Uggla was born at Säffle seat farm in By socken, Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, the son of the Major Carl Uggla (1796–1863) and his wife Lovisa (Louise) Regina, née Örn (1814–1877). He was commissioned as an officer in Värmland Regiment in 1863 with the rank of Underlöjtnant.In 1870 he was appointed general staff officer and in 1873 became a Lieutenant in the then newly established General Staff (a corps he came to belong to – with the exception of the years 1879-81, when he served in Värmland Regiment and at the same time was company commander at the Royal Military Academy – until he became colonel in 1897). Uggla served as a teacher at the Royal Military Academy from 1877 to 1883 and he became Captain of the General Staff in 1878 and in Värmland Regiment in 1879.

He then served as a military attaché in Vienna from 1883 to 1885 and from 1885 to 1890, Uggla served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College and in 1890 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the General Staff. Uggla was commander of the Royal Military Academy from 1890 to 1897 when he was promoted to Colonel and appointed Executive Officer of Svea Life Guards. Five years later, in 1902, he was promoted to Major General and appointed commander of the 2nd Army Division (II. arméfördelningen). In 1908, Uggla was promoted to Lieutenant General and in 1913 he retired from active service and was promoted to full General in the reserve. In 1915, Uggla served as Acting Inspector of the Swedish Army Service Troops.

Already in 1871, Uggla had been appointed ordinance officer with the then Duke of Östergötland, later King Oscar II, whose staff he as ordinance officer, aide-de-camp and chief aide-de-camp then belonged to during the king's lifetime. In 1910, Uggla was appointed First Aide-de-Camp and Chief of His Majesty's The King Gustaf V's Military Staff. He was dismissed from office on 28 December 1923 and died 10 days later.