Took 30 Doses of Meth, Skied 250 Miles, Survived a Landmine, and Escaped the Soviets: The Incredible Story of Aimo Koivunen

During World War II, soldiers often faced brutal conditions, and survival sometimes depended on desperate measures. One Finnish soldier, Aimo Koivunen, found himself in such a situation in 1944 when an overdose of amphetamines sent him on a harrowing escape through the Arctic wilderness.

Finland’s role in the war was complex. The country fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940, resisting Stalin’s attempt to conquer Finnish territory. Though outnumbered, the Finnish forces held out for over three months before a peace treaty was signed.

A year later, Finland re-entered the war, this time as a co-belligerent of Nazi Germany against the Soviets. The fighting lasted until 1944, when the Finns were once again forced into retreat, suffering heavy casualties. The harsh climate, well-organized defenses, and skilled soldiers, however, inflicted significant losses on the Soviet army.

Koivunen was part of a Finnish ski patrol deep behind Soviet lines in Lapland when his unit was ambushed by Soviet troops. The group fled on skis, pushing through thick snow to escape. As the lead skier, Koivunen had the difficult task of breaking the trail for his unit, a physically exhausting job.

After hours of pushing forward, exhaustion took hold, and he decided to take a stimulant to stay alert. Like many armies in World War II, Finland provided soldiers with amphetamines to help them fight fatigue. The drug of choice was Pervitin, a methamphetamine commonly used by the German military.

Koivunen was carrying the squad’s entire supply of pills, but with thick gloves on his hands and little time to be careful, he accidentally swallowed all 30 tablets at once instead of just one. At first, the extra energy helped him keep moving, but soon, the effects overwhelmed him.

His vision blurred, and he lost control of his thoughts. Before long, he blacked out completely. Even unconscious, his body kept skiing. At first, his squad kept up with him, while the Soviets fell behind, unable to match the increased speed. When he finally regained awareness the next day, he had traveled over 100 kilometers (62 miles). He was completely alone.

His squad was nowhere in sight, and he had no ammunition, food, or supplies—only his skis and whatever strength remained in his body. Still under the drug’s influence, Koivunen kept going. He skied through the frozen landscape, running into Soviet troops on more than one occasion and narrowly avoiding capture.

At one point, he stumbled into a minefield. A blast sent him flying, but somehow he survived. The explosion left him injured, and the fire that followed burned his clothes, but he still managed to press on. With no food and barely any protection from the cold, he did what he had to in order to stay alive.

In the week that followed, he took shelter in a ditch while awaiting rescue. The effects of the amphetamines suppressed his hunger for a while, but as the days passed, his body weakened. During this time, he survived on pine buds and a Siberian jay he managed to catch and ate raw.

He had to endure extreme cold, sometimes dropping as low as -20 degrees Celsius (-4°F). Despite exhaustion and his injury, he forced himself to continue skiing, knowing that otherwise he would soon freeze to death. By the time he reached Finnish-controlled territory, he had skied over 400 kilometers (250 miles).

His body had suffered extreme weight loss, dropping to just 43 kilograms (95 lb), and his heart was racing at 200 beats per minute. When he was finally rescued, he was in critical condition but alive. Despite the damage the ordeal had done to his body, Koivunen survived and made a full recovery.

He went on to live for decades after the war, happily married with nine children. He passed away in 1989 at the age of 71. His journey remains one of the most unusual survival stories of World War II, showing just how unpredictable and unforgiving war could be.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4