Göta Life Guards (infantry)

Göta Life Guards
Göta livgarde
Active1809–1939
Country Sweden
AllegianceSwedish Armed Forces
BranchSwedish Army
TypeInfantry
SizeRegiment
Part of
  • 4th Military District (1833–1888)
  • 5th Military District (1889–1893)
  • 4th Army Division (1893–1901)
  • IV Army Division (1902–1927)
  • Eastern Army Division (1928–1936)
  • IV Army Division (1937–1939)
Garrison/HQStockholm, Vaxholm
ColorsRed
March"Göta livgardes marsch" (Schubert)
Battle honoursSvensksund 1790

The Göta Life Guards (Swedish: Göta livgarde), also I 2, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment active from 1809 to 1939. Its origins trace back to several earlier military units, including a regiment formed in 1741 by Count Gustaf David Hamilton, aimed at relieving the burden on regular regiments. In the late 1700s, the regiment underwent various reorganizations, with a significant merger of parts of the Queen Dowager's Life Regiment and the Björnberg Regiment, leading to the formation of His Majesty's Second Guard Regiment in 1792.

In 1806, the regiment became the Swedish Guard Regiment and was later renamed the Göta Life Guards in 1894. Based in Stockholm, the regiment remained active until its disbandment in 1939. However, plans for its reorganization were set in motion, transitioning it into a tank battalion and fortress battalion.

Initially stationed in barracks shared with other life guard units, the regiment moved to new barracks on Linnégatan in 1890. In 1928, parts of the Vaxholm Grenadier Regiment formed the Fortress Battalion of the Göta Life Guards, stationed in Vaxholm, but it was disbanded along with the regiment in 1939. The reorganization set the foundation for the creation of the Göta Armour Guards Regiment (P 1) in 1942.