Norrlands storregemente or Landsregementet i Norrland (Norrland Grand Regiment, Regiment of the Land in Norrland) was one of the nine grand regiments organized by Gustavus Adolphus in the late 1610s and split into smaller regiments in the 1620s.

History

Raised in Norrland

Norrland

Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...

 from smaller units of 500 men called fänikor, more specifically from the provinces of Västerbotten

Västerbotten

', English exonym: West Bothnia, is a province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders Ångermanland, Lapland, Norrbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is famous for the cheese with the same name as the province.- Administration :...

, Ångermanland

Ångermanland

' is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders to Medelpad, Jämtland, Lapland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name "Ångermanland" comes from the Old Norse "anger", which means "deep fjord" and refers to the deep mouth of the river Ångermanälven...

, Medelpad

Medelpad

' is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders to Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia....

, Hälsingland

Hälsingland

' is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. It borders to Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and to the Gulf of Bothnia...

 and Gästrikland

Gästrikland

' is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces....

, in 1615 and counting 3,000 men. In 1617, the regiment was led by Svante Banér and consisted of seven fänikor. The grand regiment was in turn organized into three field regiments (fältregementen), thus actually being more like a brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 in spite of the name.

One of the field regiments was used in 1621 in the war against Poland and was present at the siege of Riga

Siege of Riga

Siege of Riga may refer to*Siege of Riga *Siege of Riga , culminating in the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia*Siege of Riga...

 between 10 August and 13 September with eight companies

Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

 of 150 men each. The grand regiments of Sweden where reorganized during the period to consist of three field regiments, each of eight companies of 150 men, thus making the total number 3,600 soldiers per grand regiment.

Jakob Duwall was commander of the regiment in 1624. During the same year, the grand regiment was split into three smaller regiments, Västerbottens regemente

Västerbottens regemente

Västerbottens regemente , designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 2000...

, Hälsinge regemente

Hälsinge regemente

Hälsinge regemente , designations I 14, I 14/Fo 49 and I 14/Fo 21, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997...

, and the third regiment was transferred to the navy.

Campaigns

• One field regiment on expedition in 1621 to Livonia
  Livonia
  Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
  
   during the Polish War.

Organization

Before being split, the regiment was organized as follows:

• 1:a fältregementet (1st Field Regiment)
  • 6 companies from Hälsingland
  • 1 company from Medelpad
  • 1 company from Gästrikland
• 2:a fältregementet (2nd Field Regiment)
  • 3 companies from Ångermanland
  • 2 companies from Hälsingland
  • 2 companies from Gästrikland
  • 1 company from Medelpad
• 3:e fältregementet (3rd Field Regiment)
  • 7 companies from Västerbotten
  • 1 company from Ångermanland

See also

• List of Swedish regiments
• List of Swedish wars
• History of Sweden
  History of Sweden
  Modern Sweden started out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century...
  
  
• Provinces of Sweden
  Provinces of Sweden
  The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....