The original edition was published under the title

Szwedzka broń pancerna. Organizacja, przegląd konstrukcji

Warszawa 2020

Translation:

Katarzyna Winciorek

Editors:

Roman S. Czarny, Łukasz Przybyło (English edition)
Tadeusz Zawadzki, Jolanta Wierzchowska (Polish edition)

Cover design by:

Teresa Oleszczuk

Maps:

Tadeusz Zawadzki

DTP:

Wanda Zawadzka, Tadeusz Zawadzki

Composition of the eBook:

Epubeum

This publication was financially supported by the Jan Kochanowski University.

Copyright © 2020 by Krzysztof Kubiak Copyright for English edition © 2020 by Tetragon

Cover photo: Stridsvagn 103 tanks on the Revinge proving ground, 2015 (Jorchr/Wikipedia)

Title-page photo: Strv 74 tanks during excercises in Södertälje region.KP AFV visible in the background,1960s (Arsenalen)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN (ebook) 978-83-66687-21-9

ISBN (print) 978-83-66687-06-6

Table of Contents

Introduction

Geographical Features

General Assumptions of the Swedish Defense Concept

Structural Evolvement 1921−89

The 1920s, 1930s,and the Second World War: Between National Pacifism and Military Necessity

The Legacy of the Great War and the Threat of a New War

Light Tanks Stridsvagn m/21 and m/21-29

Light Tank Renault FT-17

Armored Cars Pansarbil fm/25 and fm/26

Light Tank Stridsvagn fm/28

Armored Car Pansarbil fm/29

Landsverk’s Export Experience: the L-180, L-181, L-182 Family

Armored Car Pansarbil m/31

Light Tanks Stridsvagn fm/31 and m/31

Tankettes Carden-Loyd Mk V and Mk VI

Light Tank (Tankette) Stridsvagn m/37

Light Tanks Stridsvagn m/38, m/39, m/40L, and m/40K

In Search of Equipment: Armored Car Pansarbil m/39-40

Light Tank Stridsvagn m/41

In Search of Equipment: Armored Car Pansarbil m/41

Armored Car Pansarbil m/31F

Medium Tank Stridsvagn m/42

Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn m/43

Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Terrängbil M/42 KP

Self-Propelled Assault Gun Stormartillerivagn m/43

Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun (Tank Destroyer)Pansarvärnskanonvagn m/43

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun Luftvärnskanonvagn fm/43

The Cold War: Seeking Harmony between Satisfying the Needs and Permanent Frugality

Self-propelled Gun Infanterikanonvagn 72, 102, and 103

Tanks Stridsvagn 81, 101, 102, and 104

Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn 81

Tank Stridsvagn 74

Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarbandvagn 301

Tank Stridsvagn 103

Armored Cars Pansarbil M8 and M3

Armored Cars Pansarbil Ferret and Humber

Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarbandvagn 302

Self-propelled Howitzer Bandkanon 1A/C

Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn 82

Bridge Layer Brobandvagn 941

Self-Propelled Gun (Light Tank) Infanterikanonvagn 91

Tank Destroyer Pansarvärnsrobotbandvagn 551 and Anti-Aircraft Vehicle Luftvärnsrobotbandvagn 701

Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarterrängbil 180

An Attempt to Sum Up

Appendices

Appendix A. Unarmored Infantry Carriers and Fighting Vehicles

Appendix B. Command and Staff Vehicles

Appendix C. Armored Recovery Vehicles Bärgningsterrängbil 965 and Bärgningsterrängbil 970

Appendix D. Tractors

Appendix E. Värntorn: The Afterlife of Swedish Tanks

Appendix F. Armored Trains

Appendix G. Volvo V Engine

Appendix H. Swedish Fighting Vehicle Armament

Appendix I. 71 mm Lyran Illuminating Mortar

Appendix J. Anti-Tank and Anti-Aircraft Guided Missiles in Sweden

Appendix K. The Swedish Tiger

Bibliography

Introduction

Geographical Features

It is impossible to discuss Swedish armor, even at the level of equipment, without explaining the main assumptions of the Swedish defense doctrine, itself greatly influenced by the country’s geographical situation and natural conditions. At the very beginning, it is worth noting that Sweden is a fairly big country in Northern Europe, forming the eastern flank of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Within its borders lie Gotland, Öland, and many other coastal islands. With a total area of 173,732 square miles (449,964 sq km), Sweden is the fifty-fifth largest country in the world and fifth-largest in Europe. Its shape should not be left unmentioned: Sweden is visualized as the front paws, chest, body, stomach, and withers of what is known as the Scandinavian Lion. Sweden’s longitudinal extent is 969 miles (1,560 km), running from the Smygehuk Lighthouse in the south to a tripoint between Norway, Sweden, and Finland in the north, and its latitudinal stretch is 255 miles (410 km) from a border crossing with Norway in the west between Ørje and Töcksfors to the eastern coast of the Gisslingö island. Sweden is an Arctic country, as about fifteen percent of its area lies within the Arctic Circle. On land, the Kingdom of Sweden borders with:

- Norway to the west: 1,006 miles (1,619 km) along a watershed in the Scandinavian mountain chain. (The highest mountain in Norway is Galdhøpiggen at 8,100 feet [2,469 m]; in Sweden, the highest mountain is Kebnekaise at 6,903 feet [2,104 m]; in Finland, it is Halti at 4,344 feet [1,324 m].);

- Finland (previously the Russian Empire) to the northeast: 364 miles (586 km) from the Three-Country Cairn tripoint at lake Goldajärvi (close to Kilpisjärvi), running along a small stream to Kuohkimajärvi, then along the Kuohkimajoki River to Kilpisjärvi, and by the Könkämäeno, Muonio, and Torne Rivers to Haparanda.[1]

Sweden has a maritime border, measured along the baseline[2] at 2,000 miles (3,218 km). The border is highly developed. There are approximately 222,000 islands and islets within the Swedish borders, and their area is 4,083 square miles (10,574 sq km, or 2.6 percent of the country’s territory). The largest ones are Gotland (1,156 square miles [2,994 sq km] with a 426-mile [686 km] coastline), a particular challenge from the military point of view, and Öland (520 square miles [1,347 sq km] with a 308-mile [496 km] coastline). Gotland lies at a fifty-nine-mile [95 km] distance away from the shore, in the central part of the Baltic Sea. Öland stretches along the coast in the southern part of Sweden and is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait, which at its narrowest point measures three miles (5 km). A bridge crosses it there. The total length of the coastline, when counting the islands, is 37,780 miles (60,800 km).[3] Sweden shares territorial water borders with:

- Finland (previously the Russian Empire) in the Gulf of Bothnia, with a length of approximately 450 miles (725 km) and width ranging from fifty miles (80 km) in the Kvarken Strait up to 150 miles (240 km), and on the Sea of Åland (the distance between the Åland Islands and Sweden is about twenty-five miles [40 km]). Both water bodies usually freeze by the end of December and stay covered with ice until April. Despite the changing climate, during winter the Swedish Command has to take into account that the Gulf of Bothnia and Sea of Åland[4] do not form a water barrier in the classical sense of the term;

- Denmark through the Sound (connected by a bridge). The narrowest point of the strait is 2.7 miles (4.4 km).

The coasts of Estonia are separated from Sweden by 110−135 nautical miles (200–250 km) of water, the coasts of Latvia, by 145 nautical miles (270 km), but Gotland lies approximately 80 nautical miles (150 km) away from Latvia. Lithuania’s coast lies 150 nautical miles (280 km) away from Sweden, and the distance between the Kaliningrad Oblast and Sweden is about 150 nautical miles (290 km). The smallest distance between Sweden and Poland is ninety nautical miles (170 km)—between the town of Ustka and the islands located south of Karlskrona. The German mainland coast is seventy-five nautical miles (140 km) away from Sweden, and the northern coast of Rügen is fifty-five nautical miles (100 km) away.[5]

In relation to the area, Sweden is not a populous country. In 1939 it had 6.2 million inhabitants (currently ca. ten million). The majority of the population is of Swedish ethnicity. The largest minority group continues to be Finns, currently at 156,000 people.[6] The population is not evenly distributed: the largest centers are Metropolitan Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg. A relatively large population density can be also found in the south of the country and in a lowland area adjacent to the Gulf of Bothnia. The inner part of Sweden is in many regions virtually uninhabited, except around Strömsund and Öresund in the central part of the interior, in the direction of the Norwegian city of Trondheim. These are the same regions where most of Sweden’s industry is located.

Map 1. Possible directions of attack of the Soviet Army in Scandinavia

Gotland: a unique case

Gotland is a key position in the central part of the Baltic Sea. Keeping an island means controlling the shipping and the air traffic. ELINT installations monitoring the activities of the Russian Navy and the Air Force are located on the eastern coast. The importance of Gotland has remained the same since the mid-nineteenth century (the era of Crimean War), when a British-French squadron was stationed there. The island was (and still is) an important asset as well as a very serious challenge for the Swedish defense system. (KK)

With an area of 1,156 square miles (2,994 sq km) and a coastline of 426 miles (686 km), Gotland is the largest island in Sweden and the Baltic Sea. It is a lowland island (its highest point—the Lojsta Heath—is elevated to only 272 feet [83 m]) with coniferous forests and meadows. It has 58,000 inhabitants and its largest city and capital is Visby, a city located on the western coast with a population of 23,000. Other larger towns include Slite (1,600 inhabitants), a port on the eastern coast, Hemse (1,900), Klintehamn (1,500), and Vibble (1,100). Off the northeastern coast lies the island of Fårö, with an area of 43.7 square miles (113.3 sq km), a coastline of sixty miles (97 km), and around 500 inhabitants. The Fårö Strait, separating the two islands, is an excellent anchoring ground, in the past used by the Swedish fleet (and during the Crimean War as an operating base by joint British-French forces in warfare against Russia, including an attack on the Åland Islands, which resulted in occupying the Bomarsund Fortress in August 1854). There is another island, twenty nautical miles (37 km) north of Fårö, called the Gotska Sandön (area: 14.11 square miles [36.54 sq km], coastline: sixteen miles [25 km]). Apart from the ports in Visby and Slite, Gotland has some thirty other harbors and marinas. There is an airport close to Visby, and the island has three additional highway airstrips (prepared to act as a field landing site). The coast is generally even, except for occasional cliffs on the southwest of Visby (Högklint). Gotland is about thirty-one miles (50 km) away from the mainland and eighty nautical miles (150 km) away from the coast of Latvia. Because of its central location on the Baltic Sea, holding Gotland means controlling the area where the Baltic becomes narrower and having control over the access to the ports of the Gulfs of Riga, Finland, and Bothnia, along with the southern and eastern parts of Sweden’s coast. Gotland became part of the country in 1645, by the Treaty of Brömsebro. In 1676 Denmark took over it again, but the Swedes were back only three years later. The last enemy soldiers (the Russians during the Finnish War) showed up on the island in April 1808, but Sweden’s swift reaction forced the invaders to surrender on May 18 of the same year. After the Crimean War, and especially between 1939 and 1945, Gotland was intensely fortified.

Combat vehicles have been stationed in Gotland since the 1930s. By the end of the Cold War, it had three full Strv 104 (locally modernized Centurions) battalions. On the one hand, this is an account of the role played by the island, but on the other hand, it can be explained by the fact that Gotland is one of the few places in Sweden suitable for the use of armor.

Source: Bengt Hammarhjelm, Gotland under Kalla Kriget (Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek, 2015), 141–51; “Sweden: Gotland,” last modified April 4, 2020, https://www.citypopulation.de/php/sweden-gotland.php.

Therefore, the following polygon must be considered a strategic core (heartland) of the country: the area between Gothenburg, Karlstad, Uppsala, Stockholm, Kalmar, Karlskrona, Ystad, and Malmö. The perimeter measures circa eight hundred miles (1,300 km) and is a uniform 35,000-square mile (90,000 sq km) area of land. It has a highly wooded glacial landform, with many ribbon and kettle lakes. A large lake system separates it from the northern part of the country. It is worth remembering that Stockholm lies on the edge of the heartland and is relatively unprotected by the lakes lying north of it. What is more, it is exposed to danger from the sea.

The climate of Sweden is varied—a feature caused by the country’s large longitudinal extent. The southern part of Sweden has a temperate climate while the central and northern parts have a cold climate. Average temperatures are higher than at similar longitudes in different parts of the world (18°F [10°C] higher in January and 5°F [3°C] higher in July). This is owed to the North Atlantic Current (an extension of the Gulf Stream), as it warms up the air masses in Northern Europe, whose climate at the same time is being affected by westerlies. In January temperatures average from 32°F (0°C) in the south to 7°F (−14°C) in the north and the mountains, and in July they average from 59°F−63°F (15°C–17°C) to 50°F−52°F (10°C–11°C), respectively. Precipitation decreases from west to east, with an annual rainfall of forty inches (1,000 mm) in the south, ten to fifteen inches (300–400 mm) in the north, and sixty to seventy inches (1,500–1,700 mm) in the mountains (in some parts reaching eighty inches [2,000 mm]). In the part of Sweden lying within the Arctic Circle, midnight sun and polar nights can be observed—phenomena that influence the northern climate significantly. The sun shines around the clock from May 21 to July 24, and the opposite phenomenon occurs from December 2 to January 12.

Sweden is dominated by highlands: its average height of land above sea level is 906 feet (276 m). (Terrain height is distributed as follows: 25.7 percent of the surface does not exceed 330 feet [100 m] above sea level, 81.2 percent does not exceed 1,640 feet [500 m] above sea level, areas over 3,280 feet [1,000 m] above sea level make up 2.6 percent of the territory.) The highest point is Kebnekaise, a mountain lying in the north of the country, at 6,965 feet (2,123 m). The territory wanes from the Norwegian border toward the east. The Scandinavian mountains, situated in the west of Sweden, have extensive, flat peaks, called fjels. To the east, the mountains transition to the Norrland terrain situated at 1,300−2,300 feet (400–700 m) above sea level. In the south lie the Scania Peninsula and the domed South Swedish Highlands, the highest point of which stands at 1,237 feet (377 m) above sea level. In the northeast lie the Lappland Highlands; the Norrland terrain and the South Swedish Highlands are separated by the Central Swedish Lowland. The plains, running along the coastline, are Halland in the southwest, Kalmar in the southeast, and West Bothnia in the northeast.

Sweden is made up in sixty-four percent by forests, seven percent is arable land, and two percent are meadows and pastures—these numbers have been constant for several years. The country has urbanized, with cities growing mainly on barren land. Vegetation varies according to region: fjels and higher mountains are covered by alpine tundra (mosses, lichens, herbs, and dwarf shrubs) with a birch tree zone in lower areas. The upper limit of tree growth is 1,300−1,600 feet (400–500 m) above sea level in the north and 3,300−3,600 feet (1,000–1,100 m) above sea level in the south. Pine and spruce dominated taiga covers the largest stretches of the terrain. These forests grow in the Norrland terrain and the South Swedish Highlands. Among them, peatlands and sedge bogs can be found.

The rivers flow in the latitudinal direction from the Scandinavian mountains to the east and northeast. Along with the vast marsh and wetland tundra areas, they constitute significant operational barriers in case of an invasion from the north and slow down troop movements from the east through the Gulf of Bothnia and from the west through Norway. Lakes, which make up almost nine percent of Sweden’s territory, can play a similar role.

Three main lake systems dot the country from west to east:

- The northern lake system, made up of Störsjön,[7] its adjacent lakes, and a river system;

- The central lake system, made up of the rivers Österdal and Vesterdal (which connect to form the Dal River) along with lakes and marshes;

- The southern lake system, stretching from Uddevalla to Stockholm, made up (from east to west) of the great lakes of Mälaren,[8] Hjälmaren,[9] Vättern,[10] and Vänern.[11] They distinctly separate the south from the rest of Sweden.

The central and southern systems play a key military role. The central system makes up the first frontier, and the southern system the main line of defense of the heartland. That means that the entire central part of Sweden and the north of the country, with its important iron ore mines near Kiruna (connected by rail with Luleå and Narvik), as well as Gotland, is outside of the heartland.

Areas suitable for the use of tanks (armor) in larger formations are at the western and southern edges of the heartland (south of the line traced by Ängelholm–Stehag–Lyby–Brösarp), in the northeast (in Uppland and Västmanland between the southern and central lake systems), and to a smaller extent along the line formed by Norrköping and Linköping. The only places in the north where armor can be employed are the narrow plains along the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. The interior, from the Torne River southward, is a wetland of often marshy tundra that slowly transforms into a coniferous woodland crossed by ribbon lakes and swift-flowing bedrock streams. This significantly limits the possibility of operating not only with armor but with larger military groupings as well. It is safe to assume, without the risk of being mistaken, that wheeled transport outside of marked trails is simply impossible.

Anti-tank terrain in Norrland (KK)

Terrain suitable for tanks in Scania (KK)

General Assumptions of the Swedish Defense Concept

The basis of the modern Swedish defense concept was formed at the end of the nineteenth century, but it resulted from the previous experience and the assessment of geographical features. When considering the potential military danger, in its defense planning Sweden had to take into account:[12]

- the southern (Jutland-Zealand) direction, with the Jutland Peninsula and Danish islands as a line of departure; encompassing southern Sweden with Malmö and Gothenburg;

- the central (Stockholm) direction, established by the possibility of using the Åland Islands as a line of departure, with potential auxiliary actions coming from the territory of Finland through the Finnish Bay;

- the Middle Bothnian direction, formed by a coastal plain line running along the Ljungan and Indal rivers from Sundsvall and Härnösand toward Östersund, later reaching (through the Scandinavian mountains) Trondheim, Norway.[13] This axis can be used not only in a western direction (after forcing the Gulf of Bothnia or succeeding at the central or northern direction) but also from the west to the east by forces operating from Norway, traversing the Scandinavian mountain passes, with initial positions in the Trondheim region; encompassing the Östersund area and Sundsvall. The enemy’s success there means cutting Sweden in half;

- the northern direction, traced by the shape of coastal plains along the Gulf of Bothnia; encompassing the port of Luleå and Kiruna iron ore mines;

- Gotland, if attacked by sea.

Map 2. A variant of the Swedish Army’s strategic deployment in the 1980s

Warfare coming from the central and southern directions is considered to be the most dangerous, as it implies losing the heartland, i.e. the region with the highest population density and where most of the industry, as well as the political, financial, and cultural centers, along with the capital city, are located. Occupying the south of Sweden would mean decapitating the country and would make further resistance essentially futile. Such catastrophic consequences would not come either from losing the peripheral regions—the North and Gotland—or the Central Swedish Lowland, or even from cutting Sweden in half by forces operating from the west. These assumptions continue to be the basis of Swedish defense planning.

And so effectively protecting the south of the country remains crucial: successfully hindering a landing operation and maintaining the great lakes frontier. It is there that most of the large units and the majority of armored forces were stationed during the period discussed in this book. (In 1957 a battalion was placed in the north, and in the same year forces stationing in Gotland started transitioning to an armored combat group.) It was in the south that almost the entire navy (as well as coastal artillery) and the vast majority of the air force were placed. During the Second World War, the fortifications called the Per Albin Line were erected on the southern coast.[14] They were maintained in combat readiness until the end of the Cold War.

The Middle Bothnian area had coastal artillery placed on the island of Hemsö, whose role was to defend the island against an amphibious assault. The idea was to perform delaying operations with infantry forces and that is why no armored units were placed there.

Despite the north being far away from the heartland, Sweden would not give it up without a fight. Unlike the south, Norrbotten and Lappland would focus on delaying operations utilizing the Kalix Line.[15] In the Swedish north, what seems to be more important than having an armored mechanized “fist” are the following features: command adaptability, excellent knowledge of the terrain and the ability to use it in combat, tactical mobility resulting from high marching ability (also on skis), the capacity of using available means of transport, a commander’s initiative even at the lowest level, the individual soldier’s forest warfare skills, and high motivation. It is for these reasons that the north got only two armored battalions.

Pillboxes on the Per Albin Line, southern Scania (KK)

In case of a high-intensity conflict, defending Gotland was considered to be a difficult or even a hopeless case. What was possible on the island was tying up enemy forces, as it is hard to imagine warfare in the central part of the Baltic without occupying or neutralizing the island. That is why a relatively strong garrison, whose core in 1957 became an armored brigade, was placed on the island. Its landform is suitable for this kind of warfare. But at the same time, the Gotland Brigade (Gotlandsbrigaden, MekB 18) has been the last to receive new equipment.

1 “The Swedish-Norwegian cross-border region,” http://www.nordregio.se.

2 The baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State. (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea art. 5)

3 “Sweden Case Study Analysis of National Strategies for Sustainable Development,” https://www.iisd.org.

4 As illustrated, for example, by the Russian Army’s Ice Campaign conducted in March 1809 during the Finnish War. The Russian attack was planned by General Nikolay Kamensky: three Russian corps invaded Sweden. The Northern Corps (General Pavel Shuvalov, about 4,500 soldiers, eight cannons) crossed the Torne River and, moving south along the coast, conquered Kalix on March 13, 1809 (March 25 by the Old Style, or Julian calendar). The Central Corps (General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, 3,500 soldiers, eight cannons) crossed the frozen Kvarken Strait and conquered Umeå on March 12, 1809 (March 24). The Southern Corps (General Pyotr Bagration, 15,000 soldiers, twenty cannons) marched on ice from Turku to the Åland Islands on February 26 (March 10). The Russians defeated a 6,000-man Swedish garrison and conquered the entire archipelago on March 6 (March 18). Around 2,000 men were taken captive and thirty cannons, as well as 150 different water vessels, were seized. On March 7 (March 19), the Russian advance guard under General Yakov Kulnev reached the Swedish coast and captured the town of Grisslehamn, located about forty-five miles (70 km) away from Stockholm. The Duke of Södermanland (later Charles XIII) proposed a truce. General Gotthard Johann von Knorring, the commander of the Russian forces, who was worried about Bagration’s corps being cut off as a result of the ice melting, ordered the General to withdraw his forces to the initial position. However, a Russian garrison remained at the Åland Islands and Sweden never regained them. During the Finnish Civil War, 460 White troops led by the captain Johan Fabritius, previously driven out of the town of Uusikaupunki, made it across the ice to the Åland Islands on February 10, 1918.

5 According to nautical charts no. 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500, and 1501 issued by the Hydrographic Office of the Polish Navy.

6 “Sweden: People and Society,” CIA World Factbook, last modified August 10, 2020, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sw.html.

7 With an area of 179 square miles (464 sq km), Störsjön is Sweden’s fifth-largest lake. The city of Östersund is located on its eastern shore.

8 Mälaren, with an area of 440 square miles (1,140 sq km), is Sweden’s third-largest lake. Connected to the Baltic Sea and Lake Hjälmaren, it is actively used for sailing. Stockholm lies on its eastern shore. From the second half of 1940, the Polish submarines Ryś, Żbik, and Sęp were interned on Lake Mälaren. After being moved from Vaxholm, they were anchored close to the town of Mariefred, over which dominates the immense castle of Gripsholm (the exact location of the vessels was a bay between Förskär, an island now connected to land by a levee, and the Marielund narrow gauge station, lying close to the shore).

9 Hjälmaren is Sweden’s fourth-largest lake with an area of 186 square miles (483 sq km).

10 Vättern is Sweden’s second-largest lake with an area of 731 square miles (1,893 sq km).

11 Vänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third-largest lake in Europe. With an area of 2,181 square miles (5,650 sq km), ninety-five miles (150 km) in length, and fifty miles (81 km) in width, it is genuinely a mediterranean sea.

12 Bengt Wallerfelt, Den hemliga svenska krigsplanen (Stockholm: Medströms Bokförlag, 2016), 90–93.

13 The Östersund-Trondheim axis was used in 1718/19 by the Swedish military in attacking Norway (which at the time was in a union with Denmark) during the Great Northern War. After failing against Russia (Charles XII was defeated in 1709 at Poltava and General Carl Gustav Armfeldt lost the Battle of Storkyro in Finland in 1714), the Swedish monarch decided to attack Denmark, the weaker opponent. At the end of August 1718, the army of 10,000 men led by General Armfeldt left the concentration area around Duved and marched toward Norway. The move was not successful, and on December 11, when Charles XII died during the Fredriksten siege, the Swedish forces in the south began to retreat. Armfeldt, who had approximately 6,000 men under his command, received the orders only on January 7, 1719, and decided to take the shortest route to Sweden, which led across the municipality of Tydal, then over the mountains and back to the fort of Hjerpe. It was freezing, but there was no snowfall. In good conditions, the army would walk the thirty-four-mile (55 km) distance in two days. The march began on January 12 and at first went according to the plan. Yet in the afternoon an intense blizzard struck, limiting visibility and drastically lowering the apparent temperature. Armfeldt decided to encamp at the Øyfjellet Lake, but there was no firewood. The day after, the blizzard continued. Soldiers burned sleds and musket stocks, but regardless of that about two hundred of them ended up losing their lives. In these dramatic circumstances, discipline was shattered and smaller groups of soldiers walked independently toward the border. The wind stopped on January 14, and the last of the remaining Swedes descended from the mountains two days later. By that time Armfeldt lost about 3,000 men and seven hundred more during a march to Duved, where quarters were prepared. Only six hundred men were left unharmed, and more than 1,500 suffered disabilities caused by frostbite. This episode was named the Carolean Death March. Cf. Anders Hansson, Karolinernas dödsmarsch (Östersund: Jämtlands läns museum, 2013). The convenient trail was fortified against invasion after Norway, having claimed its independence, blocked the way toward Trondheim. Around that time (1908–10) the so-called Hegra Fortress was built. On the other side of the border, the Swedes built fortifications in Klintaberg (between Hotagen and Valsjöbyn) in 1943/44.

14 The Per Albin Line (The Skåne Line) is a fortification system erected during the Second World War along the southern coast of Sweden. It stretched from Båstad in the southwest, around the coast, and onto the middle of Blekinge. It was formed by a line of pillboxes with considerable defensive firepower. The construction started in 1939 with the erection of a coastal artillery battery close to Helsingborg. It was there that the rear battle position, protecting the first line against an attack coming from the land, was created. By the end of the war, in 1945, the line consisted of 1,063 different fortification objects. They were maintained and developed throughout the Cold War. The majority of them were destroyed at the turn of the twenty-first century, and only sixteen remain in the Helsingborg region. For more on the genesis and construction of the line, see Leif Högberg, Skåne-Linjen (Per-Albin Linjen): Det skånska kustförsvaret under andra världskriget (Skurup: Klippan, 2000).

15 The Kalix Line is a fortification system that was erected during the Second World War between the rivers Torne and Kalix and later maintained and strengthened during the Cold War. It stretched about eighty miles (130 km) toward the northwest from the Bothnian coast. It consisted of around 2,800 objects, the majority of which were either concrete-wood-earth infantry shelters or demolition chambers in bridges and levee trails. In the 1960s the line was strengthened with forts and batteries armed with guns from scrapped warships. The changes made were in Fort Siknäs (4×II 152,4 mm), Fort Häggmansberget (2×152,4 mm), Fort Miekojärvi (3×152,4 mm), Fort Parviainen (3×120 mm), Pajala Battery (3×120 mm), Tärendö Battery (3×120 mm), Junosuando Battery (3×120 mm), Vittangi Battery (3×120 mm), Gällivare Battery (6×120 mm), Vuollerim (1×II 152,4 mm), Harads Battery (1×II 152,4 mm and 3×152,4 mm), where in some armored cupolas the guns came from Drottning Victoria, Boden Battery (6×120mm), Norra Sunderbyn Battery (Druggaberget, 2×152,4mm), Luleå Battery (Hertsön, 3×152,4mm). In the eastern part of the line, some elements from the Boden Fortress were used. For more on the genesis and construction of the line, see Sten Ekman, Kalixlinjen – kalla krigets lås i norr: Befästningarna, fasta artilleriet, de svenska planerna och det tänkta sovjetryska anfallet (Stockholm: Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek, 2013).