh how u mix up ~10% and 25%?

[@Koutsinmatkassa]

Soviet army started with 450 000 soldiers and during the war it totalled about one million Soviet soldiers, so 25% is valid percentage.

[@MizterTonik]

Plus, you have to keep in mind that Nic is only human and does a ton of research for these videos. Sometimes his math is off, sometimes he misspeaks. The man is only human, after all, so chill the fuck out.

[@SQuiD_HiMSeLF]

Crazy how some people make mistakes eh? Wild.

[@MizterTonik]

@@SQuiD_HiMSeLF yeah, people act like perfection is the only acceptable standard. Perfection isn't even possible. At least Nic is doing his best to bring history to all of us in a way that can both educate and entertain. He's incredible for what he does.

[@SQuiD_HiMSeLF]

@@MizterTonik i say it on almost every channel i watch, i feel bad for these channels, reactors and original creators alike, the scrutiny is unreal.

[@home8290]

a natural born killer/shooter/surviver/defender.