Don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me!

21:00 - By the end years of the war there were detailed plans for Swedish invasions of both Norway and Denmark. Especially the later were very close to reality and would likely have happened if the war in Europe had dragged on for a month or so more. The Swedish government and military were very concerned about a Soviet occupation of Denmark and wanted to make sure post-war Denmark were free of Soviet influence. The plan was for the Swedish Navy to control the Sound between Denmark and Sweden and for 60000 Swedish troops to land in Denmark and quickly capture Copenhagen with the aid of the Danish "police" brigade. Everything was ready for this operation when the war ended and the especially the Danish troops were very disappointed that they never got the chance to liberate their land which they had trained hard for. The Danes were transported over to Denmark after the war ended and helped secure post war Denmark.

@ToonStory-fh4gn

9 ай бұрын

I'm reading your comments carefully and it's teaching me so much. So thank you for that, and I'm so glad it gives you the opportunity to share about the history of your country. This afternoon I was watching another video about Sweden during WW2, I'm not going to quote it because I don't want to get striked on my own channel but it's a year old from an English youtuber (I think). There are so many more nuances and subtleties behind the term "neutral". I was particularly impressed by the intelligence services' ability to crack German encryption machines. Your comments are gold!

@StoriesFromHistory-rv4oi

9 ай бұрын

Thank you :) I love all history but of course there is something special about reading about your own nations past. The intelligence service cracking of the encryption machines were very important for us in that it gave a lot of insight into German planing and strategy. Two famous examples are the information about the Bismarck setting sail for the Atlantic which were forwarded to the British which could then start the chase. The other an maybe most famous is of course the advance knowledge about Operation Barbarossa. There is another story that is among my favourites from WWII. It actually starts in 1704. Captain Gustaf von Psilander and his third rate ship of the line guards a convoy of Swedish merchant ships through the English Channel when they get intercepted by an English fleet of eight ships of the line. Psilander has very firm orders from the king (Charles XII) that he must fight if intercepted. So he orders the ship to engage the British fleet. The battle predicably ends with the Sewdish ship more or less getting shot to pieces. But despite its damage it can still sail into an English port were the English impressed by their guts agrees to repair the ship enough for it to continue home. (although it does not make it all the way home in the end but sinks outside Denmark). Fast forward to the beginning for WWII. Sweden lacks enough ships and buys three from Italy. One of the ships get named Psilander after the captain in the story. The WWII era captain that is tasked with sailing the ships home from Italy is ordered not to give them up without a fight. Close to Britain we get a repeat of this the first story when the Swedish ships are intercepted by a much stronger British fleet. The Swedish captain tries to contact Stockholm but in the end chooses not to fight because it would be futile. The British captures the ships but later hands them back to Sweden. The captain is court martialed in Sweden for refusing to fight. The most insane thing though is that his case never gets resolved and he had to go the rest of his career without a resolution. (btw the battle in 1704 is called The Battle of Orford Ness if you want to check it out on Wiki. The WWII era incident is called the "Psilander affair" and is also on Wiki.)@@ToonStory-fh4gn

I can understand the allies resentment towards Swedens actions during the war but as you said the first duty is to protect our own territory and population which we succeeded with, we did what we had to to not end up like our neighbours. As a bonus for you Sweden had an election during WW2 and when Per Albin won his main opponent just said one thing: "My condolences"

@ToonStory-fh4gn

9 ай бұрын

Agree with that! And I heard "My condolences" in another video, wild stuff 😅

@roboten98

9 ай бұрын

@@ToonStory-fh4gn wild but suitable considering the minefield Per Albin had to navigate Sweden through hahah

Did not think a reaction on this was coming But good 👍 And kings and generals is always good

@ToonStory-fh4gn

9 ай бұрын

Thank you, it's a way to try new stuff in my channel and also to have fun!

@klaras9324

9 ай бұрын

I agree, really glad at this reaction!

18:40 - Pro German sentiment was absolutely a factor. You are absolutely right. This obviously changed gradually for the military over the war. In October 1942 there were a change on three important posts in the military command and the trio that came to power jokingly called their entry into the arena as their "Machtübernahme" which they ment as a marking that from now on there would be no more concessions to the Germans. It is also around this time that the defence staff makes the judgement that Germany will lose the war.

As a half Swede, I'm a bit conflicted about Sweden's involvement during WW2. As someone from the UK, I do have some resentment for their trade with Germany and letting Nazi troops cross through their territory On the other hand, they did also help the Allies by giving Axis intel to the UK and allowed Allied bombers to use Swedish airfields in the latter years of the war. I'm not ashamed of my Swedish side because of this two sided neutrality, but it's definitely a mixed legacy to leave behind

@ToonStory-fh4gn

6 ай бұрын

I think it's a complex story, where there's no black and white but just an incredibly difficult situation where people did what they could. At least that's my impression as a total foreigner...

@oliversherman2414

6 ай бұрын

@@ToonStory-fh4gn I agree

Another interesting event during the war was the "Hårsfjärden disaster" in September 1941 where a Swedish destroyer exploded and took and then took two other destroyers of the same class with it. 33 sailors were killed in the event which likely happened because of sabotage. To this day 82 years later parts of the investigation into the incident are still classified. There is speculation that it was British sabotage but to my knowledge there is no public evidence for that. (Two of the destroyers were later repaired and returned to service)

I think it is interesting that they start out the video with some more further back history. It is a close call between 1809 and 1940 in my opinion on which year is the strategically worst year in Swedish post 1521 history. In 1809 Russia has invaded Finland while a French Napoleonic army under Marshal Bernadotte is in Denmark ready to invade Sweden and in Norway there is a Danish army under their prince Charles August also ready to invade. All our allies except the UK have made peace with France. (interesting side note for this is that in a weird twist of fate both Charles August and Marshal Bernadotte will later in turn become Swedish crown princes). This time Napoleons invasion of Spain helps us out because the Spanish troops Bernadotte has in Denmark becomes pissed of and leaves for Spain. 1940 is shown clearly in this video. In my opinion in it is a tough call which situation is the worst here. I could argue for both I guess but maybe in the end 1809 takes it in my opinion. The end years of the Great Northern War also should get an honorary mention I guess :)

We were pretty much self sufficien when it come down to food.

@ToonStory-fh4gn

Ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment

This video forgets it but the Soviets and Nazis are allies in 1939-41 when it comes to eastern and northern Europe. So in thw winter war the threat of Germany llomed over decitions and after the invvasion of Norway the threat of the Soviets was a factor they had divided poland and Germaby forbade transiting of weapons to Finland in 1939-40, This Video also is Wrong on the Swedish navy. This was the strongest component in fighting land powers like Germany and the Soviet Russian Empire. It was smaller then both navies but strong enough to cause enough problems to prevent an invasion by sea unless neutralized. This saved Sweden in 1940 as the German navy had as a requirement for the invasion of Denmark and Norway that they did not have to fight the Swedish navy and its core of modern destroyers and Coastal defence ships.

@AdurianJ

4 ай бұрын

The turning point for Sweden in the war did not come after stalingrad but after the attack on Moscow. Sweden mobilized in February 1942 and conducted massivw army maneuvers in northern Sweden in worse weather then the Germans faced in Russia. This was a signal to Germany that Sweden was better than them at winter warfare. After this the 25th Panzer division is organized in Norway and ordered to plan an invasion of Sweden. But Kursk happens before they are ready as the troop requirements can't be met with the losses in Russia and Sweden gaining Strength. Sweden also was not Neutral to be Neutral the goal was staying out of the war and the means was Neutrality. This fact is obscured by political activists writing history. Its also not helped by the fact the Social democrats lied about us being perfectly neutral in ww2 as part of their mythos on why they where such good rulers of Sweden.

@ToonStory-fh4gn

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for your comment. Obviously I'm pretty ignorant about the Swedish fleet at that time so I appreciate your information. As for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, I understand it as a division of Europe into spheres of influence (with trade agreements) rather than a real alliance. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most cynical diplomatic acts of the 20th century.

@AdurianJ

4 ай бұрын

@@ToonStory-fh4gn It's a very real alliance if you live in Poland where they held a joint victory parade afterwards, the Soviets where supposed to invade at the same time as the Germans but Stalin delayed to see what the Western powers did. They even held a joint victory parade. Soviet Propaganda and Trade unions also tried to undermine the British war effort against Germany before Barbarossa. It's not a full an alliance as the Axis or Allies where but it's strong enough to be described as one. The borders agreed with Hitler was also what Stalin insisted on and got with the Allies later in the war, that is why Poland was moved to the west at the expense of Eastern Germany after the war. It was a compromise so Stalin could keep what he agreed with Hitler.