Danish Brigade in Sweden



The Danish Brigade in Sweden (Danish: Den Danske Brigade i Sverige) or in short, the Danish Brigade (Den Danske Brigade/DDB) (also referred to as Danforce) was a military unit made up of Danish refugees during World War II. Trained and supplied by Sweden, the brigade was created to help liberate Denmark. Ultimately it was only deployed on the day of the German surrender in the country and was involved in very little fighting.

Background
Om 9 April 1940 Denmark was invaded by Nazi Germany and quickly surrendered.

Following the transit of German troops through Sweden, Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson pushed for the training and equipping of 7,500 Danish "police troops." This was met with opposition in his cabinet, but a plan was eventually agreed upon in December 1943.

History
The Swedish government loaned 25 million kroner to the Danish legation to fund the training and arming of the Brigade. Enrollment was on a voluntary basis. Around 750 Jews who had escaped occupied Denmark enlisted. The Danish soldiers were equipped with Swedish Mauser m/96 long rifles and bayonets.

In the fall of 1944 the Swedish Air Force oversaw the training of Danish pilots at Såtenäs, who were subsequently organized into a squadron equipped with Saab 17 bomber-reconnaissance aircraft.

The Danish Flotilla
The Danish Flotilla (Danish: Den Danske Flotille) was formed with ships of the Danish Royal Navy that had escaped to Sweden.

Liberation of Denmark
The Swedish government delayed the deployment of the Brigade to Denmark so as to not complicate the surrender of German forces there. Most of the German occupation force surrendered without incident to Allied troops on 5 May. However, three Danish soldiers were killed by snipers as they marched into Copenhagen.

Legacy
Most of the officers of the Brigade were influenced by the Swedish military doctrine (which was based off of German strategy) they learned during their exile and carried their knowledge over into the restructured Danish Army following the war. On the anniversary of Operation Safari in 1947, veterans of the Brigade erected a monument to the three soldiers killed during liberation near the Provincial Archive of Zealand in Copenhagen.

Notable members

 * Herbert Pundik