Hello Everyone,
We have all heard of Major Konings, the Sniper from Berlin who was supposed to have been sent to Stalingrad to kill Vassili Zaitsev. Now here comes my question. Did Konings really exist or was it another Soviet Propaganda hit? I have looked and it seems to be split, 50% say yes, 50% say no. I so far have not turned up any records or not even so much as a first name. So did he really exist?
Major Konings, The Sniper from Berlin
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Christoph K
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Major Konings, The Sniper from Berlin
Ye who dig's the pit!
Shall fall into it!
Shall fall into it!
sniper
No. It Makes a good story but;
First there was never any SS in Stalingrad.
Second the Germany army was not trained and equiped to be sharp shooters as modern warfare goes sport only.
The Russians used sharpshooters all along the front from Demjansk to Stalingrad. So to bring in One specialist to get rid of another specialist who would only be replaced by another is folly. Sharpshooting is primative harassing warfare. It is possible for the mosquito to annoy the elephant.
As an aside troops that had been used to the protective canopy of the trees in Demjansk and were later transfered to the open steppe in the Ukraine suffer many sniper casualties.
First there was never any SS in Stalingrad.
Second the Germany army was not trained and equiped to be sharp shooters as modern warfare goes sport only.
The Russians used sharpshooters all along the front from Demjansk to Stalingrad. So to bring in One specialist to get rid of another specialist who would only be replaced by another is folly. Sharpshooting is primative harassing warfare. It is possible for the mosquito to annoy the elephant.
As an aside troops that had been used to the protective canopy of the trees in Demjansk and were later transfered to the open steppe in the Ukraine suffer many sniper casualties.
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Christoph K
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I doubt he ever existed.
The two books that did the most to promote the legend in the English-speaking world were probably Clark's Barbarossa and Craig's EATG. The former relied heavily on Chuikov's memoires for that particular passage, and Craig allegedly heard his account from Tania Chernova, but also cites Chuikov, Yuriev and Zaitsev himself.
So, the two main accounts are both from Soviet sources, and I suspect that Yuriev and Chernova in turn derive either from Zaitsev or Chuikov. The latter's accounts of the battle are full of the sorts of heroics that occur regularly in Soviet accounts, and I don't doubt that Chuikov embellished his version of events. That in itself is a shame, because the endurance of Soviet troops in the city is an incredible tale even if told without embellishment.
In short, without any form of corroboration from the German side, I find the whole episode very suspect.
Prit
The two books that did the most to promote the legend in the English-speaking world were probably Clark's Barbarossa and Craig's EATG. The former relied heavily on Chuikov's memoires for that particular passage, and Craig allegedly heard his account from Tania Chernova, but also cites Chuikov, Yuriev and Zaitsev himself.
So, the two main accounts are both from Soviet sources, and I suspect that Yuriev and Chernova in turn derive either from Zaitsev or Chuikov. The latter's accounts of the battle are full of the sorts of heroics that occur regularly in Soviet accounts, and I don't doubt that Chuikov embellished his version of events. That in itself is a shame, because the endurance of Soviet troops in the city is an incredible tale even if told without embellishment.
In short, without any form of corroboration from the German side, I find the whole episode very suspect.
Prit
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Christoph K
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Commissar D, the Evil
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Christoph K
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Major Konings, The Sniper from Berlin
Vasili Chuikov's imaginary inventions have been a source of comic interest to German military historians, but not, it seems, to French directors, or British and American financiers of dreadful films.
It calls into question, once again, the validity of Chuikov's memoirs. A storyteller of the fanciful and imagined Soviet 'heroic', or merely a deceiver of the naive. There is little credibility left in this Soviet General's recollections.
It is interesting that Alan Clark wrote a book called Barbarossa, where he included a passage from Chuikov regarding snipers on the eastern Front. He wrote it in 1965. But in a later edition, 30 years later, he included a qualifier:
'I still feel a certain remorse at my portrayal of the German character.'
Meaning he made a mistake in writing his book in the first place. The book is flawed and tainted, as he admitted. Excusing his error to youthful ignorance of Germany and its people, he attempted to make amends. But his career as a proper historian was ended. He then went on to become a minister in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government and a novelist.
The film of the book 'Enemy At The Gates' is equally as mistaken as the writer who penned it.
It calls into question, once again, the validity of Chuikov's memoirs. A storyteller of the fanciful and imagined Soviet 'heroic', or merely a deceiver of the naive. There is little credibility left in this Soviet General's recollections.
It is interesting that Alan Clark wrote a book called Barbarossa, where he included a passage from Chuikov regarding snipers on the eastern Front. He wrote it in 1965. But in a later edition, 30 years later, he included a qualifier:
'I still feel a certain remorse at my portrayal of the German character.'
Meaning he made a mistake in writing his book in the first place. The book is flawed and tainted, as he admitted. Excusing his error to youthful ignorance of Germany and its people, he attempted to make amends. But his career as a proper historian was ended. He then went on to become a minister in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government and a novelist.
The film of the book 'Enemy At The Gates' is equally as mistaken as the writer who penned it.
no reason an NCO couldn't become an officer and be good enough to continue SnipingPrit wrote:Brig
The Wehrmacht (and the SS) did indeed have snipers, but they were as far as I recall NCOs, not majors.
If Chuikov, the main proponent of this tale, has expressed doubts about its veracity, then I think it is exceedingly questionable.
Prit
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Simon Orchard
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Every reason why. What is the function of an officer?no reason an NCO couldn't become an officer and be good enough to continue Sniping
I think the Germans even held a pretty low view of snipers and sniping in general
BTW, Germany's most successful sniper was the 21 (in 1945) year old Gefreiter Matthäus Hetzenauer of the 3 Geb.Div. with a 'score' of 345 and the only sniper AFAIK who received the knights cross, in April 1945. 2 other high scoring snipers (also from the same division) i can think of were also only Gefreiter\obergefreiter and i think that these are the 'average' ranks that go with the job.
Look up the book 'Im auge des jägers' for a great autobiography of a German sniper. But you'll need to understand German.
The character in EATG is fiction, fiction, fiction.
Major Konings, The Sniper from Berlin
Simon Orchard,
You are correct. The Germans hated snipers. It is a cowards way. No military honour can be derived from it.
You are correct. The Germans hated snipers. It is a cowards way. No military honour can be derived from it.