Compared to these men, I can't even call myself a male.

Also the legendary sniper Simo Häyhä, dubbed "the White Death" by Soviets, served in the Kollaa front.

The battle of Raate road, which occurred during the month-long battle of Suomussalmi, resulted in one of the most remarkable losses in military history. The Soviet 163rd and 44th Infantry Divisions, comprising 25,000 troops, were almost completely destroyed by a Finnish ambush as they marched along the forest road. A small unit blocked the Soviet advance, while Finnish Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo and his 9th Division of 3,600 troops cut off the retreat route, split the enemy force into smaller fragments, and then destroyed the remnants as they retreated.[53] The Soviets suffered nearly 18,000 casualties, while the Finnish lost only 250 men. In addition, the Finnish troops captured 85 tanks, 437 trucks, 1,620 horses, 92 artillery pieces, 78 anti-tank guns, 20 tractors, 13 anti-aircraft guns, over 6,000 rifles, one airplane, and much-needed ammunition and medical supplies. Colonel Siilasvuo was later promoted to General in recognition of his leadership

Casualties of the war
During the four months of fighting, the Soviet Army suffered huge losses. One Red Army General, looking at a map of the territory just conquered, is said to have remarked: "We have won just about enough ground to bury our dead." The official Soviet figure, issued just after the war, listed 48,745 dead and 150,863 wounded.[76]
According to Nikita Khrushchev, 1.5 million men were sent to Finland and one million of them were killed, while 1,000 aircraft, 2,300 tanks and armored cars and an enormous amount of other war materials were lost.[80][81] Finland's losses were limited to 25,904 dead or missing[8] and 43,557 wounded[9]
In year 1990 professor Mikhail Semiryaga used the Red Army Casualty Notifications to publish a book where he gave exact figures: 53,522 dead, 16,208 missing, 163,772 wounded and 12,064 frostbites. Meanwhile professor N. I. Baryshikov estimated 53,500 dead, the figure close Semiryaga. In 1999 the Finnish historian Ohto Manninen sustained the latest Russian statistics where the Red Army casualties were 84,994 dead or prisoners, 186,584 wounded or disabled, 51,892 sick and 9,614 frostbites.[11] The Russian historian Grigoriy Krivosheyev calculated 126,875 dead and 264,908 wounded[12].

For his gallantry and sheer ballsiness, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award. Unlike the Medal of Honor, the Param Vir Chakra is only given for "rarest of the rare gallantry which is beyond the call of duty and which in normal life is considered impossible to do." That's right, you actually have to break the laws of reality just to be eligible.


It has only been awarded 21 times, and two thirds of the people who earned it died in the process. It was initially reported that Yadav had as well, but it turns out that they just mistook him for someone less badass. Or they just figured no real human being could survive a broken leg, shattered arm and 10-15 fresh bullet holes in one sitting.