The Jaeger Brigade (; ) is a unit of the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...

. The unit is located in

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring mun ...

and

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

Finnish Lapland Lapland is the largest and northernmost Regions of Finland, region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gul ...

, some north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. The brigade trains 2,200 conscripts per year. The brigade has two main units: Lapland Jaeger Battalion in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion at Rovaniemi air base. The Jaeger Brigade specialises in training soldiers for the harsh climate of Lapland. The brigade is also responsible for developing arctic warfare tactics and equipment in cooperation with Swedish and Norwegian arctic forces. Their expertise in

cold-weather warfare Cold-weather warfare, also known as cold-region warfare, arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions, or cold, both on land and at sea, as well as the strategies and tactics used ...

is widely recognized; members of the U.S. and other militaries come to Sodankylä in winter to learn from them. Troops are motorized by all-terrain vehicles Sisu Nasu and Bandvagn 206 due to their better movement in arctic conditions compared to heavily armed vehicles.

Organisation

* Lapland Jaeger Battalion (Lapin Jääkäripataljoona) in SodankyläLapin Jääkäripataljoona
. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2015-06-09. ** 1st Jaeger Company (1. Jääkärikomppania) ** 2nd Jaeger Company (2. Jääkärikomppania) ** 3rd Jaeger Company (3. Jääkärikomppania) ** Logistics Company (Huoltokomppania) ** Support Company (Tukikomppania) * Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion (Rovaniemen Ilmatorjuntapatteristo)Rovaniemen ilmatorjuntapatteristo
. Finnish Defence Forces 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-19. ** 1st Air Defence Battery (1. Ilmatorjuntapatteri) ** 2nd Air Defence Battery (2. Ilmatorjuntapatteri) ** Base Company (Tukikohtakomppania)

History

The Brigade follows the traditions of the 27th Prussian Jaeger Battalion, JR 27 (27th Infantry regiment) (which fought during the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

) and the 6th Division (which fought during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

). In addition, the Brigade carries the traditions of Pohja Brigade, Ostrobothnia Jaeger Battalion () In addition to these, the Brigade carries the traditions of numerous other historical units that have either been its organisational predecessors or manned by the men of Lapland.Historia ja perinteet
. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-20. . The Lapland Jaeger Battalion traces back its roots to the 1st Bicycle Battalion, founded in 1921. That unit later formed the 1st Jaeger Battalion which fought during the Winter War and the Continuation War. Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion traces its lineage to the 151st Light Air Defence Battery, founded in 1941. In 1944, following the Continuation War, this unit became the 1st Battalion of Air Defence Regiment 2. In 1967, the unit received the provincial name of Ostrobothnia Air Defence Battalion (), which was changed to the current name in 1974. During 1989–2014, the battalion was part of Lapland Air Defence Regiment.

External links

Jääkäriprikaati

References

{{Finnish Defence Forces units Brigades of Finland Sodankylä Rovaniemi