The Eastern Army Division (, 4. förd), was a division of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

that operated in various forms from 1941 to 2000. Its staff was located in Strängnäs Garrison in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

. The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000.

History

The Eastern Army Division was raised on 1 August 1941 as the IV Division (''IV. fördelningen''). The division was together with the XIV Division directly subordinate to the military commander of the IV Military District, while the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), 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 Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

was responsible for raising and mobilization of the army division staff. In 1957, the mobilization responsibility for the division was transferred to the Göta Life Guards, and in 1970 to the

Uppland Regiment The Uppland Regiment (), designation I 8, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1957. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Uppland, and it was ...

. However, the peace organization of the army division was co-located with the military district staff. On 1 October 1966, the designation was changed from being given in

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

Arabic numerals The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numera ...

, that is, the division was termed the 4th Division (''4. fördelningen''). On 1 July 1991, the Bergslagen Military District and the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner 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 wi ...

merged and formed the

Middle Military District Middle Military District (, Milo M) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), 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 ar ...

. The army division, together with the Middle Army Division, thus came to be subordinate to the military commander of the Middle Military District. Through the Defence Act of 1992, the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

decided that the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...

' war organization should reflect the peace organization. As of 1 July 1994, the army division staff, together with the Middle Army Division, came to be organized as cadre-organized units within the Middle Military District. Prior to the Defence Act of 1996, the Swedish government proposed to the Riksdag that the war organization to be reduced. Where, among other things, the three military districts would be covered by each division staff. Of the six division staffs, three with division units and 13 army brigades would be maintained. Within the Middle Military District, the government proposed that the Middle Army Division should be disbanded. On 13 December 1996, the Riksdag adopted the government's bill, which meant that the Middle Army Division was disbanded on 31 December 1997. By the disbandment of the Middle Army Division, the Eastern Army Division became the only remaining army division in

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south-central Sweden and is one of the three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tive ...

. Prior to Defence Act of 2000, the government proposed in its bill to the Riksdag that the tactical level would be reduced by the disbandment of divisions, and defense district staffs as well as naval commands and air force commands. This was to design an Army Tactical Command, Naval Tactical Command and an Air Force Tactical Command which would be co-located with the

Joint Forces Command The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services. History Background In August 2010 the then Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, ask ...

. The proposal meant that all territorial staffs would be disbanded, which meant, among other things, that the three army division staffs were disbanded on 30 June 2000. In its place on 1 July 2000, the 1st Mechanized Division (''1. mekaniserade divisionen''), was raised which gathered all field units within the army.

Barracks and training areas

Although the division was mobilized by other units, it was in peace time grouped together with the military district staff. When the division staff was raised, it came to be co-located with the Eastern Military District Staff at

Stureplan Stureplan is a Town square, public square in central Stockholm, between Norrmalm (proper), Norrmalm and Östermalm. The square connects the major streets Kungsgatan, Stockholm, Kungsgatan, Birger Jarlsgatan and Sturegatan. The buildings around ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. In 1949, the two staffs were moved to the barracks of the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1) at Lidingövägen 28 in Stockholm. On 14 June 1963, both staff were transferred to a new property complex in

Garrison, where it was located in various forms until 2005.

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Eastern Army Division used from 1994 to 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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: "Or, from a wavy base azure, a demigriffon issuant sable, armed and langued gules. The shield surmounted two batons, charged with open crowns azure in saltire or".

Medals

In 2000, the ''Östra arméfördelningens (4.förd) minnesmedalj'' ("Eastern Army Division (4.förd) Commemorative Merit") in silver (ÖFördSMM) of the 8th size was established. 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 blue moiré with a broad red stripe on the middle followed on both sides by a white line and with two yellow lines on each side. File:AM.019850.jpg, Eastern Army Division Commemorative Merit. File:AM.019851.jpg, Ribbon.

Commanding officers

*1941–1968: ? *1968–1970:

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Nils Östlund *1970–1976:

Senior Colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

Sten Ljungqvist *1976–1979: Senior Colonel Bengt Selander *1979–1990: Senior Colonel Åke Lundin *1990–1994: Senior Colonel Nils Rosenqvist *1994–1999: Senior Colonel

Ulf Henricsson Överste av 1. graden, Senior Colonel Ulf Hugo Henricsson (born 1February 1942) is a former Sweden, Swedish officer. He is best known for his achievements in the Bosnian War as commander of the peacekeeping operations from September 1993 to April ...

History

Barracks and training areas

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

Medals

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading