Born on a Karelia farm in 1905, Häyhä honed hunting skills that, when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, translated into extraordinary sniping; camouflaged in white, compacting snow to muffle recoil, and keeping snow in his mouth to prevent visible breath, he stalked Red Army troops around the Kollaa front, averaging a dozen kills a day; a Soviet explosive bullet shattered his jaw in March 1940, ending his frontline service, but he survived and lived quietly until 2002, holding the highest record