Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

ABSTRACT:

Due to increased tension in the Baltic sea region, the Swedish defense is directed to focus on rebuilding its capacity to defend Sweden on Swedish soil. One of the areas of challenge is the army and its attempts to rebuild its capacity to conduct combined arms fighting in a brigade structure.

In 2013 the Swedish army received a new army tactics handbook, to replace the old land doctrine of 2005. Recent research has shown that the old land doctrine was to a great extent, a product influenced by William S Lind´s Maneuver Warfare handbook, written in the mid 80´s. The underlying problem pointed at in this essay, is the consequences connected, when adapting a Handbook written for someone else, in this case the US, with its huge supply of forces and its long history of attrition warfare based on firepower and maximizing blows.

The aim of this essay has been to find out if and in that case how, the army tactics handbook also is a product influenced by Lind´s theories, if so, what are the consequences from a Swedish small-army perspective?   

The overall mindset for this essay is; Despite being outnumbered, strive for local superiority which can be achieved through maneuver warfare, a development of the indirect approach.

The result indicates extensive similarities, but also differences, probably due to the diversity of the audiences. It is also important to stress that there may well be other factors that can produce these similarities.