Indente system

Since the time of Gustav Vasa, the Swedish kings have been thinking about how to create a strong, quickly mobilized and low-cost army. In the late Middle Ages, up to the initial period of the reign of Gustav Vasa, its nucleus was made up of noble cavalry, in addition to which, if necessary, infantry was hired, which, however, for economic reasons never made up any significant part of the Swedish army.

During the revolt of Niels Dhaka in 1541-1543, the rebellious peasants were able to establish control over almost the entire Smoland and the southern regions of Osterjötland . Gustav Vasya was not without difficulty, but still managed to suppress the uprising, but it showed how great a threat the armed peasants could pose for the central government. On the other hand, it has become apparent that the peasantry has significant military potential.

The experience of the uprising led to the idea of ​​abandoning the mercenaries, replacing them with a standing army consisting of Swedish and Finnish soldiers who voluntarily entered military service. By 1559, there were already 15 thousand people in the Swedish army under arms. Command and soldiers could be given a yard and a plot of land. However, this principle did not become dominant in the issue of financing the army.

The next step was taken in 1619 by Gustav II Adolf , who decided that from now on the army should be replenished by recruiting recruits based on one out of ten people. However, by 1630, it became clear that the number of soldiers that such a system could supply was not enough in the wars of Sweden. The percentage of foreign mercenaries in the Swedish army rose sharply, but Sweden, as a poor country, could not support them without much damage to the treasury.

In the XVII century, Sweden, at the expense of its neighbors - Russia , Denmark and Poland - acquired significant territories that needed to be protected from rivals longing for revenge. The war for Skane (1675–1679) was a difficult test for the Swedes, as a result of which they had to return Bornholm and Trondheim to Denmark. The failures of the initial period of the war, the difficulty of making up for army losses by trained recruits, and desertion revealed the need for a new military reform.

In the Riksdag of 1682, King Charles XI put forward a proposal to strengthen the defense of the state. In his answer, which, apparently, was dictated by the king himself, the peasant estate called for the abolition of the recruit and the introduction of a militia-territorial system of manning the army. The reorganization began almost immediately after the provision of the answer by the peasants. In such a situation, the divided nobility could not resist, and as a result, in the final decision of the Riksdag, the other three estates completely agreed with the proposal put forward.

The essence of the reform, which was supposed to affect both the crown and scattish peasants and the railroad peasants , was that from now on every flax - both in wartime and in peacetime - was obliged to exhibit and maintain a regiment of 1,200 soldiers. Two peasant households ( hemman ) made up the so-called "company" ( rota ), which exhibited one soldier. In some parts of Sweden, peasant households were too small, and then from 3 to 15 Hemmans could enter the company. 150 soldiers formed a military company ( kompani ), which geographically often corresponded to the county. Eight companies constituted a regiment.

The recruit was given a plot of land with a house ( torp ) and cattle. The soldier was entitled to an annual salary, which the peasants paid either in money or in groceries. In addition, they supplied him with military equipment in accordance with clearly established rules. In the XIX century. this order changed somewhat, and the soldier himself was forced to take care of the acquisition of equipment.

Each officer, in accordance with his rank, also received his own court, which was called the “boställe”. Upon promotion, the officer moved to a bostel, assigned to his new rank.

A similar system was introduced to equip the cavalry and navy, where it was called “ rusthållet ” and “botsmanshållet, respectively. The commander of the boatswain company ( båtsmanskompani ) lived in the same area as the sailors subordinate to him ( båtsmän ), but when they were called up for service at some naval base ( Stockholm , Landskrona , Gothenburg ), officers took command over them base.

The principle of manning cavalry was somewhat different from the principles of manning infantry. Here, a cavalryman was exhibited and kept by one peasant, who was called the Rustholler. Since the equipment of a cavalryman was much more expensive than the equipment of a soldier, the crown exempted the rusthaller from taxes. During the war, four rusthalers (four horsemen made up the so-called tältlag - “tent team”) were obliged to supply their cavalrymen with a wagon and a wagon. In addition, they provided them with a tent.

At that time, while the cavalryman was not at war or at the training camp, he had to work for a rusthaller, that is, in fact, was his farm laborer . Nevertheless, he, like the soldiers, received from the rustholler a torp and a piece of land.

A special agreement was concluded with the peasants of the provinces to introduce a new system. The first such agreement was signed with peasant representatives from Södermanland on October 27, 1682 in the Riksdag. Soon their deputies were followed by the deputies of Esterjötland, Westmanland , Nerke and Upland , etc. The contract was concluded with the population of Vermland only in 1688.

In the southern provinces, reform faced resistance. Smoland and Westerjötland refused to sign the agreement, but after recruiting began in the provinces in 1683, these provinces made concessions.

The reform was finally completed only in 1733, when the population of Westerbotten agreed to its implementation in their province.

Throughout the 19th century, active discussions were held in Sweden regarding the army manning system. In 1812, a kind of universal military duty was introduced for the first time: all men aged 20 to 25 years had to undergo two-week training (during the Crimean War, this period was increased to 30 days). However, this militia ( beväring ) was supposed to play the role of a reserve for the army and navy, the acquisition of which continued according to the old scheme.

In the 60s. Of the XIX century, the debate on the defense of the state revived again, since it became clear that the old system was outdated, since it allowed mobilizing an extremely small number of soldiers (25 thousand), and besides, their average age was much higher than in other European countries, where armies began to be organized on the basis of universal military service.

In 1873, it was decided to increase the number of persons liable for military service and to gradually abolish the land tax. The next step was taken in 1885, and the "draft age" was increased from 21 to 32 years. The period of military training also increased from 30 to 42 days.

In 1892, at the initiative of Prime Minister Eric Gustav Buström, the age of the military was again raised to 40 years, and military gatherings were now held for 90 days. In 1901, the Riksdag decided to introduce universal conscription in Sweden. The decision meant that the army recruitment according to the old system was canceled since 1902, however, already serving soldiers continued to serve. The last of them retired in the 1940s.

The soldiers of the Swedish army often had “soldier names”. The company commanders, in order to be able to distinguish between numerous Johansson and Svensson, gave their soldiers new names. The choice of such initially often depended on the personal qualities of the soldier. So there are still people in Sweden with the names Rask (“agile”), Mudig (“brave”), Yerv (“bold, courageous”), Stark (“strong”), Klang (“ringing”), etc. In addition, the surname (especially in the early years of the new system) could be given by the name of the village or torp where the rookie was from: Vretling (from Vreta), Gras (from Grasbu), Okerlund (from Okerby), etc. Subsequently, the surname began to be transmitted "by inheritance", that is, it passed from the retired soldier to the recruit, the veteran again took his old patronym .

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• Högman, Hans (2001). Militaria - Svensk militärhistoria . Retrieved Aug 18, 2005 in Swedish.
• Persson, Mats (1998). The Allotment System . Retrieved Aug 18, 2005 in English.
• “Indelningsverket” - The Allotment System - Rolf Ström's Swedish site.
• The Allotment System - Hans Högman's website in Swedish and English.