The Gotland Infantry Regiment ( sv, Gotlands infanteriregemente), designations I 27 and I 18, 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 ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was reorganized into an

armoured regiment 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 ...

in 1963. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited on the island of

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 ...

, and it was later garrisoned there.

History

The regiment has its origins in the unit

Gotland National Conscription The Gotland National Conscription ( sv, Gotlands nationalbeväring) was a Swedish Army infantry unit that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was split into two new regiments in 1887. The regiment's soldiers were recruited on the islan ...

which was created in 1811. By a parliamentary decision in 1866 the Gotland National Conscription was transformed into an infantry regiment and an artillery corps (I 27 and A 4). A colonel was made regimental commander who also acted as the commander of Gotland's troops. The lieutenant colonel of the regiment came actually to serve as regimental commander until 1937. As of 1 January 1887 the regiment's name was Royal Gotland Infantry Regiment with the designation I 27. The regiment got a similar organization to other infantry regiments. The National Conscription's company area division remained until 1900 as the registration authority. In 1892, the agreement that Gotland's troops may not be called for military service outside the island was repealed. At the same time the name Gotland National Conscription was dropped. In 1901, the army order on the mainland and Gotland became similar. This admitted, among other things, that conscripts from the mainland were transferred for training at I 27. There, at the same time,

bicycle infantry Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, more often, between) battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the "safety bicycle" became popular in Europe, the United States, and Austra ...

training began. In 1915, the regiment got Visborg Kungsladugård's land as training area and all the buildings as storehouses. The bicycle infantry was developed during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the 1920s so far that I 18 (which the regiment was designated from 1928) circa 1930 became the Sweden's first bicycle regiment with motorized

trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

. The Defence Act of 1925 meant the end of the regiment. The regiment was downgraded to a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

which took over

Västmanland Regiment The Västmanland Regiment ( sv, Västmanlands regemente), designations I 18 and Fo 48, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded for the first time in 1927 but later reraised and disba ...

designation I 18. The officers corps was reduced by 2/3. The mainland contingent of conscripts was also reduced substantially. In 1936, the Royal Swedish Gotland Infantry Corps was upgraded to a regiment with the name Royal Gotland Infantry Regiment, I 18. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, armored units were added through 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). Before the end of the war, this detachment was able to organize three companies (

Stridsvagn m/42 Stridsvagn m/42 (Strv m/42) was a Swedish medium tank in service in the World War II period. Known by its manufacturer AB Landsverk as Lago II-III-IV, it fielded a 75 mm L/31 gun, the first of its size in a Swedish tank. It entered service ...

and

Stridsvagn m/37 ''Stridsvagn'' m/37 (Strv m/37) was a Swedish-built version of the Czechoslovak ČKD AH-IV tankette. History The AH-IV was popular with Romania and Iran, and after a successful demonstration to Swedish authorities, during winter conditions in ...

and Pansarbil m/41). Through the 1949 war organization, I 18, supported by P 1 G, became responsible for an armored reinforced bicycle brigade of five battalions. The seven armored companies received via

Stridsvagn m/41 Stridsvagn m/41 (Strv m/41) was a Swedish medium tank. A license-built version of the Czechoslovak TNH medium tank, it served into the 1950s. History Since 1937, the Swedish army had been interested in the Czechoslovakian TNH tank. In March 194 ...

, Stridsvagn m/40, Infanterikanonvagn 102 finally

Stridsvagn 74 Stridsvagn 74 (strv 74) was a Swedish tank in use with the Swedish Army from 1958 to 1984. It was a modification of the older Stridsvagn m/42, which was phased out of service in the early 1950s. Instead of scrapping the vehicles altogether, the ch ...

. On 1 April 1963, the detachment was amalgamated with Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 18) and formed 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) and was simultaneously transferred to the

Swedish Armoured Troops The Swedish Armoured Troops ( sv, Pansartrupperna, P) is the armoured branch of the Swedish Army. Since 2005, the Armoured Troops include the South Scanian Regiment (P 7) in Revingehed, Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) in Skövde, Norrbotten Armoured Bat ...

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Gotland Infantry Regiment. It was used by Gotland Group (''Gotlandsgruppen'') since 2000.

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, the provincial badge of Gotland, a ram passant argent, armed or, banner gules, crosstaff, edging and five flaps or. The shield surmounted two swords in saltire or".

Commanding officers

Commanding officers active at the regiment the years 1884–1963. During the years 1884–1927 and 1937–1963, the commanding officer was referred to as ''regementschef'' ("regimental commander"). During the years 1928–1937 the commanding officer was referred to as ''kårchef'' ("corps commander").

Gotland Infantry Regiment, I 27 (1887–1928)

Olof Gerhard Thörnell (1877-1977) by Ivar Kamke 1922

* 1884-04-09 – 1896-12-31: Col Herman von Hohenhausen * 1895-07-29 – 1908-12-11: Col Gustaf Björlin * 1908-12-18 – 1912-04-13: Col Oscar Silverstolpe * 1912-07-02 – 1916-12-31: Col Erik Bergström * 1917-01-01 – 1922-10-21: Col Axel Carleson * 1922-20-22 – 1927-12-31: Col Tell Schmidt

Gotland Infantry Corps, I 18 (1928–1937)

* 1928-01-01 – 1931-11-30: Col

Olof Thörnell General Olof Gerhard Thörnell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a Swedish Army officer. He was Sweden's first Supreme Commander from 8 December 1939 until 1944. Before 1939 that had been the role of the King. Early life Thörnell was bor ...

* 1931-12-01 – 1937-03-31: Col Gösta Törngren

Gotland Infantry Regiment, I 18 (1937–1963)

* 1937-04-01 – 1940-12-31: Col Axel Linde * 1941-01-01 – 1942-09-30: Col

Pehr Janse Major General Pehr David Albert Janse (31 January 1893 – 2 October 1961) was a Swedish Army officer. Janse's senior commands include regimental commander of the Gotland Infantry Regiment, Inspector of the Swedish Armoured Troops and acting comma ...

* 1942-10-01 – 1945-09-30: Col Gunnar Berggren * 1945-10-01 – 1951-09-30: Col Herman Levin * 1951-10-01 – 1957-09-30: Col Folke Haquinius * 1957-10-01 – 1964-03-31: Col Jan von Horn

History

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

Commanding officers

Gotland Infantry Regiment, I 27 (1887–1928)

Gotland Infantry Corps, I 18 (1928–1937)

Gotland Infantry Regiment, I 18 (1937–1963)

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Web

Further reading