The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, 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 Gusta ...

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 m ...

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 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the pro ...

, where it was later garrisoned. The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000.

History

The regiment has its origins in fänikor (companies) raised in Västerbotten in the 1550s and 1560s. In 1615, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby provinces of

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...

Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Norther ...

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...

and

Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces. Other forms ...

—were organised by

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as G ...

into

Norrlands storregemente ''Norrlands storregemente'' or ''Landsregementet i Norrland'' (Norrland Grand Regiment, Regiment of the Land in Norrland) was one of the nine grand regiments organized by Gustavus Adolphus in the late 1610s and split into smaller regiments in the ...

, of which seven of the total 24 companies were recruited in Västerbotten. Norrlands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, of which Västerbotten Regiment was one. Sometime around 1624, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which Västerbotten Regiment was one. Västerbotten Regiment was one of the original 20 Swedish infantry regiments mentioned in the Swedish

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

of 1634. The regiment was allotted in 1696. It changed name to Västerbotten Ranger Regiment in 1829, and was split into two corps units of

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

size in 1841, one of them being Västerbotten Ranger Corps, the other being Norrbotten Ranger Corps. The unit was upgraded to regimental size and renamed back to Västerbotten Regiment in 1892. The regiment had its training grounds at various places in Västerbotten, but was eventually garrisoned in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

in 1909. The regiment was given the designation I 19 (19th Infantry Regiment) in a general order in 1816, but that designation was given to Norrbotten Ranger Corps when the unit split, and Västerbotten Ranger Corps was instead given the designation I XIX (XIXth Infantry Regiment, XIX which in the

Roman numeral system 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 ...

equals 19). When the unit regained its old name and size in 1892, the designation was changed to I 20 (20th Infantry Regiment).

Campaigns

*The

Second Polish War The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

(1600–1629) *The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

(1630–1648) *The

Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised. While the Great Northern War is gen ...

(1655–1661) *The

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

(1674–1679) *The

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

(1700–1721) *The Hats' Russian War (1741–1743) *The

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

(1757–1762) *The

Gustav III's Russian War Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

(1788–1790) *The

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a res ...

(1808–1809) *The

Campaign against Norway Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

(1814)

Organisation

;1634(?) * Livkompaniet *Överstelöjtnantens kompani *Majorens kompani *Lövångers kompani *Kalix kompani *Bygdeå kompani *Skellefteå kompani *Piteå kompani ;1841 *Livkompaniet *Skellefteå kompani *Bygdeå kompani *Lövångers kompani

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

The regiment has presented several colours. On 20 June 1952, the regiment was presented with its last colour by His Majesty King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

in Umeå. It then replaced the 1902 colour. The new one was used as regimental colour until 1 July 2000. The colour is drawn by Sven Sköld. It has not been possible to discover who has manufactured the colour. It was embroidered by hand in insertion technique.

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 visua ...

: "On white cloth the provincial badge of Lappland; a red savage with green garlands of birch leaves around head and loins, a yellow club on the right shoulder. On a red border at the upper side of the colour, battle honours (

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

1677,

Düna , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

1701, Kliszów 1702,

Fraustadt Wschowa (pronounced , german: Fraustadt) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. His ...

1706, Malatitze 1708,

Strömstad Strömstad is a locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a ''city'' despite its small population. Strömstad became part of ...

1717) in white." File:AM.000850.jpg, 1878 colour of the regiment. File:AM.010338.jpg, 1897 colour of the 1st Battalion. File:AM.010340.jpg, 1897 colour of the 2nd Battalion. File:AM.010341.jpg, 1920s standard of the 20th Ranger Brigade.

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Västerbotten Regiment (I 20/Fo 61) 1977–1994 and the Lapland Brigade (', NB 20) 1994–1997.

: "Argent, the provincial badge of Lapland, a savage gules, garlands of birch leaves vert around head and loins, holding a club or on his right shoulder. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire or." The coat of arms of the Västerbotten Regiment (I 20/Fo 61) 1994–2000 and the Västerbotten Group (') since 2000. Blazon: "Argent, the provincial badge of Lapland, a savage gules, gar-lands of birch leaves vert around head and loins, holding a club or on his right shoulder. The shield surmounted two swords in saltire or." File:Västerbottens regemente vapen.svg, Coat of arms of the Västerbotten Regiment (I 20/Fo 61) 1977–1994 and the Lapland Brigade (', NB 20) 1994–1997. File:Västerbottensgruppen vapen.svg, Coat of the arms of the Västerbotten Regiment (I 20/Fo 61) 1994–2000 and the Västerbotten Group (') 2000–present.

Medals

In 2000, the ' ("Västerbotten Regiment (I 20) Commemorative Medal") in silver (VbottenregSMM) 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 divided in white, red and white moiré. File:AM.019864.jpg, Västerbotten Regiment (I 20) Commemorative Medal

Heritage

After the regiment was disbanded on 30 June 2000, the colour and the regiment's traditions was passed on to Västerbotten Group ('). From 1 July 2013, the traditions of the regiment will be kept by the Västerbotten Battalion, included in the Västerbotten Group.

Other

The regiment had several anniversaries, but the 3 February, however, was the one that was celebrated the longest, which commemorated the

Battle of Fraustadt The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 ( O.S.) / 3 February 1706 (Swedish calendar) / 13 February 1706 ( N.S.) between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt (now Wschowa) in Poland. During the Battle of ...

. Furthermore, anniversaries were held on 28 June, 4 July, 5 July, 8 July, 9 July, 14 July, 23 August, 31 August and 8 October. These were anniversaries of battles that which the regiment participated in. The 8 October, was the anniversary of the last united Swedish-Finnish army division's dissolution in Umeå in 1809. The history of the ' ("Lieutenant Colonel's Company") continues today through ' ("Royal Västerbotten Regiment"), a

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

of the Association of Interactive History (') in

Sävar Sävar () is a locality situated in Umeå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,670 inhabitants in 2010. It is located by E4 about 15 km north of Umeå, Sweden. Sävar is mostly known for being the last battlefield of the Finnis ...

, seeking to revive the last battle on Swedish soil, as part of the

Year 1809 : Year 1809 (''Märkesåret 1809'' in Swedish and ''Merkkivuosi 1809'' in Finnish, literally meaning "The Significant Year 1809") was a joint Swedish/Finnish government project about the 2009 bicentennial of the division of Sweden, when Sweden had t ...

Commanding officers

Regimental commander active from 1651 to 2000.

Commanders

*1651–1657: Didrik von Cappellen *1658–1662: Günter von Rosenskans *1663–1666: Kristian Urne *1667–1671: Björn Svinhufvud *1673–1676: Jakob Stegman *1676–1683: Evert Horn *1684–1694:

Reinhold Johan von Fersen Reinhold Johan von Fersen (1646, Tallinn – 1716, Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, ...

*1702–1710: Anders Lagercrona *1711–1717: Magnus Cronberg *1717–1723:

Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock (22 July 1685 – between 16 and 27 July 1743) was a Swedish baron and Lieutenant General. He and Carl Emil Lewenhaupt were executed for negligence in the Russo-Swedish War, in the aftermath of the defeat at Villmans ...

*1723–1736: Carl Morath *1736–1741: Johan Bernhard Wiedemeijer *1743–1757: Georg Reinhold Palmstruch *1757–1770: Wilhelm Carpelan *1770–1779: Johan August Meijerfeldt *1779–1785:

Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor Count Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor (7 December 1744 – 15 May 1814) was a Swedish noble military officer and one of the Lords of the Realm. He is probably best known from his time as field marshal of Finland during the Finnish War The Finnish War ...

*1785–1791: Wilhelm Mauritz Pauli *1791–1800: Gustaf Gyllengranat *1800–1804: Otto Wrede *1804–1806:

Eberhard von Vegesack Eberhard Ernst Gotthard von Vegesack (29 March 1763 – 30 October 1818) was a German-born officer in the Swedish Army who was active from the Russo-Swedish War to the Swedish–Norwegian War The Swedish–Norwegian War, also known as the Ca ...

*1805–1811:

Johan Bergenstråhle Johan Bergenstråhle (13 May 1756 – 7 March 1840 in Stockholm) was a Swedish military officer who participated in Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790), and the Finnish War. In June 1808, he was sent as a colonel of the Swedish Army, with 1,000 men ...

*1812–1828: Lars Jacob von Knorring *1828–1837: Carl August von Hedenberg *1845–1850: Georg Gabriel Emil von Troil *1864–1868:

Ernst von Vegesack Ernst Mathias Peter von Vegesack (June 18, 1820 – January 12, 1903) was a Swedish Army officer and volunteer in the Union Army during American Civil War and later on was a member of the parliament of Sweden. After his return to Sweden, he was ...

*1874–1883: Anders Eberhard Svedelius *1883–1887: Elof von Boisman *1897–1901: Otto Ewert Mautitz *1901–1902: Carl Conrad Vogel *1902–1907: Johan Oscar Nestor *1907–1915: Gillis Bergenstråhle *1915–1921: Bengt Ribbing *1921–1928: Hugo Ankarcrona *1928–1932: Per Erlandsson *1933–1937: Carl Bennedich *1937–1941: Nils Rosenblad *1941–1947: Olof Sjöberg *1947–1952: Per Axel Holger Stenholm *1952–1952: Magnus Wilhelm af Klinteberg *1952–1959: Carol Bennedich *1959–1964: Åke H:son Söderbom *1964–1970: Allan Johan Magnus Månsson *1970–1971: Karl Iwan Eliseus *1971–1973: Dick Ernst Harald Löfgren *1973–1976: Sven Nils Anders Kruse de Verdier *1976–1981: Senior colonel Dick Ernst Harald Löfgren *1981–1983: Olof Gunnar Dackenberg *1983–1990: Erik Olof Forsgren *1990–1993: Jan Olof Lindström *1993–1999: Anders Kihl *1999–2000: Per-Ove Harry Eriksson

History

Campaigns

Organisation

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

Coat of arms

Medals

Heritage

Other

Commanding officers

Commanders

Deputy commanders

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading