The Skaraborg Regiment ( sv, Skaraborgs regemente), designation I 9, was a Swedish Army

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 mar ...

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 conscript ...

that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was converted to an armoured regiment in 1942. The regiment's soldiers were recruited from

Skaraborg County Skaraborg County ( sv, Skaraborgs län ) was a county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg to form Västra Götaland County. The count ...

, and it was later garrisoned there.

History

The regiment has its origins in '' fänikor'' raised in

in the 16th century. The oldest preserved documents dealing with ''fänikor'' and foot soldiers in Skaraborg County are from 1543. Of the ''fänikor'' from

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

and

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...

, in 1613 a grand regiment of 3,000 men was formed. Sometime between 1621 and 1624, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller field regiments which formed the basis for Skaraborg Regiment,

Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment ( sv, Älvsborgs regemente), designation I 15 and I 15/Fo 34, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1624. It was disbanded in 1998. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the prov ...

and

Halland Regiment The Halland Regiment ( sv, Hallands regemente), designations I 16 and I 16/Fo 31, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Väste ...

. Skaraborg Regiment got Bengt Pilefeldt as its first commander. The regiment was mentioned in the Instrument of Government of 1634 as ''Det Andre Wästgöthe Regemente, där under hörer Scharaborgz Lähn'' ("The second Västgöta regiment, which includes Skaraborg County"). The regiment was allotted in 1684. It was ''roterat'' (an old feudal method of recruiting) with 1,200 numbers (soldiers) in Skaraborg County. From 1696 to 1913 the regiment trained on Axevalla heath. In 1913, it moved to new barracks in

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central Southern Sweden. Skövde is situated some 150 ...

. The regiment received an armored battalion in 1939 and was reorganized in 1942 into an armored regiment, giving it the name Skaraborg Armoured Regiment (P 4).

Organisation

;1684(?) * Livkompaniet *Överstelöjtnantens kompani *Majorens kompani *Vartofta kompani *Skåninge kompani *Kåkinds kompani *Willska kompani *Norra Wassbo kompani ;1854(?) *Livkompaniet *Höjentorps kompani *Vartofta kompani *Vilska kompani *Södra Vadsbo kompani *Norra Vadsbo kompani *Kåkinds kompani *Skånings kompani

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

When the regiment was reorganized into an armoured unit, the colour from the time as an infantry unit was kept. The colour was of the 1844 model, and had been presented on 24 June 1858 by Crown Prince Carl Ludvig Eugen (later

Charles XV Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to as Charles IV, from 8 July 1859 until his dea ...

), then in the form of two battalion colours. The colour originally had only two battle honours, Lützen (1632) and Malatitze (1708). After further investigations, the regiment was admitted in 1929 on the colour of the 2nd Battalion add six battle honours; Varberg (1565), Narva (1581), Leipzig (1642), Warsaw (1656), Lund (1676) and Landskrona (1677). Until 1994, the regimental colour was the oldest in use when it was replaced by a new colour.

Medals

In 1942, the ' ("Royal Skaraborg Regiment Medal of Merit") in gold (SkarabregGM) was established.

Commanding officers

Regimental commanders active at the regiment during the years 1634–1709 and 1709–1942. For regimental commanders after 1942, see

Skaraborg Regiment (armoured) The Skaraborg Regiment ( sv, Skaraborgs regemente), designation P 4, is a Swedish Army armoured regiment that traces its origins back to the 16th century. It was converted from an infantry regiment in 1942. The regiment's soldiers were originally ...

. *1634–1638: Bengt Persson Pilefelt (1631) *1639–1648: Peder Lindormsson Ribbing af Zernava *1648–1656: Johan Nern *1656–1665: Johan Hård af Segerstad *1665–1679: Henrik Fredrik von Börstell *1679–1688: Gustaf Hård af Segerstad *1688–1705: Nils Brattman Stromberg *1706–1709: Casper Otto Sperling *1709–1709: Carl Gustaf Ulfsparre af Broxvik *1709–1717: Georg Witting *1717–1720: Sven Lagerberg *1720–1729: Hans Henrik von Essen *1729–1737: Gustaf Gadde *1737–1738: Hans Georg Mörner af Morlanda *1739–1743: Carl Henrik Wrangel af Adinal *1744–1748: Anton Adolf af Wasaborg *1748–1748: Fredrik Henrik Sparre *1748–1750: Carl Magnus de Laval *1750–1762: Carl von Otter *1762–1772: Fabian Casimir Wrede af Elimä *1772–1790: Pehr Scheffer *1791–1796: Wilhelm Mauritz Pauli *1796–1808: Carl Johan Gyllenhaal *1808–1809: Carl Mörner af Tuna *1809–1816: Carl Henrik Posse af Säby *1816–1836: Christer Posse af Säby *1837–1844: Magnus von Rosen *1845–1858: Sebastian Carl von Knorring *1858–1864: Adolf Ludvig de Maré *1864–1879: Alexander Johan Wästfelt *1879–1882:

Axel Ryding Lieutenant General Knut ''Axel'' Ryding (28 August 1831 – 7 February 1897) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include the post of Chief of the General Staff and commanding officer of the 3rd Military District and the 3rd Division. ...

*1882–1885: Gustaf Fredrik Snoilsky *1885–1893: Oscar Theodor Fåhraeus *1893–1898: Gustaf d´Albedyhll *1898–1906: Oscar Alfred Wäsfelt *1906–1909: Carl Axel Örn *1909–1916: Axel Carleson *1916–1919: Daniel Magnus Fredrik Björkman *1919–1922: Tell Schmidt *1922–1931: Carl Pehr Pontus Reuterswärd *1931–1935: Carl Uggla *1935–1942: Arthur Nordensvan

History

Organisation

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

Medals

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

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Further reading