# Sweden - Sends out leaflets on how to prepare for War.



## Czech_pivo (22 May 2018)

Interesting to see that they are sending out this sort of information to all of their population, neither Finland nor Norway have done anything similar.

https://www.msb.se/Upload/Forebyggande/Krisberedskap/Krisberedskapsveckan/Fakta%20om%20broschyren%20Om%20krisen%20eller%20Kriget%20kommer/If%20crises%20or%20war%20comes.pdf


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## daftandbarmy (22 May 2018)

Czech_pivo said:
			
		

> Interesting to see that they are sending out this sort of information to all of their population, neither Finland nor Norway have done anything similar.
> 
> https://www.msb.se/Upload/Forebyggande/Krisberedskap/Krisberedskapsveckan/Fakta%20om%20broschyren%20Om%20krisen%20eller%20Kriget%20kommer/If%20crises%20or%20war%20comes.pdf



Probably because they have already been at elevated states of readiness against Russian invasion for years.


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## jollyjacktar (22 May 2018)

And, I believe Russia is doing the same with their citizens as well.


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## Jarnhamar (22 May 2018)

Pretty sure the war is with their own citizens.

Especially people who post on Facebook.


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## Cloud Cover (22 May 2018)

Surely you are not suggesting that the gentle Swedes are expressing displeasure with their beloved feminista government.


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## daftandbarmy (23 May 2018)

whiskey601 said:
			
		

> Surely you are not suggesting that the gentle Swedes are expressing displeasure with their beloved feminista government.



Scandinavia has always been in the 'bowling alley' between a landlocked Russia and the Atlantic, unfortunately for them. 

Their main fears tend to revolve around a Crimea/ Ukraine style land grab of the Coup de Main flavour that would allow the Russian naval forces to sally forth from the Kola Peninsula and the Baltic with relative safety. As a result, despite their apparently peaceful, prosperous and overly permissive lifestyles, paradoxically, they continue to maintain strong militaries and a preference for rapid mobilization - sometimes through conscription - which is a deterrent for Russia who didn't fare so well last time they tried invading in the 1940 Winter War. Winter is the best time for a largely armoured force, like the Russians', to try strike in that part of the world of course as it's mainly bog, swamp, lakes and muskeg. 

Don't be fooled by the 'feminista' rhetoric. Every village usually has at least a platoon or company of Home Guard defenders (men and women) ready to fight and die for a key bridge, airfield or dock facility. Which is why they keep their weapons and ammo at home in the front closet. 

It's interesting to compare the situation of the Scandinavians, of course, with all the 'don't tread on me' hoopla of the US gun nut culture, who have nothing to fear in terms of an invasion of their 'Homeland', yet who point to Scandinavia as an example of what 'gun owning freedom' could really be like. For the Scandinavians, guns in their front closet represent a legislated obligation, which is why the army isues them those weapons and which is also just about as far from freedom as you can get.


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## Czech_pivo (23 May 2018)

Would the Polish/German/Danish, along with the Swedish/Finnish navies not be enough to stop the Russian Baltic Fleet cold?  As for the Russians coming in winter, wouldn't their supply lines be way too long for them to get quickly into southern Sweden via northern Finland?  Get into southern Sweden they have to either drive down the entire length of Sweden or cross the Gulf of Bothnia from Finland and I would think that the combined navies from the countries listed above would sink the entire fleet. 
I would think that it would be more likely for the Russians to take Finland (but why didn't they do it back in 1944-45 would they easily could have with no repercussions) and the Baltic states then bother with Sweden.  
Positions in northern Finland would make it very easy to takeover most of northern Norway. Norway would be very hard pressed to defend that area as it would have Russians on 3 flanks.


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## mariomike (23 May 2018)

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> Which is why they keep their weapons and ammo at home   in the front closet.



For reference to the discussion, 

QUOTE

2006 Sweden
Members of the National Home Guard are not allowed to have ammunition at home
https://www.thelocal.se/20060703/4237

2007 Sweden
Soldiers are no longer given the keys to the ammunition stores. Instead, only officers have access. 
https://www.thelocal.se/20070414/6996

Sounds similar to Switzerland, 2013,
"And we don't get bullets any more," he adds. "The Army doesn't give ammunition now - it's all kept in a central arsenal." 
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21379912

END QUOTE


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## daftandbarmy (23 May 2018)

Czech_pivo said:
			
		

> Would the Polish/German/Danish, along with the Swedish/Finnish navies not be enough to stop the Russian Baltic Fleet cold?  As for the Russians coming in winter, wouldn't their supply lines be way too long for them to get quickly into southern Sweden via northern Finland?  Get into southern Sweden they have to either drive down the entire length of Sweden or cross the Gulf of Bothnia from Finland and I would think that the combined navies from the countries listed above would sink the entire fleet.
> I would think that it would be more likely for the Russians to take Finland (but why didn't they do it back in 1944-45 would they easily could have with no repercussions) and the Baltic states then bother with Sweden.
> Positions in northern Finland would make it very easy to takeover most of northern Norway. Norway would be very hard pressed to defend that area as it would have Russians on 3 flanks.



The only real defense against a Russian invasion is generally considered to be collective defense, with the big hammer being US and NATO reinforcement. This is why the Russian strategy, in the past, tended to reply on quickly cutting off Europe from air and sea reinforcement from North America via a northern 'right hook'. At one time, for example, they had seven airborne divisions within a 2 hour flight of Narvik and Bardufoss airport. I'm not sure what the threat levels are like now, but they were more than capable of moving far and fast to get what they wanted through deploying land, air and sea forces.

The small peacetime armies of the Scandinavian countries are augmented by the home guard, I think present in every country including Denmark, who are intended to buy time while the nation mobilizes through conscription. Norway, a country of 4 million, used to claim to be able to mobilize a million people in a week. These high levels of readiness were justifiable during the Cold War, a very expensive and resource consuming posture but, since then, they've been downgraded until the recent Russian 'Argy Bargy'. Viz:

The Swedish home guard (hemvärnet) has received twice as many applications as normal since Russia took actions in Crimea, a newspaper noted on Thursday.
https://www.thelocal.se/20140313/crimea-sparks-swedish-home-guard-rush-russia-kaliningrad-ukraine

Six months after some 4,300 volunteer members of the Danish Home Guard were told to disassemble their rifles in the aftermath of the Copenhagen terror attacks, members will once again be allowed to keep functioning weapons at home. 
https://www.thelocal.dk/20150826/danish-home-guard-to-rearm-following-terror-attack


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## CBH99 (13 Jul 2020)

I realize this thread is more than a year old -- I didn't want to start a whole new thread just to post a cool picture I found, so hoping it's 'related enough' to this thread about Sweden.


This is a cool picture I came across on reddit of a fully camouflaged Swedish destroyer, I think circa 1950's?  Just thought some of you might enjoy


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