Major General, ''Friherre'' Axel Oscar Rappe (22 June 1884 – 31 October 1945) 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. Rappe's senior commands include commanding officer of the Göta Artillery Regiment and Svea Artillery Regiment, Inspector of the Artillery and military commander of the V Military District. He also served in Finland during the Finnish Civil War where attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Early life

Rappe was born on 22 June 1884 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of general, ''friherre''

Axel Rappe ''Friherre'' General Axel Emil Rappe (2October 1838 – 18December 1918) was a Swedish Army officer and Minister of War from 1892 and 1899. Early life Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in Christinelund manor in Arby, Kalmar County, the s ...

and his wife Anna (née Sandahl). He was brother of ''hovsångerska''

Signe Rappe-Welden Signe Rappe-Welden née Rappe (24 September 1879 – 21 May 1974) was a Swedish operatic soprano and voice teacher. She made her dëbut in 1906 in Mannheim, acclaimed for both her voice and acting ability. She performed in Vienna from 1908 to 19 ...

Career

Military career

Rappe was commissioned as an officer in 1904 and was assigned 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 ...

'' to the Svea Artillery Regiment. Rappe attended the

Artillery and Engineering College Artillery and Engineering College ( sv, Artilleri- och ingenjörhögskolan, AIHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment active between 1878 and 1992, providing courses for artillery officers. It was located within the Stockholm Garrison in Sto ...

from 1906 to 1907 when he was promoted to lieutenant. He then attended 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 1908 to 1910 and served as an officer candidate 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 ...

from 1911 to 1913. Rappe served as a teacher at the Artillery and Engineering College from 1914 to 1918 and he was promoted to captain in 1917. He left the

in 1918 to participate in the Finnish Civil War. In Finland, Rappe served in the General Staff of

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...

and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He also served as chief of staff of the Eastern Army. Back in Sweden, he was appointed captain in the Svea Artillery Regiment in 1918. He then served as a teacher at the Artillery and Engineering College from 1922 to 1928. In 1927, he served as captain in the General Staff and in 1928 he was promoted to major and was appointed chief of staff of the military command of Upper Norrland. Two years later Rappe was appointed chief of staff of the Eastern Army Division (''Östra arméfördelningen'') from 1930 to 1931 and from 1931 to 1935 he served as head of the Central Department of the General Staff. Rappe was appointed lieutenant colonel in the General Staff in 1931 and colonel in the General Staff in 1935. He then served as regimental commander of the Göta Artillery Regiment (A 2) from 1936 to 1938 when he was promoted to major general, and then he served as regimental commander of the Svea Artillery Regiment (A 1) from 1938 to 1940. Rappe served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 1939 to 1941 and Inspector of the Artillery as well as commanding officer of the Artillery Staff Corps (''Artilleristabskåren'') from 1941 to 1942. In 1942, he was appointed military commander of the V Military District and in 1944 Rappe was appointed military commander of the IV Military District and

Commandant General in Stockholm The Commandant General in Stockholm ( sv, Överkommendanten i Stockholm) is a military position in Sweden with responsibility for state ceremonial activities. Lieutenant General Michael Claesson, Chief of Joint Operations is the Commandant Genera ...

. However, the nomination was recalled, most likely to keep Rappe on the post as commanding officer of the I Army Corps (''Första armékåren'').

Other work

Rappe was a member of the Field Service Regulations Committee 1927 (''Fälttjänstreglementskommittén'') in 1927 and was its chairman from 1935 to 1937. He served as military expert in the 1930 Defense Commission. Rappe was also a member of the Committee for the Reorganization of the Central Military Administration (''Kommittén för omorganisationen av den centrala militärförvaltningen'') from 1940 to 1941.

Personal life

On 22 June 1923 in Strängnäs, Rappe married Gurli Matilda Johansson (12 February 1888 in Stockholm – 21 February 1966 in

Sköldinge Sköldinge () is a locality situated in Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County Södermanland County ( sv, Södermanlands län) is a county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually u ...

), the daughter of the carpenter Claes August Johansson and his wife Edla Matilda Gustafsson (previously Thulin).

Death

Rappe died suddenly only 61 years old on 31 October 1945 in

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

Dates of rank

Rappe's dates of rank:

Sweden

*8 December 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 ...

'' *31 August 1907 – Lieutenant 2nd Class *9 June 1911 – Lieutenant 1st Class *30 December 1916 –

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 ...

2nd Class *11 April 1919 –

1st Class *1 January 1928 –

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 ...

*18 December 1931 –

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 ...

*23 June 1935 – Colonel *3 November 1938 – Major general

Finland

*22 February 1918 –

*12 April 1918 –

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1939) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Commander of the Order of Vasa (6 June 1944) * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1934)

Foreign

* 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of Liberty with star and sword * FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_1Class_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

(1944) *

FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_2Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the German Eagle * Order_of_the_Medjidie_lenta

4th Class of the Order of the Medjidie

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1932)

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

Entry
at ''

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappe, Axel 1884 births 1945 deaths Swedish Army major generals Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Commanders of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Polar Star People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Swedish expatriates in Finland