Royal Yugoslav Army
Yugoslav Army | |
---|---|
Jugoslovenska vojska Југословенска војска | |
Active | 1918–1941 |
Country | Yugoslavia |
Branch | Land forces |
Type | Army |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
The Yugoslav Army (
Shortly before the
During the occupation of Yugoslavia, the Chetniks of Draža Mihailović were referred to as the "Royal Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland". The Royal Yugoslav Army was formally disbanded on 7 March 1945 when the Yugoslav government-in-exile appointed by King Peter II was abolished.
Background
The
On 1 December 1918 the unification of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the
Formation to 1926
At the end of 1918, a
The Serbian Army numbered 145,225 soldiers at the end of the war, and absorbed the some 15,000 former Austro-Hungarian officers and volunteers which had been organized by the National Council.[11] By 1 January 1919, a total of 134 former high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officers had been retired or relieved of their duties.[6] From late 1918 until 10 September 1919, the new army was involved in a sharp military confrontation with irregular pro-Austrian formations in the region of Carinthia on the northern frontier of the new KSCS. At one point, KSCS troops briefly occupied Klagenfurt. After a plebiscite in October 1920 the frontier with Austria was fixed and tensions subsided.[12] To deal with these security concerns, a large mobilization was carried out from 1918 to 1919, reaching a peak of 450,000 soldiers in July 1919, though demobilization quickly followed.[11]
By early 1921 the army organisation had settled into one
In 1922, the allocation of artillery within the army was enhanced using material captured in
In 1925, a Guards division was formed, consisting of two regiments of cavalry, and one regiment each of infantry and artillery. It was commanded by
1927–1932
The first
In 1930, Živković was promoted to Armijski đeneral, and four out of the five army commanders were changed. There was only one Croat or Slovene in the general ranks, and he was an engineer in an unimportant post.[33] Acquisition of about 800 modern artillery pieces of various calibres was also undertaken, again from Czechoslovakia, and another 100,000 rifles were purchased from Belgium. Despite this new equipment, the army remained deficient in light and heavy machine guns, motor transport, signalling and bridging equipment, and tanks.[34] Inter-division manoeuvres were again undertaken in three regions, but cavalry charges and massed infantry attacks demonstrated that the army had not learned the lessons of World War I.[35] In the view of the British military attaché, the clique of Serbian officers in charge of the army at this time were narrow-minded and conservative men who, while keen to modernise the equipment of the army, did not see the need to modernise its tactics or organisation, and were unwilling to learn from others.[36] During following year, a machine gun company was created in each infantry battalion, and both the Savska (Zagreb) and Dravska (Ljubljana) divisions converted one of their infantry regiments into a mountain infantry regiment. This latter development was intended as the first step to creating two independent formations that, with integral artillery, signals and transport elements, could be used along the mountainous northwest frontier.[37] The year saw no military exercises, even the recent inter-divisional manoeuvres being foregone due to the international financial crisis. The British military attaché observed that the army lacked the sound system of battalion and regimental training needed to thoroughly prepare units for modern warfare, as training consisted mainly of close order drill, basic marksmanship and a small number of field firing exercises.[38]
In 1932, Živković resigned as Prime Minister and from official politics, and returned to the command of the Guards Division.
1933–1937
In early 1933, there was a war scare regarding Italy and Hungary which greatly concerned the General Staff. The British military attaché observed that the army had great self-belief, its infantry was tough and its artillery was well-equipped, but it greatly lacked in significant areas required by a modern fighting force. Key deficiencies remained in machine guns and infantry guns, and there was no combined arms training. The attaché further observed that, along with the almost complete Serb domination of the general ranks, the General Staff was also 90 per cent Serb, and "Serbianisation" of the army had continued, with young educated Croats and Slovenes now reluctant to enter the army. The attaché saw the Serb domination of the army as a possible political weakness for the nation, but also a military weakness in time of war.[42] Three Croat officers were promoted to the rank of brigadni đeneral during the year. There were also reductions in the numbers of artillery regiments and batteries, and infantry battalions and companies, due to significantly lower conscription numbers for 1933, which were caused by the Balkan Wars twenty years earlier. Three more anti-aircraft regiments were formed, and an independent command was created for Šibenik in Dalmatia.[43] Long-term shortages in officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) remained, with deficiencies of 3,500 officers and 7,300 NCOs. Disturbances in the Macedonian region resulted in the issue of 25,000 rifles to members of the Serb-nationalist paramilitary force Narodna Odbrana.[44]
In June 1934, Army general Milan Nedić became Chief of the General Staff, replacing Milovanović. King Alexander appointed Nedić to carry through a significant change in army organisation against the opposition of many of the senior generals, mainly to reduce the size of the oversized infantry divisions and create corps as an intermediate formation between divisions and armies. After Alexander's assassination, Nedić decided to defer the changes, citing practical difficulties. A chemical warfare battalion was also formed, with the intention of providing each army with one company. Trials were also undertaken with Skoda tankettes and a locally designed automatic rifle.[45] It was announced that army-level manoeuvres would be held in 1935, for the first time since the formation of the army in 1919. A commission formed to examine the issue of mechanisation of the army concluded that the terrain of much of the country and the weakness of existing bridges meant that motorisation and mechanisation should be developed slowly, but that a light truck should be acquired as a first step. Reserves of ammunition of all types were reported as low.[46]
In 1935, estimates were made that within a month of mobilisation, 800,000 to 900,000 soldiers could be placed under arms. This was based on the duplication of eight of the sixteen standing infantry divisions and of the alpine division, and the formation of an additional cavalry division, resulting in a total of 24 infantry divisions of about 25,000 men each, one guards division, two alpine divisions and three cavalry divisions.[47] This year saw significant changes in the higher command of the army following the creation of the Military Council. Nedić became a member of the Military Council and was replaced by Army General Ljubomir Marić as Chief of the General Staff. Six infantry regiments were disbanded, but the General Staff decided to stick with four infantry regiments per infantry division. Equipment received during the year included 800 Stokes mortars, enough Skoda anti-aircraft guns to arm 20 batteries, and six Skoda Škoda S-1d tankettes. Deficiencies in radio communications were apparent, with the infantry needing between 1,000 and 2,000 small sets, and the cavalry being completely lacking in radios. The radios issued to artillery units were unable to communicate with aircraft, and were therefore of little use. The British military attaché observed that even the most senior commanders have never handled a force larger than a division on exercises or in war. The 1935 manoeuvres were the first of any type since 1930, and the first above divisional level since the formation of the army in 1919. They took place on the Sava river between Novi Sad and Sarajevo at the end of September, and were really in the form of a demonstration rather than a war game. There was no freedom of action for commanders, and control was rigid.[48]
During 1936, Marić became Minister of the Army and Navy, replacing Živković, who had been intriguing against the government. Before this occurred Marić had told the British naval and military attachés that any mobilisation of the army would take 25 days, and revealed that shortfalls in many items of equipment were severe, including gas masks, steel helmets, tents, horseshoes, small arms ammunition, saddlery and tanks. The new Chief of the General Staff was Armijski đeneral Milutin Nedić, brother of Milan, who had been the General Officer Commanding the Royal Yugoslav Air Force. The major organisational change during the year was the formation of a tank battalion, consisting of three companies, each of three platoons of five tanks. The only tankettes in service at this time were Renault FTs operated by a training company, but an order for new tanks had been submitted.[49] Large-scale manoeuvres were carried out in Slovenia in September 1937, involving the equivalent of four divisions, and exposing to foreign observers the serious deficiencies in the army, caused by incompetent General Staff and the senior commanders, a lack of technical training of regimental officers in modern warfare, and across-the-board shortages of arms and equipment of almost every type. The British military attaché observed that the army was not capable of undertaking any large-scale operations outside of the country, but if fully mobilised would be able to give a good account of itself in a defensive campaign. The exercise was conducted in Slovenia to test the loyalty and value of Slovene and Croat reservists, and was completely satisfactory in this respect only, with nearly all of the reservists reporting for duty and bearing the hardships of the exercise with "discipline and fortitude". The same year saw the delivery of a substantial amount of equipment from Czechoslovakia, including 36 mountain guns, 32 anti-aircraft guns, 60 reconditioned howitzers, 80 field guns, and eight Škoda S-1d tankettes.[50] Considerable work was being undertaken building fortifications on the Italian frontier.[51]
Prelude to war
During 1938, Milutin Nedić was appointed as Minister of the Army and Navy, and was replaced as Chief of the General Staff by Armijski đeneral Dušan Simović. That year, two geo-strategic changes made the task of the army significantly more difficult, the Anschluss between Germany and Austria, and the Munich Agreement which drastically weakened Czechoslovakia. These changes meant that Yugoslavia now had a common frontier with Germany and its most significant supplier of arms and munitions was under threat.[52] It was the assessment of the British military attaché that the army could stem the tide of an invasion by one of its neighbours acting alone, with the possible exception of Germany, and could also deal with a combined Italian and Hungarian attack.[53] During the year, a Coastal Defence Command was raised using troops already stationed along the Yugoslav coastline, and did not involve the creation of new formations. Delivery of 10,000 light machine guns from Czechoslovakia was completed during the year, which meant that the army was fully equipped with rifles and light machine guns. Further fortification was undertaken along the Italian border, and plans were developed to fortify the former Austrian border.[54] Of the 165 generals in the army in 1938, two were Croats and two were Slovenes, the rest were Serbs.[55]
During the interwar period, the Yugoslav military budget expended 30 per cent of government outlays.[56] By January 1939, the army, when mobilised, and including reserves, numbered 1,457,760 men, with fighting formations including 30 infantry divisions, one guards division, and three cavalry divisions.[57] In late 1940, the army mobilised troops in Macedonia and parts of Serbia along the border with Albania.[58]
April 1941 Campaign
Formed after World War I, the Royal Yugoslav Army was still largely equipped with weapons and material from that era, although some modernization with Czech equipment and vehicles had begun. Of about 4,000 artillery pieces, many were aged and horse-drawn, but about 1,700 were relatively modern, including 812 Czech
Fully mobilized, the Royal Yugoslav Army could have put 28 infantry divisions, three cavalry divisions, and 35 independent regiments in the field. Of the independent regiments, 16 were in frontier fortifications and 19 were organized as combined detachments, around the size of a reinforced brigade. Each detachment had one to three infantry regiments and one to three artillery battalions, with three organised as "alpine" units. The German attack, however, caught the army still mobilizing, and only some eleven divisions were in their planned defense positions at the start of the invasion. The total strength of the Royal Yugoslav Army at full mobilization was about 1,200,000 however only around 50 per cent of the recruits were able to join their units before the German invasion. By 20 March 1941, its total mobilized strength amounted to 600,000.[60] On the eve of the invasion, there were 167 Generals on the Yugoslav active list. Of these, 150 were Serbs, 8 Croats, and 9 Slovenes.[61]
The Royal Yugoslav Army was organized into three army groups and the coastal defense troops. The 3rd Army Group was the strongest with the 3rd, 3rd Territorial, 5th and 6th Armies defending the borders with Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The 2nd Army Group with the
The strength of each "Army" amounted to little more than a
Along with other Yugoslav forces, the Royal Yugoslav Army surrendered on 17 April 1941 to an invading force of Germans, Italians, and Hungarians. Subsequently, a unit titled "1st Battalion, Royal Yugoslav Guards" was formed in Alexandria, Egypt. This unit saw action in North Africa with the 4th Indian Division but was later disbanded in Italy in 1944 as its strength dwindled and the unit was plagued by infighting between royalist and pro-Josip Broz Tito factions.[64] During 1943–44, 27 men made up the "No. 7 (Yugoslav) Troop" of the 10th (Inter-Allied) Commando, a special forces unit under British command. In November 1943, the Yugoslav Detachment was established as part of the 512th Bombardment Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces. The detachment consisted of 40 Yugoslav aviators and was disbanded in August 1945.[65] All Royal Yugoslav Forces were formally disbanded on March 7, 1945, when King Peter II's government was abolished in Yugoslavia.
Flags
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Standard of the rank of army general.[68]
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Standard of the rank ofdivision general.[68]
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Standard of the rank ofbrigade general.[68]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Roberts & Tito 1973, p. 17.
- ^ Tanner 2010, p. 119.
- ^ a b c d Huzjan 2005, p. 447.
- ^ Ramet 2006, p. 43.
- ^ Ramet 2006, p. 44.
- ^ a b Huzjan 2005, p. 464.
- ^ Huzjan 2005, p. 458.
- ^ Bizjak 2012, pp. 40–41.
- ^ a b Banac 1984, p. 150.
- ^ Judah 1997, p. 106.
- ^ a b Newman 2015, p. 42.
- ^ Cede 2012, p. 18.
- ^ a b Jarman 1997a, p. 527.
- ^ a b Jarman 1997a, p. 577.
- ^ a b Jarman 1997a, p. 578.
- ^ a b Jarman 1997a, p. 529.
- ^ a b Jarman 1997a, p. 579.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 622.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 623.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 672.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 729.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 730.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 731.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 775.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 776.
- ^ Jarman 1997a, p. 777.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 121.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 122.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 123.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 178.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 179.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 180.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 240.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 242.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 243.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 244.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 316.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 317–318.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 384.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 385–386.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 387.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 441–442.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 443.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 444.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 534–535.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 536.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 632.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 633–635.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 734–735 & 834.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, pp. 831–833.
- ^ Jarman 1997b, p. 835.
- ^ Jarman 1997c, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Jarman 1997c, p. 88.
- ^ Jarman 1997c, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Vucinich 1969, p. 11.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 20.
- ^ Hoptner 1963, p. 160.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 32.
- ^ a b Tomasevich, 1975, p. 59.
- ^ Battistelli & Hook 2021, p. 17.
- ^ Bjelajac, p. 353
- ^ Geschichte, pp. 317–318
- ^ Fatutta, et al., 1975. p. 52.
- ^ Thomas, pp. 34–35
- ISBN 978-1472842015.
- ^ Bjelajac, p. 15
- ^ Flag of Voivoda
- ^ a b c Bjelajac, p. 14
References
Books
- ISBN 0-8014-1675-2.
- Battistelli, P.P.; Hook, A. (2021). The Balkans 1940–41 (2): Hitler's Blitzkrieg against Yugoslavia and Greece. Campaign. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-4262-6.
- Bjelajac, Mile S. (1994). Vojska Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca-Jugoslavije: 1922–1935. Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije.
- Bjelajac, Mile S. (1988). Vojska Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca 1918–1921. Narodna knj.
- Bjelajac, Mile (2004). Generali i admirali Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1918–1941: Studija o vojnoj eliti i biografski leksikon [The Generals and Admirals of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1918–1941: A Study of the Military Elite and Biographical Lexicon] (in Serbian). OCLC 607699124.
- Cede, Franz (2012). "The Plebiscites in Carinthia and Sopron-Ödenburg after World War I". In Wilfried Marxer (ed.). Direct Democracy and Minorities. Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-531-94304-6.
- Geschichte des Zweiten Weltkrieges Vol. 3, A. A. Gretschko, Berlin: Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1977.
- Hoptner, J.B. (1963). Yugoslavia in Crisis, 1934–1941. New York: Columbia University Press. OCLC 404664.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997a). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 1. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997b). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 2. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- Jarman, Robert L., ed. (1997c). Yugoslavia Political Diaries 1918–1965. Vol. 3. Slough, Berkshire: Archives Edition. ISBN 978-1-85207-950-5.
- ISBN 9780300071139.
- The Times Atlas of the Second World War, John Keegan (ed.), New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
- Newman, John Paul (2015). Yugoslavia in the Shadow of War: Veterans and the Limits of State Building, 1903–1945. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107070769.
- Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
- Roberts, W.R.; Tito, J.B. (1973). Tito, Mihailović, and the Allies, 1941–1945. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-0740-8.
- Tanner, M. (2010). Croatia: A Nation Forged in War; Third Edition. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-17159-4.
- Thomas, Nigel. Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces 1939–45. London: Osprey, 1991. ISBN 1-85532-136-X.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
- Vucinich, Wayne S. (1969). "Interwar Yugoslavia". In Vucinich, Wayne S. (ed.). Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment. OCLC 652337606.
Journals
- Bizjak, Matjaž (2012). "Problemi slovenskega častniškega zbora ob prehodu v vojsko Kraljevine SHS" [Problems of the Slovenian Officers During Their Transfer to the Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]. Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino (in Slovenian). 52 (1). Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino: 39–52. ISSN 2463-7807.
- Fatutta, F.; Covelli, L. (January–May 1975). "1941: Attack on Yugoslavia". The International Magazine of Armies & Weapons. Vol. 4, no. 15 & 17. Lugano, Switzerland.
- Huzjan, Vladimir (2005). "Raspuštanje Hrvatskog domobranstva nakon završetka Prvog svjetskog rata" [The Demobilization of the Croatian Home Guards After the End of the First World War]. Časopis za suvremenu povijest (in Croatian). 37 (2). Croatian Institute of History: 445–462. ISSN 0590-9597.