Olof Thörnell

Olof Thörnell
Nickname(s)	LM (The lust murdurer)[1]
Born	19 October 1877 Trönö, Sweden
Died	25 July 1977 (aged 99) Uppsala, Sweden
Buried at	Uppsala old cemetery
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Army
Years of service	1897–1950
Rank	General
Commands held	Chief of Defence Staff Supreme Commander
Other work	Chief of staff for Gustaf V of Sweden

Olof Gerhard Thörnell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a Swedish Army general. He was Sweden's first Supreme Commander from 8 December 1939 until 1944. Before 1939 that had been the role of the King.

Early life

Thörnell was born in Trönö, Söderhamn Municipality and was the son of the vicar Per Thörnell and Gerhardina (Dine) Margareta, née Lindgren. He was the brother of Professor Gösta Thörnell. After passing his maturity exam on 17 May 1895 at Norra Latin in Stockholm he became an officer in 1897.^[2]

Career

He was placed as second lieutenant (10 December 1897) and was then promoted to lieutenant (7 December 1900) at Uppland Regiment (I 8). On 7 July 1906 Thörnell graduated from the War College and was placed as an officer cadet at the General Staff. He was promoted to captain of the General Staff on 10 June 1910. From 1911 to 1915 Thörnell was a teacher at the War College.^[2] In 1915 he left the General Staff and served as captain at Älvsborg Regiment (I 15). After a few years in the field, he returned to the General Staff, where he quickly rose through the ranks. On 27 November 1917, he was promoted to major and on 19 August lieutenant colonel.

He was promoted to major at the General Staff in 1917 and became head of the Central Department of the General Staff in 1918.^[3] In 1921 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the General Staff. Thörnell was after that serving at Upplands Infantry Regiment (I 8) in 1924 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and acting commander of Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 27) in 1926. On 24 August 1926 Thörnell was promoted to colonel and became commander of Vaxholm Grenadier Regiment (I 26). On 1 January 1928 he was appointed military commander of Gotland and in 1931 inspector for the train. On 28 December 1933 he was promoted to major general and was appointed inspector of the infantry. On 1 July 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and chief of the Defence Staff. On 8 December 1939 he was appointed Supreme Commander and on 1 January he was promoted to general.

Thörnell was a skilled organizer who puts great demands of his staff. He was also a politically cautious general, overcautious some thought, who took active part in intricate game about the Swedish neutrality during the first dangerous war years. He tried to safeguard the country for as many possible chain of events as possible.^[4] Thörnell left office as Supreme Commander on 1 April 1944 and was succeeded by Helge Jung. Thörnell was chief of staff for Gustaf V of Sweden until the king died on 29 October 1950.

Opinion

Thörnell had a harsh and sarcastic appearance, and were generally called LM (The lust murderer) within the Defence Staff.^[1] Thörnells time as the Supreme Commander was marked by several major concessions to Germany and Thörnell himself was generally considered pro-German.^[5] Thörnell was criticized by Torgny Segerstedt among other, because he, on 7 October 1940, received the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle by the hands of the Prince of Wied with a letter signed by Adolf Hitler.^[6]

Dutys

• Member of the 1918 military pay experts' report 1920-1921^[2]
• The 1921 pension committee report^[2]
• Armed Guard wage board 1921-1924^[2]
• Vice Chancellor at the Kungl. Maj:ts orden 1947^[2]

Personal life

On 1 October 1904 he married Anna Henrika Halling (1883-1972) in Skållerud, the daughter of factory manager Alex Halling and Henrika Collén.^[3] They had four children: Gerhard (1905-1940), Barbro (born 1908), Ulla (1914-2011) and Per (born 1918).^[7] Thörnell died in 1977 in Uppsala and is buried in Uppsala old cemetery.^[8]

Awards and decorations

Olof Thörnells grave in Uppsala old cemetery.

•  Sweden Knight and commander of the Kungl. Maj:ts Orden^[9] 6 juni 1942
•  Sweden King Gustaf V Jubilee Memorial Bagde on the occasion of the 90th anniversary (Konung Gustaf V:s jubileumsminnestecken med anledning av 90-årsdagen) 1948^[10]
•  Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (Gustaf VI Adolfs jubileumsminnesmedalj) 1967^[11]
•  Sweden Memorial Bagde on the occasion of King Gustaf V's death (Minnestecken med anledning av Konung Gustaf V:s död)^[3]
•  Sweden King Gustaf V's Commemorative Medal (Konung Gustaf V:s minnesmedalj) 1950^[12]
•  Sweden Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword^[7]
•  Sweden Knight of the Order of Vasa 1945^[13]
•  Denmark Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog^[9]
•  Finland Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland 26 October 1938^[14]
•  Nazi Germany Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle 1940^[6]
•  Netherlands Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords^[9]
•  Finland Finnish War Memorial Medal^[3]
•  Sweden Medal of Merit for the Voluntary Motorboat Corps (Förtjänstmedalj för Frivilliga motorbåtskåren) 1929^[15]
•  Sweden Landstorm Officer's Society Medal of Merit (Landstormsofficerssällskaps förtjänstmedalj) 1930^[16]
•  Sweden Swedish Lotta Corps Medal of Merit (Svenska lottakårens förtjänstmedalj) 1930^[17]
•  Sweden Swedish Landstorm Association Medal of Merit (Sveriges Landstormsförenings förtjänstmedalj) 1930^[18]
•  Sweden Gotland Shooting Association Medal of Merit (Gotlands skytteförbunds förtjänstmedalj) 1932^[19]
•  Sweden Swedish Red Star Medal of Merit (Svenska Röda Stjärnans förtjänstmedalj) 1938^[20]
•  Sweden Voluntary Automobile Corps Medal of Merit (Frivilliga Automobilkårens förtjänstmedalj) 1940^[21]
•  Sweden National Air Protection Association's Medal of Merit (Riksluftskyddsförbundets förtjänstmedalj)^[22]
• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences 1923^[2]
• Honorary Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences 1939^[2]

References

1. Andolf, Göran; Hugemark, Bo, eds. (1992). I orkanens öga: 1941 - osäker neutralitet [In eye of the hurricane: 1941 - uncertain neutrality] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 275. ISBN 91-87184-14-1.
2. Lagerström, Sten, ed. (1968). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1969 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1969] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 959.
3. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1964). Vem är vem?. 2, Svealand utom Stor-Stockholm [Who is Who?. 2, Svealand excluding Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Bokförlaget Vem är vem. p. 813.
4. Dahlberg, Hans (1983). I Sverige under 2:a världskriget [In Sweden during World War II] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier fakta. p. 91. ISBN 91-34-50308-0.
5. Frick, Lennart W.; Rosander, Lars (2004). Bakom hemligstämpeln: hemlig verksamhet i Sverige i vår tid (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska media. p. 138. ISBN 91-85057-11-8.
6. Andolf, Göran; Hugemark, Bo, eds. (1992). I orkanens öga: 1941 - osäker neutralitet [In eye of the hurricane: 1941 - uncertain neutrality] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 243. ISBN 91-87184-14-1.
7. "Olof Thörnell – Sveriges överbefälhavare under krigsåren – föddes i Trönö" [Olof Thörnell - Sweden's supreme commander during the war years - was born in Trönö] (in Swedish). Artiklaronotiser.wordpress.com. 2010-09-17. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
8. "Thörnell, Olof Gerhard" (in Swedish). Svenskagravar.se. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
9. Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 352.
10. "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
11. "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
12. "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
13. "Vasaorden m/1772" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
14. Berghman, Arvid (1949). Nordiska riddareordnar och dekorationer [Nordic knight orders and decorations]. Skrifter / utgivna av Riksheraldikerämbetet, 99-2298099-1 ; 2 (in Swedish). Malmö: J. Kroon, Malmö ljustrycksanst. p. 107.
15. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
16. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
17. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
18. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
19. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
20. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
21. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
22. "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.