Description
SWEDEN, Swedish Volunteer Corps, 1940, 85 x 55mm bronze plaque 117 grams by Westins Ateljé, Stockholm, .
Obverse: coat of arms of Finland a crowned lion, the right foreleg replaced with an armoured human arm brandishing a sword, trampling on a sabre with the hindpaws. FÖR NORDENS FRIHET OCH SVERIGES ÄRA (Trans: For the Nordic Freedom and the Glory of Sweden)
Reverse: SVENSKA FRIVILLIGKÅREN KRIGSTJÄNST I FINLAND 1940 (Trans: Swedish Volunteer Service in Finland 1940)
The Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren) comprised 8,402 Swedish volunteers. During the Winter War Armborst Grupp 1, numbering around 1,500 soldiers, began relieving five Finnish battalions at Märkäjärvi in mid-February, 1940. In the subsequent Battle of Salla against units of the Soviet 122nd and 88th Rifle Divisions, thirty-three men died in action, among them the commander of the first relieving unit, Lieutenant Colonel Magnus Dyrssen. This version of the medal was for those that fought at the Front during the Winter War in Finland 1940.
