"Sniper from God": 368 liquidated fascists on the account of an illiterate tungus

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

During the Great Patriotic War, a Soviet sniper of Hamnigan origin, Semyon Nomokonov, single-handedly destroyed 360 Nazis, including a major general. In March 1943, the Soviet Information Bureau reported that it had liquidated two hundred and sixty-three Germans. It turns out that through the efforts of Semyon Danilovich alone, the number of Hitler's army was almost daily reduced by one soldier. Another 8 Kvantunites were exterminated by him in the Soviet-Japanese war. The working weapon of Semyon Nomokonov from the beginning of the war was the Mosin three-line rifle, familiar from childhood. And only by the end of 1942, after dozens of successful sorties, he switched to optics.

A hunter from the Shilka Khamnigans and attempts to learn to read and write

Nomokonov comes from the Trans-Baikal village of Delyun, where hunting has been the main male trade from time immemorial. As a child, he regularly went to a large animal, and for accuracy and ingenuity in his native places he received the nickname "vulture's eye". By the beginning of World War II, Nomokonov was already over 40. He was married for the second time, raised children from both marriages, worked as a collective farm carpenter and traditionally engaged in hunting. Semyon picked up his first textbooks only at the age of 32, trying to learn Russian literacy together with his youngest son. However, he never managed to learn to read and write fluently.

Unsuccessful start on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and a fatal accidental shot

The military path of the illiterate Nomokonov did not work out from the very start. Problems arose for the descendant of Evenks out of the blue: a Siberian who misunderstood the orders was sent to the kitchen as an assistant cook, but from there he was driven out because of “non-technological” slicing of bread. Things did not go well in the sorting of military uniforms, where the Siberian confused sizes, collecting uniforms inappropriately. The next place of service for Nomokonov was a sanitary detachment, where he and a group of colleagues evacuated the wounded from the battlefield.

Once, after a heavy German bombing raid in the fall of 1941, a future sniper was loading an injured soldier onto a stretcher. Out of the corner of his eye, Semyon noticed a German aiming at him. Assessing the situation in a matter of seconds, he threw up a rifle lying near the wounded and with one accurate shot struck the attacker on the spot. Witnesses of the incident were shocked by what they saw, not expecting such quickness, accuracy and concentration from an illiterate orderly. Rumors about Nomokonov spread to all nearby fronts, reaching the command. And very soon the promising fighter was enrolled in a sniper platoon.

Pairing with a top-notch sniper and revenge for a comrade in arms

The Nomokons did not master a new kind of hunting for themselves. Among his colleagues, he met his fellow countryman - the authoritative sniper Sanzhiev, who at that time had about 200 killed Nazis. The first combat exit of Semyon Nomokonov was just paired with Sanzhiev. Once in position, the snipers awaited prey. Finding the target, Sanzhiev opened fire and missed. The retaliatory German bullet turned out to be fatal for the Buryat ace. Struck by the life of a comrade-in-arms so simply cut short, Nomokonov vowed to take revenge on the Nazis and, in particular, on the murderer of Sanzhiev. Nomokonov tracked the German for several days, lying in a damp trench, moving only at night and skillfully disguising himself. The hunt for the enemy sniper ended with his masterful elimination, and Semyon Nomokonov put the first mark on his tobacco pipe.

Colleagues snipers were surprised by the strangeness of Semyon Danilovich. He preferred Mosin's "three-line" to a rifle with a telescopic sight (he was persuaded to switch to optics in 1942). With him, he traditionally kept all kinds of laces, threads, shards of mirrors. He wore horsehair covers on his feet, making his movement noiseless. All these adaptations from childhood allowed Semyon to deceive animals, but now he used his knowledge in hunting people. For such habits, colleagues nicknamed Nomokonov "the taiga shaman." He disguised himself in such a way that even his own people, not to mention the Germans, did not find him for a long time. The sniper arranged for himself many hours of lying in wheat fields, reincarnated into boulders and stumps, and once disguised himself as a chimney on the roof of a burnt-out building.

The name of Nomokonov was known to the enemy. One of the captured fascists said that there were rumors among the Germans that a cunning and cruel Tungus like Genghis Khan had appeared in the ranks of Russian snipers. The Germans arranged a real hunt for him, sending the best shooters and scouts on his elusive tracks. Angered the Nazis Nomokonov in October 1941, defeating the major general of Hitler's headquarters, who arrived to inspect the troops of the first line. Even enemy artillery hunted the Siberian. As soon as he fired at the next target, in addition to dense small-scale fire, lead rain from mortars and artillery of all calibers fell on the area of his position. Nomokonov was wounded at least nine times, and he was also concussed several times. However, the Nazis did not manage to get a jewelery-working Soviet sniper.

A dozen wounds and post-war benefits

Having destroyed 360 confirmed Germans in the Great Patriotic War, Nomokonov continued his combat path in the Far East. Fighting with the Japanese, he also skillfully "removed" 8 members of the Kwantung Army. His post-war life was also developing successfully. The eldest son, who defended the Motherland like his father, returned home safe and sound. As part of a sniper group, Nomokonov Jr., who inherited accuracy and strategic mindset, personally eliminated 56 Nazis.

Six more children were born in the family of Semyon Danilovich. Subsequently, all nine offspring of the legendary sniper served for the good of the country in the navy, in tank units, in intelligence and military construction. Nomokonov continued to work on the collective farm, despite his newfound celebrity. Both journalists and ordinary people came to him from afar, wishing to thank the sniper for his excellent service.

Another the famous reindeer herder also became a renowned sniper.