Lyudmila Pavlichenko: The Russian female sniper of World War 2 who killed more than 300 enemies. World War 2 (1939–1945) was the most devastating war in history, affecting the lives of millions of people around the world. During this war, the Soviet Union fought bravely against the German invaders, and women also played an extremely important role. Nearly two million women served in the Soviet military, and about 2,000 of them were trained as snipers. Of these, only around 500 survived the war.