During the Second World War anti-tank gun emplacements and additional bunkers and shelters were built, and tens of kilometres of dragon's teeth were placed around the fortress and the city itself.

Owing to the end of the Cold War and the reduction of the threat from the Soviet Union, Boden Fortress became less important to the defence of Sweden, and began to be decommissioned.

[4][note 2] In the beginning of the 19th century the peripheral system—at least in Sweden—was deemed unmodern,[3] due to the extremely long border and coastline of the country, which required a lot of personnel to maintain and support, leading to high costs and a neglect of the more mobile armed forces.

Shortly after, in 1814, the west flank had been secured by the personal union with Norway, and after the Napoleonic Wars, the former main enemy of Sweden in the south, Denmark, was no longer any threat.

[11][12] However no major changes were made, partially due to the limited military interest, but also because of the large amounts of money that was spent on building Karlsborg Fortress and modernizing other older fortifications in southern Sweden.

[13] It was not until fifteen years later, when yet another committee—the Coastal Fortification Committee of 1839 (1839 års kustbefästningskommitté)—studied the defence of Norrland, that the Swedish Armed Forces started to focus a bit more on the northern provinces.

[10] The plans to strengthen Norrland by building a central fortress either on Frösön outside Östersund, or closer to the coast at Borgsjö outside Ånge, once again fell flat due to lack of money and lower priority compared to fortifications in southern Sweden.

[17] At the same time, on the other side of the Bothnian Gulf, the Finnish main railway to Oulu had almost been completed, and would soon be of great use for the Russians to transport military personnel and supplies towards the Swedish border in case of war.

[11][18][note 3] Combined with the planned Luleå–Boden–Gällivare–Kiruna–Narvik railway stretch (the Iron Ore and Ofoten Lines), this would pose a great opportunity for the Russians to fulfill their latent wish to seize control of northern Scandinavia and the Atlantic ports on the Norwegian coast.

[19][20] This was also noticed by the Riksdag member Johan Erik Nyström from Norrbotten's electoral district who—worried about the railway to Oulu—put forward a motion about strengthening the Upper Norrland defence in 1885.

[23][20] Even though the northernmost stretch of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland had long been planned, it was not until 1887 and the victory of the Lantmanna Party's protectionist wing in that year's election that the financial means—from increased trade tariff income—and the political will allowed the completion of the railway through Överluleå,[24] which Boden was sometimes called.

[26] The decision to complete the railway through to Boden sparked interest in Norrbotten among the members of the Swedish General Staff, and the chief, Axel Rappe, conducted a survey trip to the region in 1887.

[32] Axel Rappe's large study on the permanent fortifications of Sweden—a mandate given to him in 1882—was published in 1892 and cemented the view that a central fortress was needed in Boden to support and supply troops gathering between the Lule River and the eastern border, alongside the strengthening of the coastal defences at Stockholm, Gothenburg and Karlskrona.

They argued that the theory of central defence would leave large swathes of Swedish land in the hands of the enemy, and instead suggested smaller fortifications at the border, along with a strengthened navy.

The committee, led by chairman Jesper Crusebjörn, discussed and examined the defence of Norrland thoroughly, and also travelled to Boden where they climbed most of the heights and mountains that were considered for the fortifications.

[44] In 1899, Rappe proposed to the Riksdag—in line with the plans of the Fortification Committee—that construction of already existing fortificatory works in Sweden would commence, while the question on Boden would be postponed to the next year.

During the debate both the Prime Minister of Sweden Erik Gustaf Boström and Jesper Crusebjörn threatened to resign from their posts if the proposal was not accepted, to exert pressure on the second chamber.

Boström expressed the following that day: For believe me gentlemen, I consider this question so important that in the same moment I get the definite answer that it is not embraced by the Swedish Riksdag, I will no longer stay in this place.

In December 1901, only few months after the first blasting work that had been done at Gammelängsberget in July 1901,[61] the cost for the four forts northeast of the river was expected to be sixty-five percent more expensive than the initial calculation.

The following two forts at Rödberget and Mjösjöberget were to have 15 cm (5.9 in) pieces, an order Bofors would get as well, but due to the time factor a few of those were actually delivered by the French company.

The toughest stretch, up the mountain, was handled with the help of block and tackle, the ditch was crossed on temporarily built sturdy wooden bridges and the mounting of the turret was finished with cranes.

The later was built to accommodate easier access to Rödberget Fort and the military training area on the southwestern shore of Lule River and was at the time of completion the longest single span road bridge in Sweden.

Only the most basic needs were satisfied during the interwar period; even apparent needs—based on the experiences from the war—such as better air defence and fortifications to halt or temporarily impede attacks by armoured forces were neglected.

It was not until the increased tension in Europe following Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Benito Mussolini's March on Rome and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War that focus once again was put on military readiness and prepared fortifications.

In Boden, this included building underground storage rooms for ammunition and food, replenishing already existing stocks, increasing protection for other important supply functions—such as the waterworks—as well as further military planning and also preparations for destruction of—for an advancing enemy—important bridges and roads.

[84] When the Second World War broke out, only limited resources were allotted to the defence of Northern Sweden, but following the Soviet attack on Finland a few months later and the German Operation Weserübung against Norway and Denmark the next year, major work on improving and extending the defensive lines was commenced.

[92] Other sources claim that at least some of the sawfilers that the Okhrana found most useful were educated in the art of espionage, and were in fact given specific missions, as well as being paid 300 rouble per season for their work.

[99] Weapons such as cruise missiles and smart bombs made large static fortifications such as Boden Fortress obsolete when they demonstrated their worth during the Gulf War in 1991.

Karl-Bertil Jonsson, the young boy of the story, works extra at the post office where he steals Christmas gifts addressed to rich people and instead gives them to the poor, Robin Hood-style.

The programme brought up the use of Degerberget Fort as storage for the gold reserve and other pieces of information from 100 years of Swedish military history about "one of Sweden's most peculiar and perhaps mightiest constructions".