SHOW YOUR HAND 2

As a little kid, my father’s favourite quote was this:

Brutus:
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

“Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224”

As a child growing up, I found it difficult to grasp the full concept of the wisdom being thrust on me. I have however, had time to regurgitate on those words in relation to my life and it occurred to me that I have had great ideas that I never followed through, I have seen opportunities and let them pass me by.

Sometimes, the word “opportunity” does not come with trays of gold, laces of treasures, it could as well come in the likeness of a disaster. My thoughts on this blog was to write on the Commissar in the Battle of Stalingrad, but having not found much historical confirmation of the character as played in the movie, “Enemy at the Gates” I have decided to write on the actual protagonist of the tale Vasily Zaytsev. My intention would be to show that the man who was later awarded the Honour of Hero of the Soviet Union was a mere farm boy, who used what he learnt from the farm in when a desperate situation came up in time and space and he took his chances. For, the avoidance of doubt, let me reiterate that Vasily grew up as a farm boy and at the age of 12 had killed a wolf using a double barrel and did it  with one shot. The gun used was over weight for his age, but he had learnt well from his grandfather. He became a member of the Soviet Navy and when the Germans put Stalingrad into ruins, he volunteered to go into the front line. I would dare say that this was a major decision for the young man considering that the front line was suicide and retreat was not allowed. However, this young man made history while he was cornered in a building with a comrade. They were still in training and they faced a sniper who took out his friend, and he took the sniper out.  Before 10^th of November 1942 he killed 32 Axis soldiers and between 10^th of November to 17^th of December of 1942 he got more lethal and killed 225 soldiers and officers, took out 11 officers. Between October 1942 to January 1943 he made an estimated kill of 400 soldiers and officers with a weapon whose range was 900 metres, yet some of his kills were from 1000 metres.

Vasily showed his hand when opportunity offered itself, in fact he invented his own tactic of “hide and sting” known as the “sixes” and still in use today. In fact, Colonel Donald Paquette of the US Sniper laid a wreath on his 2006 commemoration and the US Army News quoted him thus: "Vasily Zaytsev is a legend and every American sniper must memorize his tactics and methods. He is a legend amongst snipers. May he rest in peace." For daring to show his hand, and putting himself in harms way, he got the attention of a Professor in the German School (remember it was his grandfather who trained him), this Konig who they matched each other toe to toe for days. He killed the man and got his tag. He showed his characteristics of picking opportunities when he returned to civilian life, he studied in a textile university and became director of a textile company. His sniper rifle till today is in a museum and he was buried a hero at the age of 76. He got the following awards:

1.      Medal "For Courage"

2.      Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"

3.      Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"

4.      Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"

5.      Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

6.      Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

7.      Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

8.      Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy"

9.      Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

10.  Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

11.  Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

12.  Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

13.  Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd

(From Wikipedia on Vasily Zaytsev)

Time and space is always yours to utilize, whether the situation looks negative or positive is subjective. It is left to you to turn the pendulum to your use or wait and sink. Vasily had the option of reminding himself that he was a trainee and find an escape route as his friend was dead and the city was in ruins, but he offered to change time and space, he remembered the shooting lessons from his grandfather in a farm and he squared up with dare situations, faced deadly snipers who studied in sniper schools, maybe the had better sniper rifles. He changed the course of the battle by targeting officers, causing fear in the enemy within a time space frame. TIME AND CHANCE, was at work here, when he was in a bad place, or a place of bad luck, he used the situation to turn himself into a hero and so can you.

My father would also say, “opportunity comes but once”. I add, opportunity comes everytime, so for everything you do, devote the totality of your endeavours and skill