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The Top 10 Deadliest Snipers in History · The Infographics Show Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Beyond Infographics. Today, we're diving deep into
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: a really compelling, maybe intense subject, military snipers.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely intense. We're looking at, you know, ten individuals
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  Speaker 2: known for well their lethality and their impact.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Exactly. We're going to unpack their stories. You mentioned wanting
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: to get knowledge fast, but you know, properly. That's our mission.
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  Speaker 1: Surprising facts, memorable details without getting bogged down.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and when you look at these snipers, the confirmed
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: kill counts are well, they're staggering, but it's so important
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  Speaker 2: to remember there's a human story there, incredible skills under
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: just immense pressure.
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  Speaker 1: Right, and their impact on the actual conflicts. So the
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  Speaker 1: main thing for this list is confirmed kills, which honestly
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  Speaker 1: is hard to verify in the middle of a war,
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  Speaker 1: as we'll probably get.
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  Speaker 2: Into, oh, totally super difficult sometimes. So we'll touch on
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the numbers, yeah, but we really want to go beyond that,
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  Speaker 2: look at what made them so effective, what their service
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  Speaker 2: tells us about warfare itself.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. We're covering conflicts from World War One through
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  Speaker 1: Vietnam and beyond. So let's just dive right in. First up,
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  Speaker 1: Chuck mulwhinney.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, Chuck Mlwhinney, a US Marine served in Vietnam. He
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  Speaker 2: holds the Marine Corps record with one hundred and three confirmed.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Kills, one hundred three confirmed and that was in what
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  Speaker 1: sixteen months?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, just sixteen months. But what's even more striking, perhaps
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  Speaker 2: is the number of probable kills attributed to him, two
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  Speaker 2: hundred and sixteen.
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  Speaker 1: Two hundred and sixteen probables. Wow. That suggests his actual
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: impact was, I mean, potentially much greater than the official
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  Speaker 1: record shows exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And there's one specific account it's reported he took down
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  Speaker 2: an entire enemy platoon, maybe sixteen soldiers in one go.
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  Speaker 1: Sixteen guys in one engagement. That takes incredible skill and
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  Speaker 1: probably you know, the element of surprise.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: No doubt. And he had this quote something like, I
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: just did what I was trained to do. It didn't
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  Speaker 2: do anything special, kind of understated.
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  Speaker 1: Right, very understated, right, just doing the job. It's interesting
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  Speaker 1: too that he lived a really quiet life after the war.
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  Speaker 1: His story didn't really come out for years.
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  Speaker 2: Did it, No, not until like documents surfaced in a
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  Speaker 2: book was written. It shows a certain humility, I think,
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  Speaker 2: which seems common among some of these individuals.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, moving down the list. Number nine Atlbert Waldron, another
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  Speaker 1: US Army sniper, also Vietnam. Right.
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  Speaker 2: Waldron's count is one hundred and nine confirmed kills and
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  Speaker 2: he achieved that in under eight months, less.
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  Speaker 1: Than eight months. That's incredibly efficient, if you want to
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: put it that way, a very concentrated period.
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  Speaker 2: Very And there's this almost unbelievable story about him hitting
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  Speaker 2: an enemy soldier from a moving boat at over nine
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  Speaker 2: hundred yards.
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  Speaker 1: Wait, from a moving boat at nine hundred yards, that's insane.
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  Speaker 1: I think eight football fields right roughly.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, hitting anything at that range is tough. Hitting a
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  Speaker 2: person from a moving platform, that's just extraordinary skill, innate
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  Speaker 2: talent plus intense training.
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  Speaker 1: You'd imagine unbelievable. And he got multiple high level decorations,
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: didn't he like Distinguished Service Crosses?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, two dcs. It really highlights the impact the military
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  Speaker 2: felt he had. And interestingly, he later became a marksmanship instructor.
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  Speaker 1: Passing on that knowledge. That makes sense. You wonder about
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  Speaker 1: the mental side though, performing like that than teaching others.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that takes a certain kind of fortitude, definitely.
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  Speaker 1: Okay. Number eight is Henry Norwest, a Canadian sniper World
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  Speaker 1: War One one hundred and fifteen confirmed kills Northwest.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, his story's got a bit of a twist at
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  Speaker 2: the start. Apparently he was discharged initially but then re
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: enlisted under a different name. Shows real determination.
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  Speaker 1: To serve, you know, it really does. And he was
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  Speaker 1: known for his stealth right, yeah, camouflage skill.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, which was crucial in World War One trench warfare.
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  Speaker 2: Snipers like him often did dangerous reconnaissance in no man's land,
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  Speaker 2: gathering intel, leaving unseen in that environment while also being lethal.
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  Speaker 2: That's a special skill set.
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  Speaker 1: And earning the military metal and bar. At Fimi Ridge
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  Speaker 1: that was a famously tough battle speaks volumes about.
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  Speaker 2: His bravery, absolutely and tragically he was killed just a
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  Speaker 2: few months before the war ended. A real reminder of
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  Speaker 2: the cost. His rifle's actually in a museum.
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  Speaker 1: Now, wow, a tangible piece of history.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, a powerful symbol.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Number seven, This is the name many people
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  Speaker 1: probably know, Chris Kyle.
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  Speaker 2: Ah. Yes, Chris Kyle, US Navy seal four tours in Iraq.
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  Speaker 2: The count listed is one hundred and sixty confirmed kills.
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  Speaker 1: One inch and sixty and he saw heavy action in
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  Speaker 1: places like Ramadi and Felujah.
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  Speaker 2: Intense urban combat. Insurgents apparently nicknamed him the Devil of Ramadi.
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  Speaker 2: They even put a bounty on his head, reportedly up
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  Speaker 2: to eighty thousand.
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  Speaker 1: Dollars Devil of Ramadi. That tells you how effective they
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  Speaker 1: considered him, how feared he was.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely, it's a grim sort of respect in a way,
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  Speaker 2: a clear sign of his impact on their operations.
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  Speaker 1: And his longest shot twenty one hundred yards that's just staggered.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, nearly one point two miles. Think about calculating for
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  Speaker 2: wind drop everything at that distance. It's almost mind boggling precision.
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  Speaker 1: Truly remarkable. His story, of course, also touches on the
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: challenges veterans face after multiple deployments.
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  Speaker 2: Right His post military work helping other vets was significant,
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  Speaker 2: though it ultimately had that tragic end. Still shows his
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  Speaker 2: commitment though definitely.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, Moving into the top six. Number six Vasily Zeitsev.
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  Speaker 2: The Zeitsev a Soviet legend from World War II, especially
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  Speaker 2: known for the Battle of Stalingrad two hundred and forty
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  Speaker 2: two confirmed.
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  Speaker 1: Kills Stalingrad such brutal close quarters fighting, he must have
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  Speaker 1: been exceptional in that environment.
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  Speaker 2: He was. He had early marksmanship training apparently, but he
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  Speaker 2: was also known for his tactics, the famous six's method.
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  Speaker 2: Oh explain that basically working in small teams, three pairs
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  Speaker 2: of sniper spotters covering a wide area, but constantly shifting positions,
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  Speaker 2: it made them incredibly hard to locate and created this
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  Speaker 2: feeling they were everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: That constant movement, that unpredictability must have been psychologically devastating
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  Speaker 1: for the Germans.
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  Speaker 2: You'd think so. And here's that famous quote attributed to
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  Speaker 2: him about a top German sniper being sent in and
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  Speaker 2: Zeitsev seeing it as his mission to hut him down.
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  Speaker 2: It became personal right.
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  Speaker 1: Those sniper duels within the larger battle and tests very.
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  Speaker 2: And he was actually blinded by a mortar at one point,
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  Speaker 2: wasn't he? But regained his sight and went back to
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  Speaker 2: the front. Just incredible determination.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and became a hero in the Soviet Union after
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  Speaker 1: the war, worked as an engineer, a true legend in Russia.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: Now at number five, this is really significant. Ludimola Pavlichenko
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  Speaker 1: the most successful female sniper in history.
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  Speaker 2: Pavlichenko, yes, Red Army World War Two, an incredible three
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  Speaker 2: hundred and nine confirmed kills.
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  Speaker 1: Three oh nine that's just astounding. And she came from
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  Speaker 1: working in a factory, right, yeah, quite.
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  Speaker 2: The transition became this incredibly lethal sniper credited with taking
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  Speaker 2: out thirty six enemy snipers as well. That's snipron sniper combat.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. The enemy apparently called her Lady Death.
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  Speaker 2: Lady Death, Yeah, a chilling nickname that speaks volumes about
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  Speaker 2: her effectiveness. And she had this quote comparing the feeling
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  Speaker 2: to a hunter killed a dangerous animal.
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  Speaker 1: Pretty stark, very stark. Gives you a raw insight into
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  Speaker 1: the mindset.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, if you're finding these deep dives interesting, please do
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• 7:11
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• 7:12
  Speaker 2: It's a unique perspective for sure. And her significance went
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  Speaker 2: beyond the battlefield too. She became a historian toward the US,
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  Speaker 2: advocating for the war effort, even met Eleanor Roosevelt, a
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  Speaker 2: major figure.
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  Speaker 1: Definitely, Okay. Number four Carlos Halfcock, US Marine Corps, Vietnam.
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  Speaker 2: Halfcock, another absolute legend in the sniper world. His confirmed
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  Speaker 2: count is ninety three, but like Muliney, his actual number
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  Speaker 2: is thought to be way higher, maybe three hundred to
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  Speaker 2: four hundred verification was just so difficult.
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  Speaker 1: Ninety three confirmed, but potentially hundreds more. And the North
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  Speaker 1: Vietnamese put a huge bounty on him, right, thirty thousand dollars.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, massive bounty back then. And his nickname the white
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  Speaker 2: Feather Sniper because he wore a white feather in his hat,
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  Speaker 2: almost taunting them.
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  Speaker 1: The white feather became a symbol of his lethality. And
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  Speaker 1: the stories about him are just incredible, like crawling for
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  Speaker 1: days to take out of general right.
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  Speaker 2: The account of him crawling like fifteen hundred yards over
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  Speaker 2: four days and three nights, the patients, the endurance, it's
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  Speaker 2: almost superhuman.
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  Speaker 1: And the shot through the enemy sniper's scope is that real.
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  Speaker 2: It's one of those legendary stories. Whether it's one hundred
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  Speaker 2: percent accurate or gain something in the retelling, who knows,
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  Speaker 2: but it speaks to his reputation. It's become part of
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  Speaker 2: the Hathcock mythos.
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  Speaker 1: It definitely adds to the legend. And his later work
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  Speaker 1: was crucial too, wasn't it. Setting up the Marine Corps
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  Speaker 1: Scout Sniper School hugely important.
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  Speaker 2: He basically codified a lot of the knowledge and techniques,
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  Speaker 2: ensuring that expertise was passed down his legacy extends far
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  Speaker 2: beyond his own kills.
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  Speaker 1: Okay Top three. Number three Francis Pagamagabbo.
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  Speaker 2: Pagama Gala, a Canadian sniper from World War One. An
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  Speaker 2: extraordinary three hundred and seventy eight confirmed kills.
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  Speaker 1: Three hundred and seventy eight and World War One conditions
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  Speaker 1: with the technology they had then that's just phenomenal, it.
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  Speaker 2: Really is, and accounts highlight his incredible bravery. There's one
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  Speaker 2: story where he apparently went out under heavy fire single
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  Speaker 2: handedly to retrieve ammunition for his unit.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. Just pure courage, seems like it.
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  Speaker 2: And his life after the war is significant too. He
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  Speaker 2: became a sergeant major and later was an activist for
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  Speaker 2: indigenous rights in Canada. A really multifaceted person.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely more than just a soldier. A leader in
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  Speaker 1: his community too.
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  Speaker 2: The crucial point, Yeah, these weren't just killing machines. They
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  Speaker 2: were complex individuals.
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  Speaker 1: Okay Number two Fyodoral klub Cough, Soviet sniper World War
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  Speaker 1: two Eastern Front, four hundred and twenty nine kills.
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  Speaker 2: Oh klop Cough. His motivation was reportedly very personal. His
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: brother was killed by the Germans and that drove him
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  Speaker 2: to become a sniper.
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  Speaker 1: That adds a whole different layer. And he was wounded
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  Speaker 1: how many times?
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  Speaker 2: Twelve times, twelve serious wounds throughout the war, but he
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  Speaker 2: kept going back just unbelievable resilience.
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  Speaker 1: Twelve times. That's hard to even imagine the level of
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  Speaker 1: fighting he must have seen. And there was some issue
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  Speaker 1: with his recognition initially.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a note that despite his record, he wasn't
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: initially given the Hero of the Soviet Union title, possibly
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: due to his ethnicity, his Yakut heritage. He was honored later,
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  Speaker 2: but it highlights, you know, potential biases in how history
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  Speaker 2: gets recorded.
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  Speaker 1: Interesting point, even hero stories can have those complex layers, definitely,
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  Speaker 1: And that brings us to number one. The deadliest sniper
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  Speaker 1: in recorded history, sim Ohaija.
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  Speaker 2: Sim Ohaiha, the White Death finished soldier fought in the
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  Speaker 2: Winter War against the Soviet Union nineteen thirty nine, nineteen forty.
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  Speaker 1: And his number five hundred and five confirmed kills.
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  Speaker 2: Five hundred and five kills in less than one hundred days.
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  Speaker 1: Less than one hundred days. That's over five kills a
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  Speaker 1: day on average. And what kind of conditions.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Stream cold temperature is down to like MiG itive forty
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: degrees fahrenheit or celsius. It's brutally cold either way. And famously,
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  Speaker 2: he did most of this using iron sights, not a
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  Speaker 2: telescopic scope.
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  Speaker 1: No scope in those conditions, How is that even possible?
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  Speaker 1: The accuracy required, it's truly astounding. The Soviets gave him
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: the nickname White Death. You can just imagine the fear
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: he inspired. If you were finding this deep dive into
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: military history fascinating, please do consider leaving beyond infographics a
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  Speaker 1: five star rating. It helps others discover content just like
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: this White Death. That name just sticks with you. And
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: his tactics were incredible too, right using the snow itself.
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  Speaker 2: Totally adapted to his environment, packing snow around himself for camouflage,
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  Speaker 2: even putting snow in his mouth so his breath wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: give him away in the cold air.
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  Speaker 1: Just meticulous, incredible field craft. And he survived being shot
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  Speaker 1: in the face r Yeah, took a.
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  Speaker 2: Sphere facial wound, but survived with the long life afterwards,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: became a moose hunter and dog breeder, a quiet life
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  Speaker 2: after being well the deadliest sniper ever.
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  Speaker 1: It's quite a contrast, so looking beyond these ten individuals,
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  Speaker 1: the role of The sniper itself is pretty significant in warfare,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it. Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, It's not just about the kill count. Snipers provide reconnaissance.
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  Speaker 2: They can eliminate key enemy personnel officers, other snipers, machine gunners,
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  Speaker 2: which can halt in advance or demoralize the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that psychological impact must be huge just knowing there
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: might be a sniper out there. Change house soldiers.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Operate definitely, and the training is incredibly rigorous. You mentioned
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: the Marine Corps Scout sniper program. It's known for being
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: exceptionally demanding mentally and physically. It takes a unique combination
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  Speaker 2: of skills.
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  Speaker 1: Patients, observation, marksmanship, feel craft, and nerves of steel presumably all.
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  Speaker 2: Of that, and often working closely with a spotter who
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: helps with calculations, observation and security. It's usually a team effort.
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  Speaker 1: Right, And just to bring it up to the present day,
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  Speaker 1: you mentioned the current longest shot record.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, reportedly held by a Ukrainian sniper at an incredible
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: three eight hundred meters. Shows how technology and probably training
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: continue to push the boundaries of what's possible.
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  Speaker 1: Three eight hundred meters like over two miles just mind blowing.
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  Speaker 2: It really is it shows that while these historical figures
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: are fascinating the role of the sniper is still very
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: much evolving and relevant today.
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  Speaker 1: So as we wrap up this deep dive on beyond infographics,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: looking at these top ten deadliest snipers, it's clear they
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: weren't just statistics. Their skill, their dedication, their resilience. They
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  Speaker 1: profoundly shaped the conflicts they were in.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, their stories give us insight into the realities of war,
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  Speaker 2: the importance precisions, strategy, and just human endurance.
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  Speaker 1: Really, we hope this gave everyone a valuable engaging look
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  Speaker 1: at this side of military history.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I hope it was insightful.
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  Speaker 1: And maybe something to think about further. Consider that psychological
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: pressure we mentioned. How does the unseen threat of a
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  Speaker 1: sniper fundamentally change the battlefield for everyone involved? It goes
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: way beyond just the numbers, doesn't it.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: It really does a fascinating and sobering aspect to consider.