Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Axel Bredberg (24 February 1884 – 5 February 1960) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

officer. His senior commands include Inspector of the

Swedish Army Service Troops The Swedish Army Service Troops ( sv, Trängtrupperna, T or ''Underhållstrupperna'', before 1942 called ''Trängen'') is the military logistics (or train) branch of the Swedish Army. The task of the troops is to train personnel for maintenance un ...

from 1933 to 1942, Chief of the Defence Staff from 1942 to 1944 and military commander of the V Military District from 1945 to 1947.

Early life

Bredberg was born on 24 February 1884 in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

, Sweden, the son of Anders Petter Johansson-Bredberg and his wife Emma (née Svensson). He was the brother of lieutenant colonel Ernst Bredberg.

Career

Military career

Bredberg was commissioned as a ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' in the

Kronoberg Regiment The Kronoberg Regiment ( sv, Kronobergs regemente), designations I 11 and I 11/Fo 16, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruite ...

(I 11) in 1904. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1907 and served as a lieutenant in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in 1914 and as captain in the General Staff in 1916. Bredberg served as a teacher of tactics at the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Krigshögskolan, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided adv ...

from 1918 to 1925 and as captain in the Skaraborg Regiment (I 9) from 1920 to 1922. He served as captain in the General Staff in 1922 and as major there in 1925. Bredberg was made available for service in the Defense Audit (''Försvarsrevisionen'') from 1920 to 1923 and to the head of the General Commission of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and the Special Committee of the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

from 1923 to 1925. Bredberg also had special assignments: reorganization of the Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps, the Reserve Officer Regulation (''Reservofficersförordningen''), the Enrollment Regulation (''Inskrivningsförordningen'') and the Air Defense Commission (''Luftförsvarskommissionen'') from 1924 to 1930. He was head of the General Staff's Organizational Department from 1924 to 1927. Bredberg served as major and teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1928 to 1931 and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the

in 1928 and in the General Staff in 1930. He served in the Älvsborg Regiment (I 15) in 1931, and served as acting regimental commander there from 1932 to 1933. Bredberg was promoted to colonel in 1933 and was appointed Inspector of the

. He was promoted to major general in 1937 and in 1942 he was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff. Bredberg remained in this position until January 1944. In 1945, Bredberg was appointed military commander of the V Military District. In 1949, he was promoted to lieutenant general.

Other work

Bredberg was chairman of the ''Svenska officersförbundet'' ("Swedish Officers Association") from 1936 to 1942, the ''Försvarsväsendets rullföringsnämnd'' ("Defense Committee's Enrollment Board") from 1941 to 1942 and the ''Militära experttjänstekommissionen'' ("Military Expert Service Commission") in 1942. He was a member of the ''Inskrivningsrådet'' ("Enrollment Council") and board member of the Royal Automobile Club in 1942. Bredberg was also a member of the ''Statens organisationsnämnd'' ("National Organization Board") in 1944 and chairman of the ''Försvarets centrala organisationskommission'' ("Swedish Armed Forces Central Organization Commission") in 1944 and the ''Sjukvårdskommissionen'' ("Healthcare Commission") in 1944.

Personal life

In 1908, he married Sigrid Sundling (1885–1969). They were the parents of colonel Bertil Bredberg (born 1909).

Death

Bredberg died on 5 February 1960 in Engelbrekt Parish in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. He was buried at S:ta Birgitta griftegård in

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the ...

on 20 December 1960.

Dates of rank

*1904 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' *1907 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

*1914 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1925 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*1928 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

*1933 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

*1937 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

*1949 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (15 November 1944) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Commander First Class of the Order of Vasa (5 June 1943) * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Knight of the Order of the Polar Star

Foreign

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Commander_BAR

Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1931)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bredberg, Axel 1884 births 1960 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals People from Jönköping Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders First Class of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)