Gotland Brigade (MekB 18) ( sv, Gotlandsbrigaden), 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 ...

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

within the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

and acted in different forms between 1949 and 2000. The main parts of the basic training were held at the

Gotland Regiment The Gotland Regiment ( sv, Gotlands regemente, P 18) is a Swedish Army armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical inju ...

(P 18) within the Gotland Garrison in

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

History

The Gotland Brigade was raised as an infantry brigade during the years 1949–1951 under the name, Gotland Brigade (IB 18). This was organized through the Defence Act of 1948, where

Gotland Infantry Regiment The Gotland Infantry Regiment ( sv, Gotlands infanteriregemente), designations I 27 and I 18, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was reorganized into an Gotland_Regiment, armoured regiment in ...

(I 18) was converted into a brigade. In 1963, when the reorganization into the ''Pansarbrigad 63'' ("Armoured Brigade 63) was commenced within the Swedish Army, it was decided that Göta Life Guards' (P 1) detachment, the

Göta Armoured Life Guards' Company in Gotland Göta Armoured Life Guards' Company in Gotland ( sv, Göta pansarlivgardes kompani på Gotland or ''P 1 Gotland''), designated P 1 G, was a Swedish Army armoured unit that was active in various forms 1944–1963. The unit was based in Visby Garris ...

(P 1 G), would be amalgamated with the Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 18). Through the amalgamation, Gotland Regiment (P 18) was formed and the Gotland Brigade was converted from an infantry brigade into an armoured brigade. The brigade became a model-type of the Armoured Brigade Gotland (''Pansarbrigad Gotland'', PB Gotland) in 1966, while the other active Swedish armoured brigades became a model-type of the Armoured Brigade 63 (''Pansarbrigad 63'', PB 63). The brigade also received its new designation, PB 18. In 1982, the brigade together with the other units on Gotland was amalgamated into the

Gotland Military Command Gotland Military Command ( sv, Gotlands militärkommando, MKG) previously VII Military District ( sv, VII. militärområdet) was a Military district (Sweden), military district, and later a Command (military formation), command in the Swedish Arme ...

(MKG). In 1994, the brigade was separated along with the regiment from the command and became a

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

-organized war unit in the

Middle Military Area Middle Military District ( sv, Mellersta militärområdet, Milo M) was a Swedish military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control over Middle Sweden, for most time of its existence corresponding to the area cov ...

(Milo M) from 1 July, under the new name Gotland Regiment and Gotland Brigade (MekB 18). In the same year the brigade was supplied with

Pansarbandvagn 302 Pansarbandvagn 302 (pbv 302), meaning roughly ''armoured tracked carrier vehicle 302'',), are instead only called wagons (chassis description) to denote that they are tracked but more specialized and less universal. was a Swedish high-mobility infa ...

and Stridsvagn 104 from Kristianstad Brigade (''Kristianstadsbrigaden'', PB 26), which was disbanded as a result of the Defence Act of 1992. The Gotland Regiment and Gotland Brigade (MekB 18) were disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000 and on 1 July 2000 it adopted the name, Gotland Regiment (P 18).

Order of battle

The Gotland Brigade did not control any units during peacetime. All units assigned to it in war were trained and maintained by the

and Gotland Artillery Regiment in Visby. * PB 18 - Gotland Brigade (Gotlandsbrigaden) in Visby: ** Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** 1st Armoured Battalion with a headquarters company, 12x Stridsvagn 102R tanks in one company, 28x KP-car m/42 wheeled

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s and 24x Rifle Squads with 8x Pvpj 1110 90mm

recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

s in two companies, 4x M/40 105mm howitzers in an artillery battery and a logistics company ** 2nd Armoured Battalion with a headquarters company, 12x Stridsvagn 102R tanks in one company, 28x KP-car m/42 wheeled armoured personnel carriers and 24x Rifle Squads with 8x Pvpj 1110 90mm recoilless rifles in two companies, 4x M/40 105mm howitzers in an artillery battery and a logistics company ** 3rd Armoured Battalion with a headquarters company, 12x Stridsvagn 102R tanks in one company, 28x KP-car m/42 wheeled armoured personnel carriers and 24x Rifle Squads with 8x Pvpj 1110 90mm recoilless rifles in two companies, 4x M/40 105mm howitzers in an artillery battery and a logistics company ** Artillery Battalion with 12x 155mm Haubits m/F towed howitzers ** 18th Armoured Reconnaissance Company with 6x KP-car m/42 wheeled armoured personnel carriers, 12x Jeeps, 12x Recon Teams, 2x Rifle Squads and 4x Pvpj 1110 90mm recoilless rifles ** 18th Anti-tank Company with

Carl Gustaf 8.4cm recoilless rifle The Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle (, named after ''Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori'' which initially produced it) is a Swedish developed caliber man-portable shoulder-fired recoilless rifle, initially developed by the Royal Swedis ...

s and Bantam anti-tank missiles ** 18th Engineer Company ** Logistic Battalion

Heraldry and traditions

The Gotland Brigade shared heraldry and traditions with

. In 1994–2000, the brigade managed the traditions of the regiment.

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Gotland Regiment and Gotland Brigade (MekB 18) 1994–2000. It was also used by the Gotland Regiment (P 18) 1977–1994 and 2000–2004.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "Azure, a ram passant argent, armed or, banner gules with crosstaff, edging and five flaps or. The shield surmounted two arms in fess, embowed and vambraced, the hands holding swords in saltire, or".

Commanding officers

Commanding officers: *1983-10-01 – 1988-09-30: COL Stig Barke *1988-10-01 – 1992-06-30: COL Anders Sifvertsson *1992-07-01 – 1994-12-31: LTC/COL Karlis Neretnieks *1995-01-01 – 1999-05-31: COL Sven-Olof "Olle" Broman *1999-06-01 – 2000-06-30: COL Peter Molin

Names, designations and locations

History

Order of battle

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading