[Godebert]

"No, Koenig was a real individual. He was head of the German sniper school. He was a full colonel. He was sent out when Sixth Army Command asked OKW for a sniper to go after Vassily Zaitsev, a Russian enlisted man who was making a name for himself in the streets of Stalingrad. When Koenig arrived, both armies knew that a duel was on. It was one of those great mano a mano battles that one saw very little of in the Second World War. Koenig's misfortune was that he made more mistakes than Zeitsev. "

What is your source for this information?

[section9]

No, I didn't get this information from watching Enemy at the Gates. What piqued my interest was a documentary about the duel I watched on the History Channel.

But you're right, his name wasn't Koenig. He was an SS Colonel named Heinz Thorwald. He was still head of the Sniper School.

The funny thing is, I distinctly recall the documentary stating that the guy's name was Koenig! That's quite strange. It is possible that there was another German in the theater who was a sniper named Koenig and the producers of the documentary made a mistake.

Now that is strange! Anyhoo, here's a link for you....

http://216.198.255.120/russianpart/russnipers.html

Thanks for the correction. It's not often I make a complete boner like that. However, same story, different name. Wonder why the movie people changed the name to Zaitsev, as well.

Be Seeing You,

Chris