Bergenhus Regiment
The Bergenhus Regiment was a Norwegian Army infantry regiment located in the counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. It was first formed in 1628 and finally disbanded in 2002. In 2006 it was decided that as the Norwegian Home Guard has taken over both the territorial responsibility and recruitment area of the old regiments they are recognised as their successors. Thus battle honours and history has been transferred to them and new banners based on the old regimental colours were created to reflect that. The history of Bergenhus Regiment is carried on by Bergenhus Heimevernsdistrikt 09 and Møre og Fjordane Heimevernsdistrikt 11.
| Bergenhus Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1628–2002 |
| Country |  Norway |
| Branch | Norwegian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Battle honours |
|
Introduction
Bergenhus Regiment was first raised in 1628 as part of the Danish King Christian IV's plan to create a Norwegian army. Most armies of that time had in their ranks large proportions of mercenaries, expensive troops to maintain and sometimes of questionable loyalty. Thus by raising an army that was to manned by his own rural subjects he wished to create an organization that would be loyal, could quickly be put on a war-footing and that could serve his interest, both in war and peace.
To recruit men for this army all farms in the realm from Båhus in the south to Trøndelag in the central north was organized into the "legd"-system. A "legd" consisted of four full farms, which together would provide and equip a single soldier.
The initial strength of the army consisted of five regiments:
- Trondhjemske Regiment
- Bergenhusiske Regiment
- Tunsberghusiske Regiment
- Akershusiske Regiment
- Bohus Regiment
There were also three independent companies:
- Jämtlands Kompani
- Stavanger lens Fahnlein
- Agdesidens Fahnlein
Baptism of fire and the growth of an institution (1628-1700)
Despite the initial ambitious plans for the creation and further expansion of the Norwegian army, the costs proved too much at the time for any proper organization and fielding of the planned army. Because of this it remained mostly a paper organization until around 1640 when the threat of war loomed on the horizon. The lower ranks had until then been on the rolls, assigned and sometimes trained but the required number of officer were sorely lacking. With the new situation arising in 1640 the number of companies in the regiment was raised from four to six and a number of new officers were hired to fill the vacant positions in the regiment.
Various
| Det Bergenhusiske Regiment | Bergenhus Regiment | 1628 | – | 1718 |
| 1ste Bergenhusiske Regiment til fots | 1st Bergenhus Foot Regiment | 1718 | – | 1789 |
| 2dre Bergenhusiske Regiment til fots | 2nd Bergenhus Foot Regiment | 1718 | – | 1789 |
| Det Bergenhusiske Regiment | Bergenhus Regiment | 1789 | – | 1817 |
| Den Bergenhusiske Skarpskytterbataljon | Bergenhus Sharpshooter Battalion | 1810 | – | 1817 |
| 4de Bergenhusiske Brigade | 4th Bergenhus Brigade | 1817 | – | 1911 |
| Søndre Bergenhus Infanteriregiment Nr.9 | Southern Bergenhus Infantry Regiment Nr.9 | 1911 | – | 1930 |
| Nordre Bergenhus Infanteriregiment Nr.10 | Northern Bergenhus Infantry Regiment Nr.10 | 1911 | – | 1930 |
| Hordaland Infanteriregiment Nr.9 | Hordaland Infantry Regiment Nr.9 | 1930 | – | 1995 |
| Fjordane Infanteriregiment Nr.10 | Fjordane Infantry Regiment Nr.10 | 1930 | – | 1995 |
| Bergenhus Regiment | Bergenhus Regiment | 1995 | – | 2002 |
| Fjordane Regiment | Fjordane Regiment | 1995 | – | 2002 |
(Periods when the original regiment was divided into several separate units as a result of army re-organizations are shown with the designations of all these units listed.)
| Stene gård | 1658 |
| Trondhjem | 1658 |
| Halden | 1660 |
| Vænersborg | 1676 |
| Marstrand-Carlsten | 1677 |
| Jasmund-Neutief | 1715 |
| Moss | 1716 |
| Dynekilen | 1716 |
| Fredriksten | 1718 |
| Marstrand-Carlsten | 1719 |
| Berby | 1808 |
| Vosseavsnittet | 1940 |
| Valdres | 1940 |