Southern Military District ( sv, Södra militärområdet, Milo S), originally I Military District ( sv, I. militärområdet) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

, a command of 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 ...

that had

operational An operational definition specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. In the words of American psychologist S.S. Stevens (1935), "An operation is the performance which we execute in order to make known a concept." F ...

control over Southern Sweden, for most time of its existence corresponding to the area covered by the counties of

Malmöhus Malmöhus is a neighbourhood of Malmö, situated in the Borough of Centrum, Malmö Municipality, Scania County (formerly Malmöhus County Malmöhus County ( sv, Malmöhus län) was a county of Sweden 1719–1996. On 1 January 1997 it was merged ...

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...

(now joined as

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

Kronoberg Kronoberg County (; sv, Kronobergs län) is a county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is t ...

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 ...

and

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

. The headquarters of Milo S were located in

History

Milo S was created in 1966 along with five other military districts as part of a reorganisation of the administrative divisions of the Swedish Armed Forces. It can be seen as the successor of the I Military District (''I. militärområdet'') created in 1942, but that did not have the same tasks as Milo S. The military district consisted of the land covered by the above-mentioned counties, with the exception of a small part of northern Kalmar County which instead was part of the

Eastern Military District The Eastern Military District (Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction within the Far Eastern Federal ...

(Milo Ö) until 1983 when the whole county's area was incorporated into Milo S. In 1993, the number of military districts of Sweden was decreased to three, and as a consequence of that,

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, ...

(Milo V) was merged with Milo S to form a new southern military district. In 2000, these last three military districts were disbanded and the command for the whole of Sweden was placed at the

Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters ( sv, Högkvarteret, HKV) is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. Established in 1994, its primary task is to command operations, but is also involved in areas such as military strategy, ...

, in accordance with the Defence Act of 2000.

Units 1989

In peacetime the Southern Military District consisted of the following units, which were training recruits for wartime units: * Southern Military District (Milo S), in

** Army units: *** P 2 - Scanian Dragoon Regiment, in

Hässleholm Hässleholm (older da, Hasselholm) is a locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2010. Overview Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the ...

*** P 6/Fo 14 - North Scanian Regiment / Kristianstad Defense District, in Kristianstad **** Army Mechanic School *** P 7/Fo 11 -

South Scanian Regiment South Scanian Regiment ( sv, Södra skånska regementet), designation P 7, is a Swedish Army armoured regiment that traces its origins back to 1811. It was converted from an infantry regiment in 1963 and renamed from South Scania Infantry Re ...

/ Malmö Defense District, 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, and ...

*** I 11/Fo 16/18 -

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 recruit ...

and

Defense Districts, in

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

*** I 12/Fo 17 - Northern Småland Regiment / Jönköping Defense District, in

Eksjö Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality in Jönköping County, Sweden, with 9,701 inhabitants in 2010. History The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the Middle Ages when it was the centre for the '' thing'', a regi ...

*** A 3 -

Wendes Artillery Regiment The Wendes Artillery Regiment ( sv, Wendes artilleriregemente), designation A 3, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Scania, where it was ...

, in Kristianstad *** Lv 4 - Scanian Anti-Aircraft Regiment, in Ystad *** Ing 2 -

Göta Engineer Regiment The Göta Engineer Regiment ( sv, Göta ingenjörregemente), designation Ing 2, is a Swedish Army engineer regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. It is still in active service, and is currently garrisoned in Eksjö. History ...

, in Eksjö *** T 4 - Scanian Logistic Regiment, in Hässleholm ** Air Force units: *** F 5 -

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School ( sv, Krigsflygskolan), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for milit ...

, in

Ljungbyhed Ljungbyhed is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Klippan Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 2,046 inhabitants in 2010. History Ljungbyhed was and is located in Riseberga ''socken'' and was part of the Riseberga ''landskommun'' af ...

**** 1st Training Squadron with Saab 105A advanced jet trainers **** 2nd Training Squadron with Saab 105A advanced jet trainers **** 3rd Training Squadron with Saab 105A advanced jet trainers **** 4th Training Squadron (Reserve Officers Training) **** 5th Training Squadron (Basic Flight Training) with SK 61A and SK 61B planes **** Basic Flight School **** Combat Flight School **** Civil Aviation School **** Aerial Navigation School **** Air Force Meteorology School *** F 10/Se S -

Scania Wing Scania Wing ( sv, Skånska flygflottiljen), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden. History The tenth wing initially started as a detachment located at Svea Win ...

/ Air Defense Sector South (covering Milo S and Milo V), in

Ängelholm Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010. History The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600. The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...

**** 101st Fighter Squadron, with J 35J Draken fighter aircraft **** 102nd Fighter Squadron, with J 35J Draken fighter aircraft **** 103rd Fighter Squadron, with J 35J Draken fighter aircraft *** F 17 -

Blekinge Wing Blekinge Wing ( sv, Blekinge flygflottilj), also F 17 Kallinge, or simply F 17, is a Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Ronneby in southern Sweden. It is one of the three remaining wings in Sweden and currently has two squ ...

, in

Kallinge Kallinge is a locality situated in Ronneby Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 4,561 inhabitants in 2010. It is an industrial and garrison town and is situated about 5 km north of Ronneby. The settlement grew up around an ironworks in ...

**** 171st Fighter Squadron, with JA 37 Viggen fighter aircraft **** 172nd Recce Squadron, with SF 37 Viggen photo reconnaissance aircraft and SH 37 Viggen maritime reconnaissance/strike aircraft ** Navy units: *** BoMö - Malmö Naval Surveillance, 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 ...

*** ÖrlB S/Fo 15 - South Coast Naval Base / Karlskrona Defense District, in Karlskrona **** 13th Helicopter Group, at Ronneby Airfield with CH-46B Sea Knight

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

and

Bell 206B The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

utility helicopters, and one

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

in anti-submarine configuration **** KA 2 - Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment, in Karlskrona ***** Fortress Battalion, with seven 75mm Tornpjäs m/57 batteries in

Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...

Simrishamn Simrishamn (old da, Simmershavn) is a locality and the seat of Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,527 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Simrishamn is, for historical reasons, usually still referred to as a ''c ...

Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X ...

, Järnavik and

Aspö Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this name is seldom used. The village is known for its white limestone ...

, and two 120mm Tornautomatpjäs m/70 batteries in

and

***** 1st Coastal Artillery Battalion with three batteries with 4x mobile 120mm M/80 cannons each for

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

***** 3rd Coastal Artillery Battalion with three batteries with 4x mobile 120mm M/80 cannons each for

***** 1st Mobile Blocking Battalion with one battery with 3x mobile 75mm m/65 guns, one battery with light Robot 52 anti-ship missiles, and a mining troop in

Västervik Västervik is a city status in Sweden, city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden, with 36,747 inhabitants in 2021. Västervik is one of three coastal towns with a notable population size in the province of Småland. Cl ...

to defend the Orrfjärd Navy Base ***** 6th Mobile Blocking Battalion with one battery with 3x mobile 75mm m/65 guns, one battery with light Robot 52 anti-ship missiles, and a mining troop for the Eastern coast of

***** Heavy Coastal Missile Battery with Robot 08 anti-ship missiles ***** Unknown number of Mobile Blocking Companies consisting of a light Robot 52 anti-ship missile troop, and a mining troop ***** HSwMS Kalmarsund (13) minelayer ***** HSwMS Öresund (18) minelayer **** 4th Surface Attack Flotilla, in Karlskrona ***** 44th Missile Boat Division, with 6x Norrköping-class missile boats ****** HSwMS Norrköping (R131) ****** HSwMS Nynäshamn (R132) ****** HSwMS Norrtälje (R133) ****** HSwMS Varberg (R134) ****** HSwMS Västerås (R135) ****** HSwMS Västervik (R136) ***** 46th Patrol Boat Division, with 4x Hugin-class patrol boats ****** HSwMS Styrbjörn (P163) ****** HSwMS Starkodder (P164) ****** HSwMS Tordön (P165) ****** HSwMS Tirfing (P166) In wartime the Southern Military District would have activated the following major land units, as well as a host of smaller units: * 1st Division, in Kristianstad * 13th (Armoured) Division, in Kristianstad ** PB 7 - Malmö Brigade, in

Revingehed Revingehed is a military training area located at Revingeby approximately 20 kilometers east of Lund in southern Sweden. Revingehed is one of the largest and most complicated military training areas in Sweden. It includes 4,600 hectares of fore ...

, a Type 63M armoured brigade based on the P 7 - South Scanian Regiment ** PB 8 - Göinge Brigade, in Hässleholm, a Type 63M armoured brigade based on the P 2 - Scania Dragoon Regiment ** IB 11 - Kronoberg Brigade, in Växjö, a Type 77 infantry brigade based on the I 11 - Kronoberg Regiment ** IB 12 - Jönköping Brigade, in Eksjö, a Type 66M infantry brigade based on the I 12 - North Småland Regiment ** PB 26 - Kristianstad Brigade, in Kristianstad, a Type 63M armoured brigade based on the P 6 - North Scania Regiment ** IB 41 - Blekinge Brigade, in Växjö, a Type 66M infantry brigade based on the I 11 - Kronoberg Regiment ** IB 42 - Kalmar Brigade, in Eksjö, a Type 77 infantry brigade based on the I 12 - North Småland Regiment

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Southern Military District Staff 1983–1994.

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 ...

: "Azur, an erect sword with the area letter (S - South) surrounded by an open chaplet of oak leaves, all or." The coat of arms of the Southern Military District Staff 1994–2000. It was also used by the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

2000–2005 and the Western Military Region 2018–present. Blazon: "Azure, with waves argent six times divided bendy-sinister argent, charged with a doubletailed crowned lion rampant or, armed and langued gules. The shield surmounted an erect sword or." File:Södra militärområdesstab vapen.svg, Coat of arms of the Southern Military District Staff 1983–1994. File:Södra militärdistriktsstaben vapen.svg, Coat of the arms of the Southern Military District Staff 1994–2000, the

2000–2005 and the Western Military Region 2018–present.

Medals

In 2000, the ''Södra militärområdesstabens (MilostabS) minnesmedalj'' ("Southern Military District Staff (MilostabS) Commemorative Medal") in silver (MiloSSMM) of the 8th size was established. The medal is oval in shape and the

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is of yellow moiré with blue edges and a blue stripe on each side.

Commanding officers

Military commanders

*1942–1947: Major General

Ernst af Klercker Lieutenant General Achates Ernst Wilhelm af Klercker (28 December 1881 – 18 May 1955) was a senior Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include postings as chief of the Military Office of the Land Defence and Acting Chief of the Army Sta ...

*1947–1947: Major General

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 ...

*1948–1953: Major General

Samuel Åkerhielm Lieutenant General ''Friherre'' Samuel Lars Åkerhielm af Blombacka (23 October 1887 – 15 January 1976) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include commander of the Norrbotten Artillery Corps from 1931 to 1937, the Royal Swedish Arm ...

*1953–1961: Major General

Viking Tamm Lieutenant General Viking Sebastian Henricsson Tamm (21July 1896 – 25November 1975) was a Swedish Army officer. In addition to the years he served in the Swedish Army, Tamm led a group of Swedish officers who developed the Ethiopian ...

*1961–1963: Major General

Curt Göransson General Curt Ture Engelbrecht Göransson (15July 1909 – 11November 1996) was a Swedish Army officer. Göransson's senior commands include Chief of the Defence Staff 1957–1961, military commander of the I Military District 196 ...

*1963–1966: Major General

Tage Olihn Lieutenant General David ''Tage'' Olihn (5 November 1908 – 16 April 1996) was a senior officer of the Swedish Army. Olihn's senior commands include Inspector of the Swedish Armoured Troops and military commander of the I Military District and ...

*1966–1968: Lieutenant General

Stig Norén General Carl Stig Norén (10 May 1908 – 10 September 1996) was a Swedish Air Force officer. Norén started his military career in the Swedish Navy and was after a few years transferred to the Swedish Air Force where he would remain for over 30 ...

*1968–1972: Vice Admiral

Oscar Krokstedt Vice Admiral Nils ''Oscar'' Jakob Krokstedt (12 October 1908 – 13 December 1985) was a Swedish Navy officer. His senior commands included Chief of the Naval Staff, head of the Swedish National Defence College and military commander of the We ...

*1972–1980: Lieutenant General

Karl Eric Holm Lieutenant General Karl Eric Holm (3 June 1919 – 27 July 2016) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps (1968–1972), military commander of the Southern Military District (197 ...

*1980–1982: Lieutenant General Sven-Olof Olson *1982–1984: Vice Admiral

Bengt Schuback Vice Admiral Bengt Jacob Schuback (15 May 1928 – 4 December 2015) was a Swedish Navy officer. He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1978 to 1982 during which time the Soviet submarine ''U 137'' ran aground in Swedish waters. Schuback was lat ...

*1984–1988: Lieutenant General Carl Björeman *1988–1992: Lieutenant General Gustaf Welin *1992–1994: Lieutenant General

Owe Wiktorin General (Sweden), General Owe Erik Axel Wiktorin (born 7 May 1940) is a retired Swedish Air Force officer. Wiktorin was Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1994 to 2000. His time as Supreme Commander was marked by major cutbacks of ...

*1994–1998: Lieutenant General Sven-Åke Jansson *1998–2000: Lieutenant General Kent Harrskog

Deputy military commanders

*1942–1943: Major general

Hugo Gadd Major General Hugo Adolf Magnus Christoffer Gadd (13 March 1885 – 13 December 1968) was a senior Swedish Army officer. Early life Gadd was born on 13 March 1885 in Malmö, Sweden, the son of Christoffer Gadd, a wholesaler, and his wife Augusta ...

*1943–1946: Colonel Sven Colliander *1946–1948: Colonel

*1948–1953: Colonel Sven Erhard Öberg *1953–1954: Colonel Karl Ångström *1955–1962: Lieutenant colonel Miles Flach *1963–1966: Colonel

Stig Löfgren Lieutenant General Stig Albert Lorentz Löfgren (7 January 191228 April 1998) was a Swedish Army officer. He served as Deputy Commanding General of the I Military District (1963–1966) and as Commanding General of Bergslagen Military District ( ...

*1966–1973: Major general Sigmund Ahnfelt

Chiefs of Staff

*1942–1945: Lieutenant colonel Miles Flach *1945–1949: Lieutenant colonel James Axel John Maulé *1949–1951: Lieutenant colonel Wilhelm Reuterswärd *1951–1954: Lieutenant colonel Fred Ljunggren *1954–1957: Lieutenant colonel Carl Gustav Henrik Gideon Linnell *1957–1959: Major

Ove Ljung Lieutenant General Per-Ove Poul Ljung (18 May 1918 – 31 May 1997) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps, Master-General of the Ordnance, head of the Royal Swedish Army Materi ...

*1959–1966: Lieutenant colonel Valter Thomé *1966–1966: Lieutenant colonel Kjell Nordström *1966–1973: Major general Sigmund Ahnfelt *1973–1978: Rear admiral

Rolf Rheborg Rear Admiral Rolf Sigurdsson Rheborg (7 March 1922 – 8 August 1983) was a Swedish Navy officer. Rheborg served as head of the Royal Swedish Naval Academy (1969–1971), as head of Section 3 in the Naval Staff (1971–1973) and as Chief of Sta ...

*1978–1979: Rear admiral

Bror Stefenson Admiral Bror Per Harald Stefenson (4 September 1929 – 3 October 2018) was a Swedish Navy officer. Stefenson's senior commands include Chief of the Defence Staff and military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) as well as Comm ...

*1980–1984: Major general Carl Björeman *1984–1988: Rear admiral Göran Wallén *1988–1991: Rear admiral Peter Nordbeck *1991–1993: Senior colonel Hans ''Arne'' Hansson *1993–1994: Major general Bertel Österdahl *1994–1999: Major general Ulf Rubarth *1999–2000: Senior colonel Mats Welff

Names, designations and locations

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

* * * *

Web

* {{coord missing, Sweden Military districts of Sweden Disbanded units and formations of Sweden Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 2000 1942 establishments in Sweden 2000 disestablishments in Sweden Kristianstad Garrison