The Yugoslav Ground Forces ( – KoV, – КоВ) was the ground forces branch of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) from 1 March 1945 until 20 May 1992 when the last remaining remnants were merged into the Ground Forces of the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, under the threat of sanctions.
History The origins of the JNA can be found in the Yugoslav Partisan units of World War II. As a part of the Resistance during World War II People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOVJ), a predecessor of JNA, was formed on 22 December 1941 in the town of Rudo in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the establishment of the 1st Proletarian Brigade. After the liberation of the country from the Axis powers occupation, that date was officially celebrated as the Day of the Army in the SFR Yugoslavia.
In March 1945, the NOVJ was renamed the Yugoslav Army (Jugoslovenska Armija) and finally on its 10th anniversary on 22 December 1951, received the adjective People's (i.e. Narodna).
From eight divisions in the early 1950s, the ground forces grew to what the ISS estimated as a strength of 220,000, including 13 infantry, 3 armoured, and 6 mountain divisions, and 14 independent brigades, including an airborne and a marine infantry brigade, in August 1966.
In September 1968, the Territorial Defense (TO) was formed to support the JNA and on 21 February 1974 TO units were subordinated to their provinces or republics. Thus the JNA and TO became equal parts of the Yugoslav Armed Forces (Oružane Snage SFRJ).
In July 1970, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the Yugoslav ground forces to include 200,000 personnel, nine infantry divisions with some T-34 tanks; one armoured division with M47 Patton, T-54, and T-55 tanks; 33 independent infantry brigades, 12 independent tank brigades, one marine infantry brigade, one airborne brigade, 650 M4 Sherman tanks, PT-76 and about 35 AMX-13 tanks, M-3, BTR-50, and BTR-60P armoured personnel carriers, SU-100 self propelled guns, and 105mm and 155 howitzers, SA-2 "Guideline" surface to air missiles, and SU-57P self propelled anti aircraft guns.
In accordance with the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution the Land Forces were divided into six armies allocated to the five republics. While parts of the structure changed from 1968 to 1988, the main outlines stayed the same: First Army (Belgrade) – northern part of Central Serbia and Northern Serbia (Vojvodina)See for one undated example Second Army (Niš) – southern part of Central Serbia and Southern Serbia (Kosovo and Metohia) Third Army (Skopje) – Macedonia Fifth Army (Zagreb) – Croatia Seventh Army (Sarajevo) – Bosnia and Herzegovina Ninth Army (Ljubljana) – Slovenia 2 Corps (Titograd - :sh:2. korpus JNA - Titograd) - From 1981 - 1988 the corps was an independent formation under the direct command of the Federal Secretariat of National Defence.
Plus the Coastal Naval District (Split) – formerly Fourth Army
As of July 1979 the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the Yugoslav ground forces to include 190,000 personnel (including 130,000 conscripts), eight infantry divisions, seven independent tank brigades, 12 independent infantry brigades, two mountain infantry brigades, one airborne battalion, 12 artillery regiments, six anti-tank artillery regiments, and 12 anti-aircraft artillery regiments.
Tensions between the JNA and the TO became evident at the political situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated in the 1980s. The Federal government became concerned that Yugoslavia's constituent republics would use the TO to facilitate their secession from Yugoslavia and therefore disarmed the Kosovo TO of 130,000 members. In 1988 the JNA absorbed the entire TO with the Bosnian Serb General Blagoje Adžić becoming the JNA Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff.
In 1988 the armies were reorganized into Military Districts or Regions which no longer corresponded to internal borders thereby making it harder for the republics to control their own forces. Apart from the Proletarian Guard, a mechanized corps, the Land Forces infantry divisions were reorganized into 17 Corps each consisting of four to eight brigades. In late June 1990, the JNA dissolved the 6th Proletarian Infantry Division and the Zagreb city defence command.Agression of The Yugoslav People's Army on the Republic of Croatia 1990-1992, D Marijan - Review of Croatian History, 2005.
1991 organization
Once considered the fourth strongest army in Europe with 200,000 active troops and 2 million reserves, in 1991, at the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars the ground forces were organized in four military regions. The First, Third and Fifth corresponded to the three field armies of the ground forces. The Air Force and Air Defence followed this pattern with the First, Third and Fifth Air Corps. Small number of units of the ground and air forces were outside of the military regions directly under General Staff command and control. The fourth military region was the Military Sea Region (or Naval Region), a joint Navy / Ground Forces formation, which was in general commanded by the chief of the Navy, with ground forces units for coastal defence in the rear of the naval artillery. The Military Sea Region did not have tactical aviation units assigned and air support was provided by the three air corps.
General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army (Belgrade-Kneževac) units and formations directly under the General Staff Special Forces Group of the General Staff (Pančevo) 1st Guards Mechanized Division (Belgrade)Balkan Battlegrounds Vol.2, pp. 441 1st Guards Mechanized Brigade (Belgrade) 2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade (Valjevo) 3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade (Požarevac) 1st Guards Motorized Brigade (Belgrade) 1st Guards Mixed Artillery Regiment (Kragujevac) 1st Guards Light Air Defence Artillery Regiment (Belgrade) 1st Guards Military Police Battalion (Belgrade) 63rd Airborne Brigade (Niš) (formally part of the Air Force) 95th Protection Motorized Regiment (Belgrade) additional units and formations First Military Region (Belgrade-Topčider), Northern Theatre (responsible for eastern Croatia (Slavonia), northern part of Central Serbia, Northern Serbia (Vojvodina) and Bosnia and Herzegovina). units and formations directly under the First MR Proletarian Guards Mechanized Division, (Belgrade-Banjica) (reduced strength in peacetime) 4th Motorized Division (reduced strength in peacetime) (disbanded in 1990) 22nd Infantry Division (reduced strength in peacetime) (disbanded in 1990) River Flotilla (Novi Sad) Belgrade City Defence Command (Belgrade) other units and formations 4th Corps (Sarajevo) 5th Corps (Banja Luka) 12th Corps (Novi Sad) 17th Corps (Tuzla) 24th Corps (Kragujevac) 37th Corps (Titovo Užice) Third Military Region (Skopje), South-Eastern Theatre (southern part of Central Serbia, Southern Serbia (Kosovo and Metohia), inland Montenegro) and Republic of Macedonia units and formations directly under the Third MR 37th Motorized Division (Raška) (reduced strength in peacetime) (disbanded in 1990) other units and formations 2nd Corps (Titograd) 21st Corps (Niš) 41st Corps (Bitola) 42nd Corps (Kumanovo) 52nd Corps (Pristina), probably included the 125th Motorised Brigade (:sr:125. моторизована бригада), formed 1981 in Mitrovica Fifth Military Region (Zagreb), North-Western Theatre (Slovenia and northern Croatia) units and formations directly under the Fifth MR 6th Proletarian Infantry Division (Karlovac) (reduced strength in peacetime) (disbanded in 1990) Zagreb City Defense Command (Zagreb) (disbanded in 1990) other units and formations 10th Corps (Zagreb) (established in 1990 by combining 6th PI Division and the Zagreb CDC) 13th Corps (Rijeka) 14th Corps (Ljubljana) 31st Corps (Maribor) 32nd Corps (Varaždin) Military Sea Region (Split-Žrnovnica) (Southeast Croatia (Dalmatia) and the Croatian and Montenegrin coastline) Yugoslav Navy Fleet other naval units and formations Naval Bastions (fortifications on the Dalmatian islands) Coastal Artillery 5th Military Sea Sector (Pula) (formed around the 139. Naval Infantry Brigade in Pula (reorganized as 139th Motorized Brigade around 1990) and additional units) 8th Military Sea Sector (Šibenik) (formed around the 11th (Proletarian) Naval Infantry Brigade in Šibenik (reorganized as 12th Amphibious Brigade around 1990) and additional units) 9th Military Sea Sector (Kumbor) (formed around the 472nd Naval Infantry Brigade in Trebinje) (reorganized as 472nd Motorized Brigade around 1990) and additional units) 9th Corps (Knin)
In 1990 the army had nearly completed a major overhaul of its basic force structure. It eliminated its old divisional infantry organization and established the brigade as the largest operational unit. The army converted ten of twelve infantry divisions into twenty-nine tank, mechanized, and mountain infantry brigades with integral artillery, air defense, and anti-tank regiments. One airborne brigade was organized before 1990. The shift to brigade-level organization provided greater operational flexibility, maneuverability, and tactical initiative, and it reduced the possibility that large army units would be destroyed in setpiece engagements with an aggressor. The change created many senior field command positions that would develop relatively young and talented officers. The brigade structure also was more appropriate at a time of declining manpower.
Corps There were 17 Corps (both named and numbered), they consist of the following:
Serbian (x 5) – 12th, 21st, 24th, 37th, and 52nd Croatian (x 4) – 9th, 10th, 13th, and 32nd Bosnia-Herzegovinian (x 3) – 4th, 5th, and 17th Macedonian (x 2) – 41st and 42nd Slovene (x 2) – 14th and 31st Montenegrin (x 1) – 2nd
Each Corps contained the following: Corps Headquarters Troops, Corps combat Support – three artillery regiments (one mixed artillery, one mixed anti-tank, one light anti-aircraft), and six battalions (engineers, signals, military police, NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical), medical, and replacement). Corps combat forces consisted of four armoured/mechanized/motorized brigades, plus infantry, light infantry, and mountain brigades.
During the course of the ten-year-long Yugoslav wars, corps were modified by being reinforced with extra units from out of theatre; battalions then became regiments and regiments became brigades. However many units were also disbanded when their non-Serbian/Montenegrin personnel deserted.
Personnel In the 1980s the ground forces had about 200,000 active-duty soldiers (including 90,000 conscripts) and could mobilize over a million trained reservists in wartime. Most soldiers were of Serbian, Albanian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian or Montenegrin origin. Reserve forces were organized along republican lines into Partisan Forces and Territorial Defence Forces and in wartime they were to be subordinate to JNA Supreme Command as an integral part of the defence system. The Territorial Defence Forces (reserve force) was made up of former conscripts and they were occasionally called up for war exercises.
The ground forces were subdivided into infantry, armour, field artillery, and air defence artillery, as well as signal, engineering and chemical defence corps.
Operations
The Ten-Day War