General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (3August 1892 – 24April 1974) was a Swedish Army officer. He was born in Karlskrona, and was son of the admiral and Minister for Naval Affairs,

Carl August Ehrensvärd Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (5 May 1745 – 21 May 1800) was a Swedish naval officer, painter, author, and neo-classical architect. Ehrensvärd was born in Stockholm, and died in Örebro. Though active as a naval officer during his entire l ...

. Ehrensvärd left the Swedish Army in 1918 and joined the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

and saw action during the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. Ehrensvärd rejoined the Swedish Army the same year and served until 1940 when he became general

Ernst Linder Ernst Linder (25 April 1868 – 14 September 1943) was a Swedish general of Finnish descent who served in the Swedish Army from 1887 to 1918, after which he participated in the Finnish Civil War as the commander of the Satakunta and Savo ar ...

's Chief of Staff during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

as part of the

Swedish Volunteer Corps The Swedish Volunteer Corps ( sv, Svenska frivilligkåren) during the Winter War numbered 9,640 officers and men. Sweden was officially non-belligerent during the war, so the Corps was used by Finland. The Swedish volunteers were in the front l ...

. Back again in the Swedish Army, Ehrensvärd held positions such as Chief of the Defence Staff and Chief of the Army. He retired in 1957.

Early life and family

Ehrensvärd was born on 3 August 1892 in Karlskrona, Sweden, the son of Admiral, Count

(1858–1944) and Baroness Lovisa Ulrika (''Ulla''), née Thott. He was the brother of Vice Admiral

Gösta Ehrensvärd Vice Admiral Count Gösta Carl Albert Ehrensvärd (10 February 1885 – 2 November 1973) was a Swedish Navy officer. Early life Ehrensvärd was born on 10 February 1885 in Skabersjö, Svedala Municipality, Sweden, the son of Admiral, Count Ca ...

(1885–1973) and Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defence

Augustin Ehrensvärd Field Marshal count Augustin Ehrensvärd (25 September 1710 – 4 October 1772) was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) fortress, Svartholm fortress and the Swedish archipelago fleet. H ...

(1887–1968). He was the uncle of chemist

(1910–1980). His great-grandfather was the fortress builder

, his uncle was

Albert Ehrensvärd Johan Jakob Albert Ehrensvärd (9 May 1867 – 6 March 1940) was a Swedish diplomat. He was Sweden's envoy to Washington D.C between 1910 and 1911. He became Sweden's Foreign Minister in Liberal leader and Prime Minister Karl Staaff Karl Albe ...

and his cousin was Archibald Douglas, Ehrensvärd's predecessor on the Chief of the Army post. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and r ...

'' in 1911.

Career

Ehrensvärd became an officers volunteer in the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards ( sv, Svea livgarde), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Tro ...

(I 1) in 1911. He was the Queen's

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The on ...

in 1912 and a cadet at the Royal Military Academy the same year. Ehrensvärd became a second lieutenant in the Svea Life Guards (I 1) in 1913 and became lieutenant there in 1915. He took part in the

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

Expedition as adjutant of the commanding officer of Åland Detachment in 1918 and resigned from the Swedish Army the same year and joined the

where he commanded the Archipelago Free Corps (''Skärgårdens frikår'') and took part in battles in

Åboland Åboland ( fi, Turunmaa) is a sub-region in the archipelago of the Southwest Finland region in south-western Finland. Åboland and Turunmaa are also informal names of the region, but in this context Särkisalo ( sv, Finby) is normally included ...

archipelago and southwestern Finland (

Korpo Korpo (; fi, Korppoo ) is an island located in the Turku archipelago. It is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland. As of 1 January ...

gård 28 March, Lohm 4 April and

Loimaa Loimaa (; historical sv, Loimijoki) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

22 April). Helge Jung och Carl August Ehrensvärd

He was promoted to major in the Finnish Army in May 1918 and was then reinstated in the Swedish Army as lieutenant in the Svea Life Guards (I 1) in September the same year. Ehrensvärd then attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1920 to 1922 and was a cadet of the General Staff from 1923 to 1925. He was staff adjutant and was promoted to captain of the General Staff in 1926 and served in the Svea Life Guards (I 1) in 1927 and was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1928 to 1934. Ehrensvärd was captain in the Svea Life Guards (I 1) in 1931 and staff adjutant and captain of the General Staff in 1932. He was major and chief adjutant of the General Staff in 1934 and in 1935. He was head of the Central Department of the General Staff from 1935 to 1937 and the Army Operations Department in the Defence Staff from 1937 to 1938. Ehrensvärd was major and chief adjutant in the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earli ...

from April to July 1937 and was in October of that year promoted to lieutenant colonel and chief adjutant in the General Staff Corps. He was lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the tank battalion at Göta Life Guards (I 2) from 1938 to 1939 and the tank battalion at Skaraborg Regiment (I 9) in 1939. Ehrensvärd was lieutenant colonel and Chief of Staff of the

during the

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in 1940. There he took part in operations in Lapland during 1940. Ehrensvärd was promoted to colonel in the Finnish Army in 1940 and colonel in the Swedish Army the same year. He was head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1940 to 1941 and commanding officer of

South Scania Infantry Regiment South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

(I 7) from 1941 to 1942. Ehrensvärd was section chief in the Defence Staff from 1942 to 1944 and was promoted to major general and appointed acting Chief of the Defence Staff in 1944. He was Chief of Defence Staff from 1945 to 1947. Ehrensvärd had the military responsibility for the Swedish

stay-behind In a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in case an enemy occupies that territory. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement or act as sp ...

operation which was organised starting from 1946. He served as military commander of the I Military District from 1947 to 1948. Ehrensvärd was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Chief of the Army in 1948. The year before, in 1947, a proposal to appoint pro-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

colonel Alf Meyerhöffer as army infantry inspector led to the so-called "Meyerhöffer affair" when the proposal met with great opposition from the Social Democratic government. A compromise made Meyerhöffer acting infantry inspector in 1947. Following threats of resignation from Ehrensvärd's cousin and Chief of the Army, Archibald Douglas, Meyerhöffer was finally appointed cavalry and infantry inspector in 1949. The far more

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-friendly Ehrensvärd had been appointed Chief of the Army in 1948 which led Meyerhöffer into conflict with his new commanding officer and he therefore lodged his resignation in 1951. Ehrensvärd was intended to have become Supreme Commander but was rejected by Allan Vougt on the grounds that Ehrensvärd was better suited for war than peace. In 1956, Ehrensvärd appointed major Sigmund Ahnfeldt as UN battalion commander in Gaza. The government opposed the nomination because of Ahnfeldt's previous involvement in the Lindholm movement. Ahnfeldt had been

Sven Olov Lindholm Sven Olov Knutsson Lindholm (8 February 1903 – 26 April 1998) was a Swedish Nazi leader, active in far right politics from the 1920s to the 1950s. This included leading the Nazi party named Svensk socialistisk samling (SSS; literally "Swedis ...

's closest man for six years and had at the age of 27 candidated for the

National League of Sweden The National Youth League of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges nationella ungdomsförbund ; SNU) was the first youth organisation of the General Electoral Union of Sweden. It was dislodged from its mother party in 1934 due to its pro-Nazi stance. It was the ...

after Meyerhöffer at the municipal elections in

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...

. Ehrensvärd threatened to resign unless he got his way, according to prime minister

Tage Erlander Tage Fritjof Erlander (; 13 June 1901 – 21 June 1985) was a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and led the government for an uninterrupted tenu ...

. Ahnfeldt was persuaded, however, by defence minister

Torsten Nilsson Harald Torsten Leonard Nilsson (1 April 1905 – 14 December 1997) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 1951 to 1957, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1962 to 1971. Nilsson also served as Mi ...

to resign from the post. Ehrensvärd was Chief of the Army until 1957 when he was promoted to full general and transferred to the reserve. In the early 1960s, the secret documents from

Operation Stella Polaris Operation Stella Polaris was the cover name for an operation in which Finnish signals intelligence records, equipment and personnel were transported into Sweden in late September 1944 after the end of combat on the Finnish-Soviet front in the Se ...

in 1944, were brought from

Hörningsholm Castle Hörningsholm Castle ( sv, Hörningsholms slott) is a manor house and former castle in Sweden. It is located on a cliff by an inlet of the Baltic Sea some kilometres from Södertälje. The castle was most probably built by the Sture family during t ...

and Rottneros Manor and burnt on the instruction of the then Director-General of the

National Defence Radio Establishment The National Defence Radio Establishment ( sv, Försvarets radioanstalt, FRA) is a Swedish government agency organised under the Ministry of Defence. The two main tasks of FRA are signals intelligence (SIGINT), and support to government authorit ...

, Gustaf Tham, and the now pensioned general Ehrensvärd.

Personal life

Ehrensvärd married the first time on 21 July 1922 in Lützow,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with countess ''Gisela'' Dorothée Anna-Luise Marianne Lilla von Bassewitz (20 December 1895 – 1946), the daughter of count Adolf Carl Otto Alexander Bassewitz-Behr and Dorothée Louise Helene Wanda Ebba Krell. He married a second time on 8 November 1947 in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

, Sweden with Svea ''Elisabeth'' Lachmann, née Olsson (born 15 June 1905), the daughter of carpenter Ola Olsson and Hanna Jönsson. Ehrensvärd was the father of Louise (born 30 June 1925 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 ...

) and Jörgen (born 6 May 1932 in Stockholm). Ehrensvärd and his wife lived at Charlottenlund Castle.

Death

Ehrensvärd died on 24 April 1974 in

Ystad Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, a ...

and was buried at

Tosterup Tosterup Castle ( sv, Tosterups slott) is a castle in Tomelilla Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. It is situated approximately north-east of Ystad. Owners List of owners of Tosterup Castle: *Early 1300s – Axel Eskildsen Mule *1300s � ...

cemetery.

Dates of rank

Swedish Army

*1913 – ''

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 192 ...

'' *1915 –

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 ...

*1926 –

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 ...

*1934 – Major *1937 –

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 ...

*1940 –

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 o ...

*1944 –

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 ...

*1948 –

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 ...

*1957 –

Finnish Army

*1918 – Major *1940 –

Awards and decorations

Ehrensvärd's awards:

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

(15 November 1948) * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

SWE_Home_Guard_Royal_Medal_of_Merit_ribbon

Home Guard Medal of Merit in Gold * Försvarsutbildarnas förtjänstmedalj

Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training Medal of Merit in gold * Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit in gold * Healthcare Gold Medal (''Sjukvårdsguldmedalj'') (Swedish Red Cross) * Swedish Civil Defence League's gold medal (''Sveriges civilförsvarsförbunds guldmedalj'') * Central Board of the National Swedish Rifle Association's silver medal (''Sveriges skytteförbunds överstyrelses silvermedalj'') * Equestrian Olympic Medal (''Ryttarolympisk förtjänstmedalj'')

Foreign

Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog * ETH_Order_of_the_Star_of_Ethiopia_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Star of Ethiopia The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was established as an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire, founded by the Negus of Shoa and later Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II in 1884–1885. It is currently awarded as a house order by the Crown Cou ...

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1956) * Legion_Honneur_GO_ribbon

Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

, 2nd and 4th Class with swords * LVA_Order_of_the_Three_Stars_-_Commander_BAR

Officer of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

with swords * Danish Medal of Freedom (''Dansk frihetsmedalj'') * 2 x Finnish War Memorial Medal (''Finsk krigsminnesmedalj'') * Finnish commemorative medal Pro benignitate humana

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1935)

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrensvard, Carl August 1892 births 1974 deaths Swedish counts Swedish Army generals Chiefs of Army (Sweden) People from Karlskrona People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Volunteers in the Winter War Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders First Class of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden) Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia