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Royal Yugoslav Army
The Yugoslav Army (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of Yugoslavia in December 1918 until its surrender to the Axis powers on 17 April 1941. Aside from fighting along the Austrian border in 1919 and 1920 related to territorial disputes, and some border skirmishes on its southern borders in the 1920s, the JV was not involved in fighting until April 1941 when it was quickly overcome by the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia.
Shortly before the invasion, Serbian officers of the Yugoslav General Staff, encouraged by British Special Operations Executive personnel in Belgrade, led a coup d'état against Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and Dragiša Cvetković for adhering to the Tripartite Pact. Beyond the problems of inadequate equipment and incomplete mobilization, the Royal Yugoslav Army suffered badly from the Serbo-Croatian schism in Yugoslav politics. Yugoslavian resistance to the Axis invasion collapsed overnight, primarily due to a large part of the non-Serb population, Croats in particular, being unwilling to offer resistance. In its worst expression, Yugoslavia's defenses were badly compromised on 10 April 1941, when some of the units in the Croat-manned 4th and 7th Armies mutinied, and a newly formed Croatian government hailed the entry of the Germans into Zagreb the same day.
During the Axis 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 Peter II of Yugoslavia was abolished.
The Austro-Hungarian Army exited the First World War after the Armistice of Villa Giusti was struck with the Kingdom of Italy on 3 November 1918. A National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs had been formed in Zagreb in the previous month with the aim of representing the kingdoms of Croatia-Slavonia and Dalmatia, the condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Slavic-populated areas of Carniola and Styria. On 1 November 1918 the National Council had established the Department of National Defense, which brought all Austro-Hungarian units on its territory under the command of a new National Army of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. All affected units of the Common Army, the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and the Royal Croatian Home Guard came under that unified command. Immediately after the Armistice of Villa Giusti, Italy began occupying parts of the Kingdom of Dalmatia that had been promised to it under the secret Treaty of London.
On 1 December 1918 the unification of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the Kingdom of Serbia was declared, forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Kingdom of Montenegro had already united with Serbia five days earlier. This declaration and firm action by armed groups halted any further encroachments by Italy. The National Council subsequently organised a celebration in Zagreb on 5 December with a Te Deum at the Zagreb Cathedral. Members of the 25th Croatian Home Guard Infantry Regiment and the 53rd Infantry Division held a protest at the same time at the nearby Ban Jelačić Square. The protest was quelled by the police with 15 dead and 17 injured. Both units were subsequently demobilised and disbanded.
At the end of 1918, a Serbian Army mission led by Colonel Dušan Simović, Milan Pribićević and Milisav Antonijević arrived in Zagreb to lead the re-organisation of the Serbian Army and the National Army of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into a single new Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS). The re-organisation talks were led by Pribičević on one side and Mate Drinković and Slavko Kvaternik on the other. They agreed that there would be a new army for the new state, consisting of six regiments. Two of them would be based in Croatia and one in Slovene Lands (specifically in Ljubljana), commanded by Croatian and Slovene officers respectively. The agreement was ignored by Serbian military authorities. Following the December 1918 protest in Zagreb, existing Royal Croatian Home Guard were disbanded. Existing Slovenia-based units of the former Austro-Hungarian armed forces were gradually disbanded over the course of 1919 when the new army was established, led by Serbian generals with Serbian language as the official language. Apart from the name of the army and the emblem worn on the cap, virtually everything else was retained from the Serbian Army, including uniforms, ranks, medals and regulations. Serbian Army symbols were used by the force for a substantial part of 1919. While the Serbian Army officers were automatically transferred to the Army of the KSCS, the former Austro-Hungarian and Croatian Home Guard officers had to apply to be accepted to the force. Non-Serbian officers accepted to the service were often discriminated against.
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. By 1 January 1919, a total of 134 former high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officers had been retired or relieved of their duties. 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. 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.
By early 1921 the army organisation had settled into one cavalry division of four regiments, 16 infantry divisions, each consisting of three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, and additional army-level troops. The 16 infantry divisions were grouped into four numbered army areas, with headquarters at Novi Sad (1st Army), Sarajevo (2nd Army), Skoplje (3rd Army), and Zagreb (4th Army). Later in 1921, a second cavalry division was formed using the four army-level cavalry regiments. Artillery allocation was one heavy artillery regiment and one howitzer regiment at army level, and one field artillery regiment at infantry division level. The army was based on conscription, and annual call-ups were used to maintain the peacetime strength of the army at 140,000. Of the four armies, two were equipped with French-pattern rifles, and the other two used an Austrian model. In the early 1920s, the army responded to several external crises, including the attempted return of King Charles IV to neighbouring Hungary, disturbances along the Albanian border, and incursions from Bulgaria. Despite high standards of discipline and individual training, the army was unable to conduct large-scale mobilisation due to threats on all frontiers, lack of funds, poor railway infrastructure, lack of suitably trained and qualified officers, and shortage of arms, munitions, clothing and equipment.
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Royal Yugoslav Army
The Yugoslav Army (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of Yugoslavia in December 1918 until its surrender to the Axis powers on 17 April 1941. Aside from fighting along the Austrian border in 1919 and 1920 related to territorial disputes, and some border skirmishes on its southern borders in the 1920s, the JV was not involved in fighting until April 1941 when it was quickly overcome by the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia.
Shortly before the invasion, Serbian officers of the Yugoslav General Staff, encouraged by British Special Operations Executive personnel in Belgrade, led a coup d'état against Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and Dragiša Cvetković for adhering to the Tripartite Pact. Beyond the problems of inadequate equipment and incomplete mobilization, the Royal Yugoslav Army suffered badly from the Serbo-Croatian schism in Yugoslav politics. Yugoslavian resistance to the Axis invasion collapsed overnight, primarily due to a large part of the non-Serb population, Croats in particular, being unwilling to offer resistance. In its worst expression, Yugoslavia's defenses were badly compromised on 10 April 1941, when some of the units in the Croat-manned 4th and 7th Armies mutinied, and a newly formed Croatian government hailed the entry of the Germans into Zagreb the same day.
During the Axis 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 Peter II of Yugoslavia was abolished.
The Austro-Hungarian Army exited the First World War after the Armistice of Villa Giusti was struck with the Kingdom of Italy on 3 November 1918. A National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs had been formed in Zagreb in the previous month with the aim of representing the kingdoms of Croatia-Slavonia and Dalmatia, the condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Slavic-populated areas of Carniola and Styria. On 1 November 1918 the National Council had established the Department of National Defense, which brought all Austro-Hungarian units on its territory under the command of a new National Army of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. All affected units of the Common Army, the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and the Royal Croatian Home Guard came under that unified command. Immediately after the Armistice of Villa Giusti, Italy began occupying parts of the Kingdom of Dalmatia that had been promised to it under the secret Treaty of London.
On 1 December 1918 the unification of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the Kingdom of Serbia was declared, forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Kingdom of Montenegro had already united with Serbia five days earlier. This declaration and firm action by armed groups halted any further encroachments by Italy. The National Council subsequently organised a celebration in Zagreb on 5 December with a Te Deum at the Zagreb Cathedral. Members of the 25th Croatian Home Guard Infantry Regiment and the 53rd Infantry Division held a protest at the same time at the nearby Ban Jelačić Square. The protest was quelled by the police with 15 dead and 17 injured. Both units were subsequently demobilised and disbanded.
At the end of 1918, a Serbian Army mission led by Colonel Dušan Simović, Milan Pribićević and Milisav Antonijević arrived in Zagreb to lead the re-organisation of the Serbian Army and the National Army of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into a single new Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS). The re-organisation talks were led by Pribičević on one side and Mate Drinković and Slavko Kvaternik on the other. They agreed that there would be a new army for the new state, consisting of six regiments. Two of them would be based in Croatia and one in Slovene Lands (specifically in Ljubljana), commanded by Croatian and Slovene officers respectively. The agreement was ignored by Serbian military authorities. Following the December 1918 protest in Zagreb, existing Royal Croatian Home Guard were disbanded. Existing Slovenia-based units of the former Austro-Hungarian armed forces were gradually disbanded over the course of 1919 when the new army was established, led by Serbian generals with Serbian language as the official language. Apart from the name of the army and the emblem worn on the cap, virtually everything else was retained from the Serbian Army, including uniforms, ranks, medals and regulations. Serbian Army symbols were used by the force for a substantial part of 1919. While the Serbian Army officers were automatically transferred to the Army of the KSCS, the former Austro-Hungarian and Croatian Home Guard officers had to apply to be accepted to the force. Non-Serbian officers accepted to the service were often discriminated against.
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. By 1 January 1919, a total of 134 former high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officers had been retired or relieved of their duties. 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. 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.
By early 1921 the army organisation had settled into one cavalry division of four regiments, 16 infantry divisions, each consisting of three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, and additional army-level troops. The 16 infantry divisions were grouped into four numbered army areas, with headquarters at Novi Sad (1st Army), Sarajevo (2nd Army), Skoplje (3rd Army), and Zagreb (4th Army). Later in 1921, a second cavalry division was formed using the four army-level cavalry regiments. Artillery allocation was one heavy artillery regiment and one howitzer regiment at army level, and one field artillery regiment at infantry division level. The army was based on conscription, and annual call-ups were used to maintain the peacetime strength of the army at 140,000. Of the four armies, two were equipped with French-pattern rifles, and the other two used an Austrian model. In the early 1920s, the army responded to several external crises, including the attempted return of King Charles IV to neighbouring Hungary, disturbances along the Albanian border, and incursions from Bulgaria. Despite high standards of discipline and individual training, the army was unable to conduct large-scale mobilisation due to threats on all frontiers, lack of funds, poor railway infrastructure, lack of suitably trained and qualified officers, and shortage of arms, munitions, clothing and equipment.