Sweden during World War I
Sweden, following its long-standing policy of neutrality since the Napoleonic Wars, remained neutral throughout World War I between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918.[1] However, this neutrality was not maintained without difficulty and Sweden at various times sympathised with different parties in the conflict.[2]
Despite strong pro-German sentiment both in the Swedish nobility and in Swedish political circles,[3] Sweden did not enter the war on the German side. Instead, Sweden retained armed neutrality[4] and continued to trade with both the Entente Powers and the Central Powers. Swedish trade with Germany, particularly in iron ore, eventually led to exports of food to Sweden being greatly reduced, especially after America's entry into the war in 1917.[5] The resulting food shortages, and public unrest in the form of hunger marches and riots, caused the downfall of Sweden's conservative government[6] which was replaced eventually by a social democrat one, bringing about an era of political reform in Sweden.[7]
Sweden intervened militarily in Åland after the collapse of Russia into civil war and the advent of Finnish independence in 1918 and briefly occupied the islands, which Sweden had long sought to acquire because of a large Swedish population that supported annexation, but which were also claimed by Finland. However Sweden ultimately withdrew following Finnish protests.[8] Significant numbers of Swedes also took part as volunteers in the Finnish Civil War, with the 350-strong Swedish brigade playing a role in the decisive Battle of Tampere.[9]
At the end of the war, Sweden was not a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles, which brought the conflict to a conclusion, but Sweden joined the League of Nations, which was formed as a result of the treaty and so it was bound by its restriction of German rearmament.[10] However, Swedish firms provided assistance to their German counterparts that helped them avoid the restrictions of the treaty.[11]
Immediate prewar period[edit]
German sympathies[edit]
During the early years of the 20th century the sympathies of the Swedish monarch, and of the Swedish military, were believed to be with the Germans due to cultural links and a shared fear of Imperial Russia. According to the Austrian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, Swedish King Oscar II had proposed an offensive military alliance with the Ottoman Empire against Russia, which was in a difficult military situation.[12] Oscar's successor, King Gustaf V was married to a German, Victoria of Baden, a first cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the Swedish Marshal of the Realm, Ludvig Douglas, was also known to be a strong proponent of an alliance with Germany. In November 1910, the general staffs of Germany and Sweden had even met in secret to discuss a joint offensive against Saint Petersburg, but the meeting ended without a binding agreement being reached.[13]
While as the royalty of Sweden sympathised with Germany, a number of Sweden's social-democratic politicians were also favourably inclined towards Germany because of their positive view of Germany's social security system and its industrial and scientific achievements. Prominent pro-Germans in the ranks of the Social Democrats included Otto Jarte and Yngve Larsson, both of whom were expelled from the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1915 for contributing to a book that urged "courageously lining up on Germany's side".[3]
Swedish military preparedness during the war[edit]
The army[edit]
During the entirety of the war, the active strength of the Swedish army never exceeded 13,000 men, even after the doubling in strength requested in Hammarskjöld's Army Bill of 1914 of reserve formations from six to twelve infantry divisions and a cavalry division.[23] As the war went on and the threat of invasion receded, the number of active, deployable men was by 1918 to fall as low as 2,000.[24]
Whilst relatively well equipped by the standards of 1914, as the war went on this force was less and less well prepared for fighting a conflict according to the prevailing standards of the day. For example, in 1914 the number of machine guns in a Swedish army division's establishment (24) was roughly the same as that of a division of the German or French army, however by 1918 French army divisions had 108 heavy and 405 light machine guns, whilst German army divisions had 108 heavy and 216 light machine guns, yet the number of machine guns in a Swedish army division in 1918 was still 24. The situation with field artillery was similar: in 1914 the average Swedish infantry battalion was supported by 3.6 field guns, a figure similar to that of the great powers, yet by 1918 the equivalent figure for a German battalion was 8.4 and for a French battalion was 12, and it was still 3.6 for a Swedish infantry battalion.[24]
In terms of doctrine and tactics, the Swedes were inexperienced in modern warfare. The only experienced officers in the Swedish army were those who observed the ongoing war on the Western, Italian and Eastern fronts of the world war, or who volunteered for service in one of the belligerent armies.[24]
The late war period[edit]
Food shortages and downfall of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld[edit]
As a result of food shortages caused by the Allied blockade on imports, the sinking of Swedish ships during the German U-boat campaign, and also a bad harvest, by January 1917 the Swedish government had begun rationing of bread, sugar, and flour.[7] The American entry into World War I on the side of Allies in April 1917 greatly increased the pressure on Sweden to conclude an agreement on trade and shipping favourable to the Allied powers. One specific request was that the Swedish reduce their iron-ore exports to Germany in return for increased supplies of food from the Allies.[5]
Despite the food shortage, Hjalmar Hammarskjöld had continued to resist an agreement that might loosen the blockade in return for reducing exports to Germany due to fear of angering the Germans and being seen as favouring the Allies. Hammarskjöld had also come into conflict with his foreign minister Knut Wallenberg over a mooted trade agreement with Britain and a defence co-operation agreement with Norway.[7] Hammarskjöld's refusal to negotiate trade agreements with the Entente countries resulted in unrest in Sweden.[11] Hammarskjöld's government also became weakened around this time when the "Luxburg Affair",[36] involving Swedish facilities being used to transmit secret messages targeting allied shipping for the Germans, became known.[14]
Angered by Hammarskjöld's rejection of trade with the Entente, Hammarskjöld's allies in the Swedish parliament rebelled against him. In early 1917, a combination of protests over food shortages[37] and the failure of the Riksdag to approve increased defence spending, forced Hammarskjöld to resign.[38] King Gustaf called on the conservative Ernst Trygger to form a government, however he lacked the necessary support in the Riksdag to do so, so he was instead replaced by Carl Swartz in March 1917.[7]
The replacement of Hammarskjöld by Swartz did not prevent further disturbances, which were inflamed by heavy-handed policing of so-called "hunger marches".[11] Nor did the food situation in Sweden improve, as rationing was extended to include potatoes. In May 1917 disturbances hit the island of Seskarö in northern Sweden, where fighting broke out between the local population and the military in which the police had to intervene. The island was only pacified after a shipment of food reached the island and a number of local men were jailed.[23]
The largest disturbance occurred on 5 June 1917, when 20,000 people assembled near the Riksdag in Stockholm to hear the response of Carl Swartz to a request from Hjalmar Branting to introduce universal suffrage and constitutional reform, and were dispersed by mounted police.[7][23]
Swartz served as Swedish prime minister for only seven months before being forced from power after the Swedish elections of 1917 and replaced by the liberal government of Nils Edén.[7][39] Following Edén's election disturbances subsided as the social-democrats stopped supporting them, though demands for reforms, including an 8-hour day and improved living conditions, continued.[23] However, it was not until 29 May 1918 that the British blockade of trade with Sweden was completely lifted.[6] The sinking of Swedish ships by German U-boats continued until the end of the war and were eventually to total 280 ships with a loss of 800 lives.[7]
Aftermath[edit]
Cultural and societal impact[edit]
During the war, a number of antiwar authors had risen to prominence within Sweden. These included Elin Wägner, Anna Lenah Elgström, Selma Lagerlöf and Marika Stiernstedt. Swedish poets, including Karl Gustav Ossiannilsson, Bertil Malmberg, and Ture Nerman used the medium of war-poetry to explore various themes.[23]
During the war the Swedish media had been divided into a number of differing camps depending on their position on the war. The large conservative outlets, including Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet (which was majority-owned by German interests), and Nya Dagligt Allehanda had been broadly pro-German. Left/liberal-leaning newspapers such as Dagens Nyheter, on the other hand, were more pro-allied. Finally, Stockholms-Tidningen, Sweden's largest news paper at the time, was relatively neutral and pro-government.[23]
The rise to power of social-democratic politicians also permanently altered the Swedish political landscape, as many aspects of Liberal policy were implemented, and universal suffrage was accepted.[7]
Treaty of Versailles and German postwar re-armament[edit]
Sweden was not a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles, which brought the war to an end, but the Swedish diplomat Marcus Wallenberg (senior), the half-brother of Knut Wallenberg,[7] took part in negotiations at Versailles in relation to Swedish assets in Germany.[11] However, in 1920, Sweden joined the League of Nations, which was formed as a result of the treaty, and so was bound by its restriction of German rearmament.[10]
Despite the Versailles restrictions, Swedish firms provided assistance to German counterparts that helped them avoid the restrictions of the treaty, ultimately aiding the rearmament efforts of Nazi Germany before the Second World War.[11] The assistance included assembling Junkers military aircraft[46] and manufacturing artillery weapons for Rheinmetall.[47]