Bertil Stjernfelt

Lieutenant Colonel Henning Bertil Stjernfelt (24 July 1917 – 21 January 2017) was a Swedish Army officer and military historian. Stjernfelt graduated from the Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1940 and immediately entered service with the Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment during the German invasion of Denmark and Norway. As a young lieutenant in World War II, he commanded an artillery battery in the northern Sea of Åland, maintaining full combat readiness throughout the war. His early passion for military history led to his first book Alarm in the Atlantic Wall, which earned praise from Charles de Gaulle.

After the war, he pursued advanced military education in Sweden and the United Kingdom, later teaching at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy and Staff College. Stjernfelt became a strong advocate for amphibious units in Swedish defence, playing a decisive role in the establishment of the Coastal Rangers in 1956. He held several key command and staff positions, including head of the Coastal Artillery Warrant Officers' School, chief of staff in Gotland Coastal Artillery Defence, and later head of the Naval Staff's Intelligence Department.

Internationally, he commanded the Swedish UN contingent in Cyprus (1966–1967) and attended senior intelligence training in the United States. He concluded his career as head of the military history department at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College, where he served until his retirement in 1977. In retirement, he pursued academic studies, conducted research, and remained an active writer and lecturer on military history, publishing works in multiple languages and contributing regularly to professional journals.

Early life Stjernfelt was born on 24 July 1917 in Gustavi Parish, Gothenburg and Bohus County, Sweden, the son of Henning Stjernfelt, a dentist, and his wife Ruth (née Magnusson). He passed studentexamen at Norra Latin in Stockholm in 1937.

Career

Military career Stjernfelt graduated from the Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1940 and was commissioned as an officer and assigned to Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment on 9 April, earlier then planned due to the German attack on Denmark and Norway. On the same day, he had to mobilize a preparedness unit in the inlet towards Stockholm. Already as a young lieutenant, he became battery commander of an artillery battery on the island of Roten in the northern Sea of Åland, a battery that kept full combat readiness throughout the World War II. At an early age he developed a great interest in military history. Shortly after the end of World War II, he cycled with his new wife Borghild along the invasion coast of Normandy, gathering information both in the terrain and from the German commanders who led the defence there. This resulted in the book Alarm i Atlantvallen ("Alarm in the Atlantic Wall"). A French edition of this book prompted an appreciative letter from general Charles de Gaulle.

Personal life In 1947, Stjernfelt married Borghild Maria Kihlstedt (1923–2003), the daughter of Major Hugo Kihlstedt and Vera (née Blomquist).

Dates of rank 1940 – Second lieutenant 19?? – Lieutenant 19?? – Captain 1957 – Major 1963 – Lieutenant colonel

Awards and decorations

Honours Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1970) Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences, Department II (1977)