Chapter 10

Shelter

The construction of temporary shelters assumed great importance during the fighting in the far north. A lean-to, set against the wind, topped with branches and twigs, served as shelter for raiding detachments in the arctic winter. To obtain heat two logs were split lengthwise, placed on top of one another at the entrance to the shelter, and set afire. This reflecting fire produced sufficient heat even in very low temperatures. In many instances igloos were built and used as emergency shelters. Portable Finnish plywood structures and Swedish canvas tents were provided as semipermanent shelters to protect personnel from the rigors of the arctic winter. Motor vehicles and the recoil fluids in guns were kept from freezing by the use of various kinds of stoves of improvised construction.

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