South Skåne Brigade
| South Skåne Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Södra skånska brigaden | |
| Active | 1943–2000 2022–present |
| Country | Sweden |
| Branch | Swedish Army |
| Part of | South Skåne Regiment (peacetime) 1st Division (wartime) |
| Headquarters | Revinge Garrison |
| Mottos | Slå snabbt - slå hårt ("Hit fast - hit hard") |
| Beret colour | Black |
| March | "Souvenir-marsch" |
| Mascot | Twin-stemmed oak |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Col Annelie Olausson |
| Staff Chief | LtCol Martin Folestam |
The South Skåne Brigade,[a] also known as the 7th Mechanised Brigade[b] (MekB 7), is a mechanised brigade of the Swedish Army based in Skåne County. It has been active since 2022, having previously served between 1943 and 2000. It is headquartered at Revinge Garrison.
History
The brigade was established in 1943 as one of the first army brigades and served as the sole brigade under the command of the South Scanian Infantry Regiment.[1]
In 1949, it received a sister brigade when the Skåne Brigade (IB 37) was established under the same command. However, this arrangement lasted only eight years before the Skåne Brigade was transferred to the North Scanian Infantry Regiment, once again leaving the South Skåne Brigade as the sole brigade under its regiment.[1]
The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000.[2] In 2022, following the Defence Act of 2020,[3] the South Skåne Brigade would be re-established from scratch.
Organisation
As of 2022, the planned wartime organisation of the South Skåne Brigade at full operational capacity is as follows:[4]
- 7th Mechanised Brigade
- 7th Brigade Staff
- 7th Brigade Headquarters Company
- 7th Brigade Reconnaissance Company
- 7th Brigade Signals Company
- 7th Brigade Air Defence Company
- 71st Mechanised Battalion
- 72nd Mechanised Battalion
- 73rd Mechanised Battalion
- 7th Brigade Support Battalion
- 7th Brigade Engineer Battalion
- 7th Brigade Artillery Battalion
- 7th Tank Transport Company
- 7th Brigade Staff
Traditions
As a mechanised brigade, the standard beret colour is black, in accordance with the traditions of the Swedish Armoured Troops.[5]
The twin-stemmed oak tree serves as the mascot of both the brigade and the South Skåne Regiment.[6]
March
The 1943 instrumental "Souvenir-marsch" by Friedrich Zikoff, known in ceremonial contexts as "Södra skånska infanteriregementets marsch",[7] has served as the brigade's established march since 13 June 1996, having been in use inofficially since 1994.[8]
Heraldry
The brigade shares its heraldry with the South Skåne Regiment and the Scanian Group of the Home Guard.[9]
Blazon of the brigade's coat of arms is as follows:[9]
Or, the provincial badge of Skåne, an erazed head of a griffin gules, with open crown and arms azure. The shield surmounted two arms in fess, embowed and vambraced, the hands holding swords in saltire, or.
-
Branch insignia
-
Unit insignia
-
Sleeve insignia
Commanders
- 1943–1990: ?
- 1990–1991: LtCol Gunnar Magnusson
- 1991–1994: Col Mats Welff
- 1994–1998: Col Göran Arlefalk
- 1998–2000: Col Leif Nilsson
- 2000–2021: Inactive
- 2022–2025: Col Lennart Widerström
- 2025–present: Col Annelie Olausson
Attributes
| Name | Translation | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. motorbrigaden | 7th Motorised Brigade | 1943-??-?? | – | 1949-09-30 |
| Malmöbrigaden | Malmö Brigade | 1949-10-01 | – | 1994-06-30 |
| Södra Skånska Brigaden | South Skåne Brigade | 1994-07-01 | – | 1997-12-31 |
| Södra Skånska regementet och Södra Skånska Brigaden | Skaraborg Regiment and Skaraborg Brigade | 1998-01-01 | – | 2000-06-30 |
| Södra Skånska Brigaden | South Skåne Brigade | 2022-01-01 | – | |
| Designation | From | To | ||
| 7. motorbrig | 1943-??-?? | – | 1949-09-30 | |
| PB 7 | 1949-10-01 | – | 1994-06-30 | |
| MekB 7 | 1994-07-01 | – | 2000-06-30 | |
| MekB 7 | 2022-01-01 | – | ||
| Location | From | To | ||
| Ystad Garrison | 1943-??-?? | – | 1982-05-26 | |
| Revinge Garrison | 1982-06-10 | – | 2000-06-30 | |
| Revinge Garrison | 2022-01-01 | – |
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b Försvarsmakten 1999
- ^ Riksdagen 1999
- ^ Riksdagen 2020
- ^ Försvarsmakten 2022
- ^ Försvarsmakten 2015, p. 117
- ^ Gunhardson 2015, p. 42
- ^ SMDB 2025
- ^ Sandberg 2007, p. 84
- ^ a b Braunstein 2006, p. 16
Sources
- 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.
- Riksdagen (15 October 2020). "Totalförsvaret 2021–2025 (Proposition 2020/21:30)". riksdagen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- Riksdagen (25 November 1999). "Det nya försvaret (Proposition 1999/2000:30)". riksdagen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- 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.
- Försvarsmakten (17 December 1999). "MekB 7 Historia". mekb7.mil.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 5 June 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- Försvarsmakten (2015). "Uniformsbestämmelser 2015" (PDF). Reglemente (in Swedish). Stockholm: Swedish Armed Forces.
- Gunhardson, Anneli (2015). "Pansarterrängbil 360 – snabb trupptransport med hög skyddsnivå" (PDF). Teknisk information för försvarsmaterieltjänst (in Swedish) (3). Linköping.
- SMDB (2025). "Kungl. Södra skånska infanterireg:s paradmarsch (Zikoff) ; Kungl. Norra skånska infanterireg:s paradmarsch (Eisengräber)". Svensk mediedatabas (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- Braunstein, Christian (2006). Heraldiska vapen inom det svenska försvaret (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 91-971584-9-6. SELIBR 10099224. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2018.