Västerbotten Regiment
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The Västerbotten Regiment (), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a
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 ...
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...
, 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 the ...
,
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 Northe ...
,
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...
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 and the most densely populated of the No ...
—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 ...
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 th ...
, 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, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
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 up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
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 ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...
in 1909. The regiment was given the designation I 19 (19th Infantry Regiment) in a
general order A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure that is not otherwise addres ...
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 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 (1600–1629) *The
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
(1630–1648) *The
Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern Europe, northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, primarily between the territorial rivals of the Swedish Empire, Tsardom of Russia, Poland–Lithuani ...
(1655–1661) *The
Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...
(1674–1679) *The
Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
(1700–1721) *The Hats' Russian War (1741–1743) *The
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
(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 (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...
(1808–1809) *The Campaign against Norway (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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
: "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 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 to the island of Ven, an ...
1677,
Düna The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of t ...
1701, Kliszów 1702, Fraustadt 1706, Malatitze 1708,
Strömstad Strömstad is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a Stad (Sweden), ''city'' despite its small popu ...
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.
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 ...
: "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 historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a histor ...
of the Association of Interactive History (') in Sävar, seeking to revive the last battle on Swedish soil, as part of the Year 1809.


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 *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 Villma ...
*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, where his command ...
*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 (1814), Swedish–Norwegian War. By birth, he was mem ...
*1805–1811: Johan Bergenstråhle *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 Generalmajor (Sweden), Major General Gustaf Nils Oscar Rosenblad (1 August 1888 – 14 July 1981) was a senior Swedish Army officer. He served as commander of Västerbotten Regiment (1937–1941), commander of the 9th Army Division (1941), deputy ...
*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


Deputy commanders

*1980–1981: Colonel Olof Dackenberg


Names, designations and locations


See also

*
List of Swedish infantry regiments This is a list of Swedish infantry regiments. Original regiments The original thirteen (fourteen) Swedish county regiments of Foot: * '' Dalregementet'' (Dalarna Regiment) * '' Hälsinge regemente'' (Hälsingland Regiment) * '' Jönköpings r ...


Footnotes


References


Notes


Print

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Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasterbottens Regemente Infantry regiments of the Swedish Army Disbanded units and formations of Sweden Military units and formations established in 1624 Military units and formations disestablished in 1709 Military units and formations established in 1709 Military units and formations disestablished in 2000 Umeå Garrison