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Swedish Home GuardThe Swedish Home Guard, or Hemvrnet, is a Swedish defence organization and a part of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Home Guard consists of local defence units under the leadership of the armed forces, as well as 23 national auxillary defence organizations. History Main article: Sweden during World War II The Home Guard was officially passed into law by the Riksdag on May 29, 1940, after the beginning of World War II, but units had already been formed by the military before it was passed into law. Home Guard Units were groups of usually eight to 15 men that served as defense units in a time of war, located in towns and in both private and public factories, all throughout Sweden. Members of these small units usually consisted of former professional military men who were equipped with rifles, machine guns, ammunition, medicine, special clothing (uniforms), and had the option of buying additional materials such as skis, sweaters and marching boots. An additional group, called the Lotta corps (Women's Voluntary Defence Service), helped with additional tasks that the Home Unit was unable to perform themselves. The Lotta corps helped provide the home unit with additional items such as socks, scarves and gloves as well as performing all administrative work that the unit could not afford to do themselves. In a time of war, in case the Home Guard was unable to utilize any local hospitals for their use, the Swedish Red Cross was prepared to set up first aid stations to help aid the Home Guard. Method of operation The Home Guard units are trained to provide local combat units (primarily infantry but also signals troops). This means they know the area where they will function, hopefully better than any invasion force. The focus of the training is on improvised warfare (Guerilla warfare). The aim is to have all Home Guard battalions ready for combat within two hours of a general alert. In peacetime the Home Guards occasionally help with search and rescue operations. See also - Lottorna (Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Service)
External links Home Guard
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