The Västmanland Regiment (), designations I 18 and Fo 48, 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. It was disbanded for the first time in 1927 but later reraised and disbanded again in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...

, and it was later garrisoned there.

History

The regiment has its origins in fänikor (companies) raised in Västmanland in the 1550s and 1560s. In 1617, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby provinces of

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

and

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

—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 Upplands storregemente, of which six of the total 24 companies were recruited in Västmanland. Upplands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, of which Västmanland Regiment was one. Sometime around 1623, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which Västmanland Regiment was one. The regiment was officially raised in 1628 although it had existed since 1623. Västmanland 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's first commander was Bengt Bagge. It was allotted in 1682 as one of the first regiments to be so. The regiment was given the designation I 18 (18th 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. Västmanland Regiment was garrisoned in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

from 1906. The regiment was disbanded in 1927, but was reorganised in 1994 as a local defence district with the designation Fo 48, although disbanded again just three years later in 1997.

Campaigns

*The 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

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

(1813–1814)

Organisation

;1634(?) * Livkompaniet *Överstelöjtnantens kompani *Majorens kompani *Bergslags kompani *Strömsholms kompani *Väsby kompani *Salbergs kompani *Kungsörs kompani ;1814(?) *Livkompaniet *Folkare kompani *Väsby kompani *Salbergs kompani *Västerås kompani *Strömsholms kompani *Bergs kompani *Kungsörs kompani

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

The regiment was presented with its last colours (two battalion colours) in 1859 (m/1859), which it received at Ladugardsgärdet in

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 ...

. It was used until the regiment was disbanded in 1927. The colour came after a government decision to be used by the

Västmanland Wing Västmanland Wing (), also F 1 Hässlö, or simply F 1, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Hässlö Airport in Västerås in central Sweden. History The 1st Flying Corps was set up near Västerås City on 1 July 192 ...

(F 1). Västmanland Wing took over the colour on 26 September 1943, which also included the regimental battle honours, and it then became Sweden's only air force wing with battle honours on its colour. The colour was used until Västmanland Wing was disbanded in 1983. The new regiment which was raised on 1 July 1994, sought its traditions Västmandland Regiment which was disbanded in 1927. However, the regiment did not inherit the 1859 colour, but received a new colour. The colour was presented to the Västmanland Regiment (Fo 48) in Västerås by the Chief of the Army, lieutenant general

Åke Sagrén Lieutenant General Karl Åke Sagrén (26 January 1935 – 12 December 2022) was a Swedish Army officer. He was Chief of the Army from 1990 to 1994 and Chief of Army Command from 1994 to 1996. Early life Sagrén was born on 26 January 1935 in M ...

in 1994. It was used as regimental colour by Fo 48 until 1 September 1997. The colour was drawn by Ingrid Lamby and embroidered by machine in insertion technique by Gunilla Hjort.

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 Västmanland; a threepointed blue mountain, flamed proper. On a blue border at the upper side of the colour, battle honours (

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

1700,

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,

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

1710,

Gadebusch Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stadt ...

1712,

Valkeala Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...

1790) in white."

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Västmanland Regiment (Fo 48) 1994–1997 and the Västmanland Group (') 1997–2004.

: "Argent, the provincial badge of Västmanland, a three-pointed mountain azure, flammant proper. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire or".

Medals

In connection with the disbandment of Uppsala and Västmanland Defence District on 30 June 2000, the ' ("Uppland-Västmanland Defence District Commemorative Medal") in silver (UpplVästmlfoMSM) was established. In 2005, the ' ("Västmanland Regiment Commemorative Medal") in silver (VästmanlfoMSM) was established.

Heritage

After the regiment was disbanded in 1997, the regimental traditions was passed on to the Västmanland Group ('). From 1 July 2013, the traditions are continued by the Västmanland Battalion (') within the Uppland and Västmanland Group (').

Other

The regimental march was "Prinz Friedrich Carl-March". After the regiment was disbanded, the march was taken over by the Västmanland Wing. However, it came to be titled "". When the new regiment was raised in 1994, the march regained its original title.

Commanding officers

Regimental commander active from 1628 to 1997. *1628–16??: Bengt Bagge *1631–1634: Erik Lilliehöök af Fårdala *1634–19??: Erik Stenbock *1656–1658: William Philp *1667–1668: Erik Leijonhielm *1668–1677: Thomas van der Noot *1678–1693: Peter Creimers *1699–1716: Axel Sparre *1710–1710: Gustaf Johan Tunderfelt (acting) *1712–1713: Melker Falkenberg (acting) *1714–1716: Carl Breitholtz *1716–1720: Bernhard Reinhold von Delwig (acting) *1720–1728: Axel Sparre *1728–1739: Gustaf Fredrik von Rosen *1739–1747: Otto Christian von der Pahlen *1747–1770: Samuel Gustaf Stierneld *1770–1771: Gustaf Adolf von Siegroth *1771–1773: Jonas Cronstedt *1773–1780: Fredrik Arvidsson Posse *1773–1780: Frederick Adolf (acting) *1780–1803: Frederick Adolf *1780–1785: Wilhelm Mauritz Pauli (''

Executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

'') *1788–1790: Jakob Gripensvärd, sekundchef *1790–1803: Lars Stiernstam, sekundchef *1804–1804: Lars Stiernstam *1804–1809: Adolf Ludvig von Friesendorff *1810–1815: Pehr Brändström *1816–1820: Carl Albrekt Leijonflycht *1820–1823: Fredrik Ludvig Ridderstolpe *1823–1825: Gustaf Abraham Peyron *1825–1834: Carl Joakim von Düben *1835–1836: Otto Palmstierna *1836–1836: Carl Fredrik Wilhelm von Tuné (acting) *1836–1844: Axel Johan Adam Möllerhjelm *1844–1851: Carl Fredrik Wilhelm von Tuné *1851–1860: Fredrik af Klercker *1860–1870: Johan Gabriel Eketrä *1870–1884: David August Leonard Silverstolpe *1884–1897: Axel Magnus Otto Reuterskiöld *1897–1902: Waldemar Anshelm Gotthard Nisbeth *1902–1906: Carl Conrad Vogel *1906–1914: Pehr Hasselrot *1915–1919: Joachim Åkerman *1919–1923: Magnus Adlercreutz *1923–1927: Axel Klingenstierna *1994–1995: Kjell Högberg *1995–1997: Göran Andersson

History

Campaigns

Organisation

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

Coat of arms

Medals

Heritage

Other

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading