The Swedish Volunteer Corps ( sv, Svenska frivilligkåren) 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 ...

numbered 9,640 officers and men.

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was officially

non-belligerent A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war. A non-belligerent state differs from a neutral one in ...

during the war, so the Corps was used by

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 ...

. The Swedish volunteers were in the front lines in the northern

Salla Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of S ...

area starting from February 28, 1940. Their losses included 33 dead, 10 missing, 50 wounded, and 130 disabled by

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

. There were also 25 aircraft that served in the Swedish Voluntary Air Force, F19. Swedish volunteers also defended

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

in an anti-aircraft battery. By the end of the war, the Volunteer Corps was composed of 8,260 Swedes, plus 725 Norwegians, and 600 Danes. They demonstrated a strong Nordic unity that was symbolized in their "four brother hands" insignia which represented Finland, Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Commanders

*1940: 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 ...

Organization

Swedish Volunteer Corps - ''Svenska Frivilligkåren'' ** I. stridsgruppen (Lieutenant-Colonel Magnus Dyrssen, Captain Carl C:son Bonde, Lieutenant-Colonel Carl-Oscar Agell) *** 1. skyttekompaniet *** 2. skyttekompaniet *** 3. skyttekompaniet *** 4. jägarkompaniet *** 5. tunga kompaniet *** 1. batteriet *** 1. plogplutonen *** 1. signalplutonen ** II. stridsgruppen (Lieutenant-Colonel

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 ...

) *** 1. skyttekompaniet *** 2. skyttekompaniet *** 3. skyttekompaniet *** 4. jägarkompaniet *** 5. tunga kompaniet *** 2. batteriet *** 2. plogplutonen *** 2. signalplutonen ** III. stridsgruppen (Lieutenant-Colonel

Martin Ekström Martin Eugen Ekström (6 December 1887 – 28 December 1954) was a Swedish military adventurer who became the leader of the National Socialist Bloc, an umbrella organization for various fascist and National Socialist groups. Ekström was born ...

) *** 1. skyttekompaniet *** 2. skyttekompaniet *** 3. skyttekompaniet *** 4. jägarkompaniet *** 5. tunga kompaniet *** 3. batteriet *** 3. plogplutonen *** 3. signalplutonen **Other units: ***1. pansarvärnsplutonen ***2. pansarvärnsplutonen ***Luftvärnskompaniet ***Ingenjörkompaniet ***16. självständiga jägarkompaniet ***(17. självständiga jägarkompaniet) ***Intendenturkompaniet ***Vägkompaniet ***1. bilkompaniet ***2. bilkompaniet ***Anspannskompaniet ***1. sjukvårdsplutonen ***2. sjukvårdsplutonen ***Hästambulans ***Ambulans *** F 19

Weapons

*7.5 cm Guns M/02 *40mm Anti Aircraft Guns M/36 *7.5 cm Anti Aircraft guns *20mm Automatic Cannons *3.7 cm Anti Tank guns M/38 *8 cm Mortars M/29 *13mm Anti Tank Rifles

Vehicles

*83 motorcycles *83 cars *350 trucks *13 tractors

Casualties

33 men of the Swedish Volunteer Corps were killed. These were:

Footnotes

References

External links

''Volunteers in the Winter War''Swedish language site of the Swedish Volunteer organization
Winter War Volunteers in the Winter War Military units and formations of Finland in World War II Military history of Sweden Military units and formations of Sweden Expatriate military units and formations Soviet Union–Sweden relations Corps of Sweden Danish expatriates in Finland Norwegian expatriates in Finland Swedish expatriates in Finland {{Sweden-hist-stub