KU 2nd Infantry Brigade

The 2nd Infantry Brigade is a formation of the Royal Union Army. The brigade is also known as Västmanlandsbrigade, a name formerly held by an infantry regiment of the Swedish Army. It is headquartered in Lulea.

History
The regiment has its origins in fänikor (companies) raised in Västmanland in the 1550s and 1560s. In 1617, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby provinces of Dalarna and Uppland—were organised by Gustav II Adolf into Upplands storregemente, of which six of the total 24 companies were recruited in Västmanland. Upplands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, of which Västmanlands regemente was one. Sometime around 1623, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which Västmanlands regemente was one.

The regiment was officially raised in 1628 although it had existed since 1623. Västmanlands regemente was one of the original 20 Swedish infantry regiments mentioned in the Swedish constitution of 1634. The regiment's first commander was Bengt Bagge. It was allotted in 1682 as one of the first regiments to be so.

The regiment was given the designation I 18 (18th Infantry Regiment) in a general order in 1816. Västmanlands regemente was garrisoned in Västerås from 1906. The regiment was disbanded in 1927, but was reorganised in 1994 as a local defence area with the designation Fo 48.

After the Union of 2001, Västmanlands regemente was reorganized and converted to a modern mechanized brigade and attached to the 1st Infantry Division

Campaigns

 * The Polish War (1600–1629)
 * The Thirty Years' War (1630–1648)
 * The Northern Wars (1655–1661)
 * The Scanian War (1674–1679)
 * The Great Northern War (1700–1721)
 * The Hats' Russian War (1741–1743)
 * The Seven Years' War (1757–1762)
 * The Gustav III's Russian War (1788–1790)
 * The Finnish War (1808–1809)
 * The Second War against Napoleon (1813–1814)

Brigade Composition

 * IB2 Signal Company 
 * 12th Infantry Battalion, operates in the light infantry role and is equipped with general purpose vehicles
 * 14th Infantry Battalion, operates in the light infantry role and is equipped with general purpose vehicles
 * 15th Infantry Battalion, operates in the light infantry role and is equipped with general purpose vehicles
 * 26th Motorized Infantry Battalion, operates in the light infantry role and is equipped with vehicles from the Sisu XA and general purpose vehicles families
 * 23th Engineers Battalion
 * 27th Logistic Support Battalion 
 * 23th Artillery Battalion, operates in the field artillery role and is equipped with Haubits FH77/A 155 mm howitzer and Anti Air weapons
 * IB2 E&M Engineers Company