Life Guards (Swedish Army)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Designation | LG |
| Type | cavalry/infantry regiment |
| Existence | 1521 (2000)– |
| Colours | Yellow |
| Motto | |
| Possunt nec Posse Videntur (They can what it seems they cannot) |
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| Victory names | |
| Befrielsekriget 1521 Rhen 1631 Lützen 1632 Warsaw 1656 Crossing of the Great Belt 1658 Halmstad 1676 Lund 1676 |
Landskrona 1677 Narva 1700 Düna 1701 Kliszow 1702 Holowczyn 1708 Svensksund 1790 |
The Life Guards (Swedish: Livgardet) is a combined cavalry/infantry regiment of the Swedish Army, with responsibility for training. The infantry battalion (called the Guards Battalion) trains ordinary infantry soldiers in both the mechanized and rifle roles, as well as training clerical soldiers. The Guards Battalion consists of two companies, The Life Company and the 6th. company. The 6th. company is classified as a light mechanized company. The company is trained for urban combat with the defense of Stockholm as its first and foremost wartime duty. The Life Company is classified as an guard company but in reality it too is an urban combat unit. From January 1st 2007 the company will become a light mechanized company, identical in training to the 6th company. Thse soldiers of the Guards Battalion are also the Royal Guard (Sweden). The cavalry battalion (called the Dragoons Battalion) has responsibility for training military police, depot soldiers and guards. The Dragoons Battalion's 4th Squadron is the only mounted cavalry unit in the Swedish Armed Forces. This unit is a ceremonial unit but have recived traning as guards.
The Life Guards as it exists today has been part of the Swedish Army since 2000, when the functions of three separate units, the Svea Life Guards, the Household Brigade and the Household Dragoons, all of which were classed as Household troops, were amalgamated into a single regiment.
[edit] History
Livgardet is the world's oldest regiment still in existence, dating back to the year 1521 when the men of Dalecarlia chose 16 young men as body guards for Gustav Vasa. The Guards Battalion's Life Company is the worlds oldest company.
The motto of the Life Guards is possunt nec posse videntur meaning "they can [do], what it seems they cannot" or more directly "they can do what seems to be impossible".
