Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Most Successful Female Sniper in History

Some named her Lady Death. To Adolf Hitler's men, she was "the Russian bitch from hell." Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history, who was born on this day, is now widely known for having killed 309 German soldiers during the Second World War.

Born close to Kiev, Ukraine, Pavlichenko was employed as a metal grinder at a munitions factory. During this time, she became a member of a paramilitary youth sports organisation that provided training in weapons handling and manners. When a neighbour's son bragged about his shooting skills, Pavlichenko “set out to show a girl could do as well. So I practised a lot.”

Afterwards, she pursued her history studies at Kiev University, where she participated in sprinting and pole vaulting competitions while also receiving training at a sniper's school.

Following Hitler's deployment of German troops and Romanian allies to the Soviet Union in June 1941, Pavlichenko enlisted in the Red Army with the specific goal of becoming a sniper.

They initially preferred her to pursue a nursing career, but changed their minds after she successfully demonstrated her shooting skills during an unexpected "audition." Positioned on a hill near Odessa, where the Russians were holding their ground, Pavlichenko was given a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight and instructed to take aim at two Romanian individuals in the distance who were working with the Germans.

“When I picked off the two, I was accepted,” she said.

Pavlichenko experienced a momentary paralysis of fear when she first arrived on the battlefield, rendering her unable to lift her weapon until a young Russian soldier next to her was fatally shot. “He was such a nice, happy boy,” she recalled. “And he was killed just next to me. After that, nothing could stop me.”

Pavlichenko spent approximately two and a half months carrying out operations near Odessa, during which time she achieved 187 kills. Following this, her unit was deployed to Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, where she engaged in combat for over eight months.

As one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army, Pavlichenko's tally of confirmed kills amounted to 309, with 36 of them being enemy snipers.

At one stage, the Germans, who had labelled her as "the Russian bitch from hell," were so desperate to stop her that they blared radio messages:

“Lyudmila Pavlichenko, come over to us. We will give you plenty of chocolate and make you a German officer.”

In June 1942, Pavlichenko sustained injuries and, due to her increasing prominence, was removed from active duty. She was dispatched to the United States to seek backing for a “second front” in Europe, aiming to split German forces and ease the strain on Soviet troops.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt welcomed Pavlichenko, she became the first Soviet citizen to be received at the White House. Subsequently, she was asked to embark on a journey to 43 cities to share her experiences as a female soldier with the American public.

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?"

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.”

After the war she completed her education as a historian at Kiev University and became a research assistant for the Soviet navy. She died in 1974, aged 58.

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