# In 1942, the most dangerous enemy of the Finnish army was three millimetres long.

- Series: [Saunantakaa](https://miu.fm/saunantakaa.md)
- Published: 2026-10-04
- Page: https://miu.fm/saunantakaa/in-1942-the-most-dangerous-enemy-of-the-finnish-army-was

## Story

In 1942, the most dangerous enemy of the Finnish army was three millimetres long.

The body louse. In some units, up to half of the men had lice. In March 1942 typhus broke out in a camp of starving Soviet prisoners of war, and an order went out in Marshal Mannerheim's name: every man must get a sauna at least once a week.

The answer was a portable disinfection sauna, made partly of wood and partly of cardboard, carried to the front by truck or by sleigh. The clothes went in at about 80 degrees for half an hour. The lice did not come out. In June 1942 alone, 129,409 men were deloused.

One officer reported men who had both lice and a lice certificate. Five saunas burned down. The reason, says the report: over-eager heating. In 1943 even the German army ordered 70 Finnish louse saunas.

Typhus never reached the front. 150 people died of it. Most of them were people Finland held: prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied East Karelia.

Did anyone in your family ever talk about the louse saunas?

Sources: Laurent, Suuri täisota - Pilkkukuumeen torjunta Suomessa jatkosodan aikana 1941-1944 (2006); Finnish Army HQ orders of 17 March and 22 April 1942, cited there.
Photos: Sundström, J. Taube and Lojander / SA-kuva, CC BY 4.0. Sounds: Freesound, CC0.

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