Life Guards Brigade

Life Guards Brigade
Livgardesbrigaden
Active	1949–2000 2024–present
Country	Sweden
Branch	Swedish Army
Part of	Life Guards (peacetime) 1st Division (wartime)
Headquarters	Kungsängen Garrison
Beret colour	Black
March	"Kungl. Svea livgardes marsch"
Commanders
Commander	Col Martin Johansson

The Life Guards Brigade, also known as the 1st Infantry Brigade (IB 1), is a reduced infantry brigade of the Swedish Army based in Stockholm County. It has been active since 2024, having previously served between 1949 and 2000. The brigade is headquartered at Kungsängen Garrison.

History

The brigade was established in 1949 as the peacetime subordinate of the Uppland Regiment under the name Uppland Brigade, with Roslagen as its area of responsibility. However in 1957, the Uppland Regiment was disbanded, and the brigade was transferred and would henceforth act as the peacetime subordinate to the Svea Life Guards instead.

In the Defence Act of 2000, the government proposed that the army undergo further post–Cold War downsizing and that many brigades, including the Life Guards Brigade, be disbanded.

Upon the re-establishment of the brigade in 2024, its wartime organisation would be within the 1st Division along with the rest of the Swedish Army's active brigades.

The brigade would be unique among all other brigades and units within the Swedish Army upon its establishment. It would hold a permanent responsibility for defending Stockholm, and would be the only reduced infantry brigade, using only armoured personnel carriers instead of the standard Strf 90 and Strv 122.

Traditions

In line with the standard beret colour of Swedish light infantry, black is the most common beret colour within the brigade.

Adopted in 1994, the brigade march is "Kungl. Svea livgardes marsch" by Wilhelm Körner.

Commanders

The commanders of the brigade throughout its history are as follows:

Attributes

See also

• List of Swedish Army brigades

Footnotes

References

Sources

• Riksdagen (25 November 1999). "Det nya försvaret (Proposition 1999/2000:30)". riksdagen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
• Braunstein, Christian (2003). Sveriges arméförband under 1900-talet. Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023; 5 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 91-971584-4-5. SELIBR 8902928.
• Sandberg, Bo (2007). Försvarets marscher och signaler förr och nu: marscher antagna av svenska militära förband, skolor och staber samt igenkännings-, tjänstgörings- och exercissignaler (in Swedish) (New ed.). Stockholm: Militärmusiksamfundet med Svenskt marscharkiv. ISBN 978-91-631-8699-8. SELIBR 10413065.
• Försvarsmakten (2015). "Uniformsbestämmelser 2015" (PDF). Reglemente (in Swedish). Stockholm: Swedish Armed Forces.
• Försvarsmakten (2022). "Planerad utveckling av krigsorganisationen 2021-2030" [Planned development of the war organization 2021-2030] (PDF). forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
• Johansson, Alf (29 September 2022). "Armén skapar divisionsförmåga". forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 May 2025.
• Försvarsmakten (11 July 2024). "Livgardesbrigaden IB 1". forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 May 2025.
• Försvarsmakten (27 January 2025). "Stockholmsbrigad tar form". forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 May 2025.

59°30′54″N 17°46′44″E / 59.51500°N 17.77889°E / 59.51500; 17.77889