Quotulatiousness

November 9, 2019

“1648” – The Thirty Years War – Sabaton History 040 [Official]

Filed under: Europe, History, Media, Military — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Sabaton History
Published 7 Nov 2019

Europe had grown weary of war by the summer of 1648 and after much deliberation, peace talks in Westphalia had reached their final stages. Warlords across the entire continent were preparing for peace but not all of them agreed. The exceptionally ruthless German-Swedish General Königsmarck advanced into Bohemia to lay siege to Prague.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to Carolus Rex (Where “1648” is featured):
CD: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexStore
Spotify: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexSpotify
Apple Music: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAppleMusic
iTunes: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexiTunes
Amazon: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAmz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexGooglePlay

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek Kaminski

Eastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.

Sources:
– Thumbnail image: Petri Krohn, CC BY-SA 3.0.
– Les misères et les malheurs de la guerre – The British Museum
– “Germania: dos mil años de historia alemana” series from Fondo Antiguo de la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla
– The peace of Munster painting courtesy of Amsterdam Museum
– RijksMuseum

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

From the comments:

Sabaton History
2 days ago
This episode about “1648” is about peace and about a devastating and deadly siege to Prague. We enjoy doing these episodes as we usually only make episodes about more modern topics. Now, we have to do without film and photo material, and be creative with paintings and sketches. Kudos to the editor Iryna who makes that work brilliantly! If you agree and want to support our work, you can do so by going to our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Cheers, the Sabaton History team.

September 8, 2019

Miscellaneous Myths: Animal Brides

Filed under: Americas, Europe, History — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published on 6 Sep 2019

Yes, it really is as weird as it sounds. Sorry!

This video (specifically the Inuit myth) was requested by patron Richard Frederick Schubert III!

PATREON: https://www.Patreon.com/OSP

MERCH LINKS: https://www.redbubble.com/people/OSPY…

OUR WEBSITE: https://www.OverlySarcasticProductions.com
Find us on Twitter https://www.Twitter.com/OSPYouTube
Find us on Reddit https://www.Reddit.com/r/OSP/

July 19, 2019

“Long Live the King” – Swedish King Karl XII – Sabaton History 024 [Official]

Filed under: Europe, History, Media, Military, Russia — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

Sabaton History
Published on 18 Jul 2019

The Sabaton song “Long Live the King” is about the aftermath of the Battle of Poltava in June 1709. The future of Sweden lay in the hands of the parliament at home while the King was in voluntary exile with the Ottomans. What followed was a dark time in Swedish history where everything was uncertain, with an unexpectedly dark ending.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to Carolus Rex (where “Long Live the King” is featured):
CD: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexStore
Spotify: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexSpotify
Apple Music: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAppleMusic
iTunes: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexiTunes
Amazon: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAmz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexGooglePlay

Check out the trailer for Sabaton’s new album The Great War right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCZP1…

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek Kaminski

Eastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

Sources:
– Photo of the bullet
– Bairuilong on Wikimedia Commons,
– Swedish National Museum

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

From the comments:

Sabaton History
2 days ago
THREE MORE NIGHTS! I think that most of you expected this episode to be from the new album that will be released next Friday, but as we all like a little unexpected Sabaton every now and then, we went with the 18th century instead. While we (of course) will continue with these videos, it feels like we have been working towards the 19th of July ever since we started this channel in February this year. Thank you all for being a part of this journey! We mean it when we say that this wouldn’t have been possible without all of you who watch our videos and especially those who support us on Patreon!

June 28, 2019

“Gott Mit Uns” – The Thirty Years War – Sabaton History 021 [Official]

Filed under: Europe, History, Media, Military — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

Sabaton History
Published on 27 Jun 2019

The Sabaton Song “Gott Mit Uns” is about the Battle of Breitenfeld, fought between the Swedish under command of King Gustavus Adolphus and the Holy Roman Empire under Count Tilly. This battle was hugely influential in the Thirty Years War and the religious wars that were plaguing Europe in the 17th century.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to Carolus Rex (where “Gott Mit Uns” is featured):
CD: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexStore
Spotify: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexSpotify
Apple Music: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAppleMusic
iTunes: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexiTunes
Amazon: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexAmz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/CarolusRexGooglePlay

Check out the trailer for Sabaton’s new album The Great War right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCZP1…

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek Kaminski

Eastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.

Sources:
– National museum
– National Portrait Gallery

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

June 16, 2019

Finnish Bofors 37mm anti-tank gun

Filed under: Europe, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published on 27 Apr 2014

Cool Forgotten Weapons Merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forg…

Theme music by Dylan Benson – http://dbproductioncompany.webs.com

The Swedish Bofors company developed a sophisticated and very high-quality light anti-tank gun in the early 1930s, and found significant commercial success with it. A variety of countries either purchased the guns outright from Bofors or paid for licenses to produce them domestically. These countries included Denmark, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, and Sweden itself. The largest number were in Poland (1200 or more), and there is speculation that some may have been sold to Spain during the Spanish Civil War (both these guns and a 40mm AA gun which definitely went to Spain were designated wz.36). A significant number were also captured and reused by German and Russian forces during WWII. On the Allied side, some of the guns were sold to the Sudan and used by British forces in North Africa (generally mounted on trucks).

The gun itself was an excellent design, capable of 12 rounds/minute of accurate fire and potent enough to deal with most of the smaller tanks in existence at the beginning of WWII. New tank developments made it obsolete, but it was at least effective against Russian light tanks (BT, T-26, T-28) in the Winter War if not the heavier T-34s. The gun has a sophisticated suspension system to help absorb recoil energy, and fired a 37 x 257mm shell with a 740g projectile at about 825 m/s (26oz @ 2700 fps). The action was semi-automatic, meaning that once fired, the action would recoil on the carriage, and automatically eject the empty case. It would then return to battery with the breech open, ready for a new shell to be loaded (in the video, the ejection mechanism has been disabled to help preserve the brass cases).

May 16, 2019

When is an archaeological artifact merely “recyclable”?

Filed under: Bureaucracy, Europe, Government, Science — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

In Sweden, they’ve got such a rich history of archaeological artifacts that they’re no longer preserving, categorizing, cleaning, displaying, or storing new artifacts that come to light … they’re dumping them in the recycling bin. Literally:

An amulet ring from the Iron Age, an example of the sort of newly found artifact that Swedish archaeologists are recycling. (Photo from Svenska Dagbladet, caption from Never Yet Melted)

In what looks like a new paroxysm of self-hatred and cultural suicide, Sweden has begun destroying artefacts from its ancient Viking history.

One might think that the country, over-run by hordes of Middle Eastern “asylum seekers”, would wish to preserve as much of its national identity and cultural heritage as it could. Even at the most mercenary level, Viking sites, museums, artefacts and souvenirs have been huge tourism money-earners. The television series Vikings shows Western man’s fascination with the hairy old sea-rovers. The immensely popular books and films of The Lord of the Rings drew in large part upon Norse mythology as well as Christianity, showing its deep resonances even for modern man.

Now an angry archaeologist has blown the whistle on the fact that the curators of Stockholm’s Länsmuseum have been ordering the systematic destruction of newly-found artefacts from the Iron Age and the Viking period with the weak excuse that the material would be too burdensome to process. This is despite the fact that preservation of the past is what being a museum curator is meant to be all about.

Coins, arrow-heads, ritual amulets, weapons, jewellery and weights that were kept in the past are now dumped into metal-recycling bins upon discovery instead of being cared for and displayed. Museum excavators are instructed to recycle unearthed iron elements into scrap metal on the weak pretext that “it would take too many resources to process, identify and store them”. The findings are usually quickly disposed of in order to make way for construction machines and building workers.

Ironically yet appropriately, the boom in excavation which has led to the doomed artefacts being unearthed has largely been to provide housing for the asylum seekers flooding into the country, and who are now pushing the crime-rate back towards, well, towards Viking levels.

This process was kept secret until a declaration by Johan Runer, the museum’s archaeologist. He had tried to raise the alarm before but only met indifference from the liberal Swedish media. According to Runer, this has been going on since at least 2016. He claims an entire ancient settlement was secretly levelled to allow roadworks.

If this story seems familiar, it’s because it’s not a new phenomenon … I blogged a similar story back in 2017.

April 28, 2019

The Battle of Lützen – 1632 – The 30 Years War (in Swedish, with English sub-titles)

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military, Religion — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Gripen
Published on 3 Dec 2015

One of the bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years War. Sweden vs. the Holy Roman Empire. A mass grave has been found, with the victims from the battle. Are they Swedish/Finnish soldiers or German mercenaries?

(This Swedish documentary has English subtitles).

From the comments:

Blah b
2 years ago
This documentary is often painful to watch, the way inexperienced modern people with no sense of empathy project their values onto those times. They weren’t “defenseless men standing still”. Armies had learned the hard way that massed musket fire won battles. If everybody is looking for cover and looking out for themselves, you can never operate such rigid units.

So the individual soldier was harshly drilled to indeed stand still even with cannonballs tearing through his unit, or another unit standing 30-80 meters away. Because if individuals acted as individuals, the battle would be lost and the army would be destroyed.

But when that machine operated, it would win battles. The system invented by Maurice of the Netherlands ensured that if you were attacking a group of musketeers, every 20-25 seconds, they could deliver a crushing volley that can kill or injure 10-25% of a another unit, that means they only needed 2-3 salvos to achieve a local victory. Untrained units would literally never touch a musketeer, as his unit would’ve routed the attackers before they got within touching range.

Also there were no standing armies, there was no national identity as such. Mercenaries were totally acceptable. Mercenaries could become very loyal and reliable if paid on time [and] consistently, and would easily crush national armies that usually lacked the routine of professional soldiers. Loyalty and your identity was constructed differently. It would’ve been perfectly normal for me to utterly hate and maybe kill my neighbours if they were of a different religion. Otherwise, a Swedish protestant from far away was an ally with the right ideas. I wouldn’t have been able to understand him and everything would be alien about him, but I’d consider him a friend, and Catholics from the next village where I’d lived all my life would be enemies.

Unless the king comes around and says the Catholics are friends. Because the king is appointed by God who runs the world on a day to day [basis], and you obey without question. If the king says it’s so, that means God himself agrees and says it’s so, and you don’t question God. Loyalty until death is about the least you owed your king in those days.

People who can’t understand how such things worked historically, really should not be making documentaries…

April 5, 2019

The Carolean’s Prayer – Soldiers of the Swedish Kings – Sabaton History 009

Filed under: Europe, History, Media, Military — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

Sabaton History
Published on 4 Apr 2019

The Swedish Kings had to rely on the quality of their armies, often facing foes that had superior numbers. A special soldier class was created. Admired in Sweden and feared on the battlefield, the Caroleans were the secret weapon of the Swedish army. The Sabaton song “The Carolean’s Prayer” is about these remarkable soldiers and their heroic status.

Check out the trailer for Sabaton’s new album The Great War right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCZP1…

Support Sabaton History on Patreon (and possibly get a special edition of The Great War): https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek Kaminski

Eastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

February 24, 2019

Manstein Makes a Plan and Hitler has a Man Crush – WW2 – 026 – February 23 1940

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published on 23 Feb 2019

German General Erich von Manstein has a cunning plan. And as it happens, it’s just how Hitler likes it. This week, the German war plans change quite drastically. In the meantime, the Soviet Red Army continues it push through the Finnish Mannerheim line, except for a stubborn Finnish pocket of resistance at Taipale.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory

Portrait colorizations by Norman Stewart.

Photos of the Winter War are mostly from the Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive (SA-Kuva).
Photo of Sartre by Government Press Office Israel, https://www.flickr.com/people/6906147….

Eastory’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
2 days ago (edited)
While the Winter War seems to be coming to an end, new plans are being crafted in Germany to invade most of their neighbours. And before someone asks: the Swastika in the thumbnail is NOT used as a political statement of some sort. Just like in all of our earlier episodes, we use relevant symbols from the different armies and powers to illustrate the topic of the thumbnail. And yes, we are aware of regulation in Germany and Austria regarding the use of Nazi symbols, but as long as they are used in an historical context for educational purposes, which it clearly is, showing this symbol is allowed.

And before I forget: the release of this episode marks exactly half a year since we have started doing World War Two on 1 September 2018/1939. A lot has changed in these months, and there are still many exciting new things on the horizon. The series is about to enter a very eventful time, we are going to start with some new projects which you’ll hear about soon and there are more specials coming – which we hope to be able to bring to you on a regular basis as soon as possible. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Cheers, Joram

January 20, 2019

Swedes not Sweden to Finland’s Rescue – WW2 – 021 – January 19 1940

Filed under: Europe, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published on 19 Jan 2019

As the Winter War rolls on the only help the Finns are getting are from volunteers. The Western Allies still have their thoughts on Norway, little do they know that the Phony​ War almost ends this week…

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…

Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations by: Eastory
Community Manager: Joram Appel

Colorizations by Spartacus Olsson and Norman Stewart.

Photos of the Winter War are mostly from the Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive (SA-Kuva).

Eastory’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH

Thumbnail depicts First Sergeant John Horseholm and Åke Ek of the Swedish Volunteer Battalion in 1944
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenosco…
Colorised by Jared Enos https://www.flickr.com/people/jenosco…

December 11, 2018

Viking Expansion – Lies – Extra History

Filed under: Americas, Europe, History, Middle East, Russia — Tags: , , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Extra Credits
Published on 8 Dec 2018

Writer Rob Rath talks about all the cool stories and facts we didn’t get to cover in the already expansive Viking Expansion series.

Join us on Patreon! http://bit.ly/EHPatreon

7:08 – Rob learns he has a linguistic tic about being able to correctly distinguish “ancestor” and “descendant”
17:10 – Olga of Kiev scared Matt to death… really though…
25:23 – Walpole Connection
28:05 – what’s next on Extra History

Some other works to check out: The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings, by Lars Brownworth / The Vikings, by Else Roesdahl / Podcast: Norse by Northwest

October 30, 2018

Viking Expansion – The Serpent-Riders – Extra History – #1

Filed under: Europe, History — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Extra Credits
Published on 27 Oct 2018

The medieval Scandinavians left an impact not just on Greenland and Iceland, but on France, England, Russia, and even briefly North America. But how did Scandinavian society begin, and what incited its voyage across the seas?
Join us on Patreon! http://bit.ly/EHPatreon

September 23, 2018

30 Years War | 3 Minute History

Filed under: Europe, France, Germany, History, Religion — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Jabzy
Published on 28 Oct 2015

Thanks to Xios, Alan Haskayne, Lachlan Lindenmayer, William Crabb, Derpvic, Seth Reeves and all my other Patrons. If you want to help out – https://www.patreon.com/Jabzy?ty=h

August 25, 2018

Swedish Antiaircraft Artillery: Bofors 40mm Automatic Gun M1

Filed under: Europe, History, Military, Technology, USA, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published on 24 Aug 2018

Note: In the video I mistakenly describe this as a two-stamp NFA gun. It is actually deactivated, and thus does not require a tax stamp. Sorry for the mistake!

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

The Swedish Bofors company developed their 40mm antiaircraft gun in the 1930s, and it would go on to be one of the most successful weapon designs in modern history. Used by both sides in WWII and in all theaters, improved versions of the 40mm Bofors gun continue to serve in military front lines to this very day. In the US, they comprise part of the armament on the AC-130 Spectre gunships, for example.

This particular gun is a WW2 vintage piece, made in Sweden. Most of the examples used by the United States were made under license by Chrysler, the car company. Something like 60,000 were produced during the war, mostly for naval use. These guns would be a mainstay of American vessels’ air defense against Japanese Kamikaze attacks.

If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow

July 8, 2018

Swedish home defence

Filed under: Europe, Military — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Last week, Strategy Page took a look at Sweden’s home defence arrangements, including their first surprise mobilization of the Hemvärnet – Nationella skyddsstyrkorna (Home Guard) in over 40 years:

Swedish Home Guard soldiers in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm on 6 August, 2001.
Photo by Peter Fristedt, via Wikimedia Commons.

On June 4th Sweden held its first nationwide, unannounced mobilization of the Home Guard since 1975. This is another effort to prepare Sweden to deal with the renewed Russian threat. The Home Guard consists of reservists and volunteers whose job is local defense and maintenance of order in a national or local emergency. The Home Guard currently has about 22,000 members organized into 70 infantry battalions (each with 2-5 companies) that are assigned to areas where their part-time soldiers work and live. The Home Guard was created in 1940 and now depends on volunteers who are either former full time or reservist personnel who have at least three months of basic training. Twice a year Home Guard personnel two four day long training exercises. These four-day events involve practicing mobilization and doing what they are expected to do in wartime or a major emergency. In addition, most Home Guard companies (about 70 troops each) hold weekend training sessions ten times a year.

The unannounced mobilization of the Home Guard serves to find out how well the Home Guard as a whole would function. The Home Guard is voluntary and members can leave the force any time they choose to. Since 2014 there have been more volunteers and the Home Guard units could be more selective in who they accepted. The Home Guard mobilization is but the latest effort by Sweden to rebuild its traditional defense. The Home Guard take their training and readiness very seriously, especially when there is an obvious threat. In 1940 it was the Germans but after 1945 it was the Russians, at least until 1991. Now the Russians are once more a threat and the government had to agree that the Home Guard required more attention, resources and training.

Yet the Home Guard is more a police and emergency services than a military one. While the guardsmen are armed they are not expected to be a primary defense against invaders. This point was made when the people of Gotland Island recently pointed out that the local Home Guard was not enough to protect areas like Gotland from a surprise attack. The resulted in the government taking action to put a military garrison back on Gotland.

The Home Guard is not the only component of Swedish military readiness being tested. In late 2017 Sweden held its largest military exercises since the 1990s. Some 19,000 full-time soldiers and reservists were involved and the exercise was based on Russia attempting to seize and hold the island of Gotland after a surprise attack. The defense of Gotland has been an issue in Sweden ever since conscription was ended in 2010. Since the 1990s the military budget and number of full-time troops were cut. That led to the elimination of the Gotland garrison, a small force of full-time soldiers to watch for a Russian surprise attack and alert the reserve forces on the island to mobilize. With the end of conscription, it proved impossible to attract enough volunteers from Gotland to sustain the traditional force of military reservists, who would quickly mobilize and confront the invaders.

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