Yugoslav Army

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Yugoslavia

Armed Services

In 1990 the YPA consisted of the ground forces, air force, and navy. They were organized into four military regions including the Split Naval Region. The regions were further divided into districts that were responsible for administrative tasks such as draft registration, mobilization, and construction and maintenance of military facilities. Of the YPA's 180,000 soldiers, airmen, and sailors, more than 100,000 were conscripts.

Ground Forces

The ground forces, or army, led the armed services in personnel. In 1990 the army had 140,000 active-duty soldiers (including 90,000 conscripts) and could mobilize nearly 450,000 trained reservists in wartime. The army comprised several major service branches, including infantry, armor, artillery, and air defense, and smaller support branches such as the signal, engineering, and chemical defense corps.

The army was organized into three military regions and ten army corps headquarters. The military regions and corps headquarters were responsible for forces and operations in three strategic areas: Slovenia and northern Croatia; eastern Croatia, Vojvodina, and Serbia; and Kosovo and Macedonia. 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 antitank 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.

Tank brigades comprised two or three battalions. They operated about 750 Soviet T-54 and T-55, 290 Yugoslav M-84, and some United States-made M-47 tanks. The LCY held about 550 Soviet T-34 and United States-produced M-4 tanks in storage as reserves. The army's tanks were in many respects its most obsolete forces. The T-54/-55 was a frontline model during the 1960s. The M-47, T34 , and M-4 were tanks of World War II and the early postwar era. Domestic production of the M-84 (basically a version of the Soviet T-72 built under license in Yugoslavia) was slowly providing the army with a late 1970s and 1980s model (see Arms Procurement below).

Mechanized infantry brigades lacked sufficient mechanization. In 1990 fewer than 1,000 armored combat vehicles and personnel carriers served almost 50,000 troops in frontline infantry units. Far fewer than one-half of all brigades were substantially mechanized. The majority of mechanized units were concentrated in eastern Croatia, Vojvodina, and Serbia along what would be the main axis of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Yugoslavia.

The army had over 400 M-980 armored combat vehicles and 300 M-60P armored personnel carriers produced domestically. The infantry also operated more than 200 Soviet-made BTR-152, BTR40 , and BTR-50 armored personnel carriers, which had been purchased in the 1960s and 1970s. It had 100 M-3A1 half-tracked personnel carriers produced by the United States and a small number of new Romanian TAB-72 armored personnel carriers. Armored reconnaissance vehicles included a few older Soviet BTR-40s, newer BRDM-2 models, and domestic BOV and M-8 vehicles.

Artillery regiments were well equipped with Soviet, United States, and domestic systems. Soviet artillery in these units consisted of approximately 1,000 towed 122mm howitzers, 130mm guns, 152mm gun/howitzers, and 155mm howitzers. There were about 700 older United States 105mm and 155mm towed guns and domestically produced models such as the M-65 in the artillery regiments. Towed pieces were very important for operations in the country's mountainous terrain. Artillery units operated Soviet 100mm and 122mm and Yugoslav-produced 105mm M-7 self-propelled guns. Those units had over 6,000 82mm and 120mm mortars, including a self-propelled 82mm mortar mounted on an M-60PB variant of the standard armored personnel carrier.

Artillery units operated several battlefield missile systems including 160 128mm YMRL-32 and M-63 multiple-rocket launchers. The arsenal included four launchers for Soviet FROG-7 surface-to- surface missiles. First fielded in 1967, the unguided FROG-7 had a range of 100 kilometers.

Antitank regiments had towed antitank guns, recoilless rifles, and Soviet antitank guided missiles. Antitank guns included 75-mm, 90-mm, and 100-mm models. They were Sovietproduced with the exception of the 90mm M-63B2, which was manufactured domestically. The recoilless rifles were manufactured domestically and included 57mm, 82mm, and 105mm models. Two self-propelled 82mm recoilless rifles could be mounted on an M-60PB armored personnel carrier. Antitank guided missiles were the Soviet AT-1 and AT-3. They were used in both antitank and infantry units, but because of their early vintage, effectiveness against advanced armor was uncertain. The fourwheeled BOV-1 armored reconnaissance vehicle could be equipped with six AT-3 launchers to serve as a highly mobile antitank platform.

Larger army units had considerable tactical air defense assets, designed to defend major troop concentrations against enemy air strikes. The ground forces had four surface-to-air missile regiments and eleven antiaircraft artillery regiments. The former operated Soviet SA-6 mobile medium-range surface-to- air missiles as well as large numbers of shorter-range portable SA-7 and vehicle-mounted SA-9 missiles. Short-range systems also were employed in infantry units.

Yugoslav antiaircraft artillery regiments operated over 5,000 guns. Self-propelled gun systems included the Soviet-made 57-mm dual ZSU-57-2 gun systems and the domestically produced triple 20mm BOV-3 and dual 30mm BOV-30. Large numbers of towed antiaircraft guns of many calibers were in the inventory. Of both domestic and foreign origin, they included pieces purchased from the United States, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, and Sweden.

In general, the army's major deficiencies were its lack of adequate firepower and mobility. Infantry units were insufficiently mechanized to maneuver on a modern battlefield, and tank forces were largely outdated. Using equipment from the Soviet Union, the United States, and other countries, the ground forces had serious logistical problems, including irregular ammunition supply and maintainance of many nonstandard weapons systems. The army lacked sufficient fire support from the air force, although by 1990 the latter was acquiring additional ground attack aircraft and helicopters to perform this mission. The army emphasized developing or obtaining more effective vehicle-mounted and portable antitank guided missiles and antiaircraft missiles. A shortage was evident in advanced target designation systems including infrared sights and laser rangefinders.

Arms Procurement

In 1990 Yugoslavia remained dependent on the Soviet Union for most heavy armaments and complex weapons systems, including tanks, armored vehicles, antitank and antiaircraft missiles, and ships. Until the late 1980s, this created a dangerous situation in which Yugoslavia's principal arms supplier was also the country's greatest apparent external threat. Therefore, in 1990 Yugoslav arms procurement policy aimed to expand purchases from the other Warsaw Pact states, the United States, and neutral European countries, as well as to increase domestic production. Despite significant progress, self-sufficiency in arms supply remained elusive for both economic and technological reasons. Yugoslavia's domestic arms industry remained relatively small, and in 1990 it faced declining export markets.

Ranks, Insignia, and Uniforms

Ranks in the YPA were updated by the Army Law of 1 October 1982. According to that law, the YPA had five categories of ranks, including general officers, senior officers, junior officers, NCOs, and soldiers. The soldier and NCO ranks were private first class, corporal, junior sergeant, sergeant, sergeant first class, senior sergeant, senior sergeant first class, warrant officer, and warrant officer first class. Privates first class, corporals, and junior sergeants wore one, two, and three red chevrons, respectively, on a background of olive-green, blue-gray, or black--corresponding, respectively, to the ground forces, air force, or navy. In the army and air force, sergeants, sergeants first class, senior sergeants, and senior sergeants first class wore single thin yellow-gold chevrons with one, two, three, and four yellow-gold stars, respectively. Warrant officers and warrant officers first class wore two yellow-gold chevrons with one and two gold stars respectively.

The corresponding navy ranks were seaman apprentice, seaman, and petty officer third class, indicated by one, two, and three red chevrons, respectively. Petty officers second class wore one red chevron and one red star. Petty officers first class, chief petty officers, and master chief petty officers wore two, three, and four yellow-gold chevrons and one yellow-gold star, respectively. Warrant officers wore one broad and one narrow yellow-gold chevron and one yellow-gold star. Warrant officers first class wore a second narrow yellow-gold chevron.

Insignia for commissioned officers were worn on shoulder boards in colors corresponding to their service branch: olivegreen for the ground forces, blue-gray for the air force, and black for the navy. Shoulder boards were piped with single and double yellow-gold braid, respectively, for junior and senior officers of the army and air force. Shoulder boards of navy officers were not piped. General officers of all three services wore shoulder boards piped with twisted gold cord.

In the ground forces and air force, junior officer ranks were junior lieutenant, lieutenant, captain, and captain first class. Their shoulder boards had one, two, three, and four small yellowgold stars, respectively. Senior officer ranks were major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel. Their shoulder boards bore one, two, or three large yellow-gold stars respectively. General officer ranks were major general, lieutenant colonel general, colonel general, and army general. Army general officers wore a crossed sword and cannon and air force general officers wore an eagle set on a wreath and one, two, three, and four gold stars, respectively. Tito was the only person to hold the rank of marshal, and the position was abolished shortly after his death. The corresponding navy officer ranks were junior lieutenant, corvette lieutenant, frigate lieutenant, battleship lieutenant, corvette captain, frigate captain, and battleship captain. The rank of frigate captain, which had no equivalent in most Western navies, fell between the ranks equivalent to commander and captain. Junior and senior naval officers wore shoulder boards with yellow-gold stripes and one yellow-gold star. In rank sequence, their stripe configurations were one broad, one broad and one narrow, two broad, two broad and one narrow, three broad, three broad and one narrow, and four broad stripes.

Senior naval officer ranks were rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral, and fleet admiral. Senior officers wore one broad band and one, two, three, and four broad gold stripes, respectively, each with one gold star on the shoulder boards. The shoulder boards of the naval dress uniform were like those of the army and air force (except that they showed an anchor instead of the crossed swords of the army or the cannon and eagle of the air force), with one, two, three, and four gold stars (see fig. 18).

Soldiers and NCOs were issued uniforms. Soldiers had field and service uniforms, while NCOs were authorized a dress uniform as well. Because they held conscript or enlisted ranks, military school cadets wore soldier's uniforms. Soldiers' winter and summer uniforms were made of light or heavy wool and cotton in olive-green, blue-gray, and black for army, air force, and navy, respectively. Navy conscripts and enlisted men also had summer white uniforms. All soldiers wore neckties of the same colors except in summer, when the uniform shirt was worn with an open collar.

There were several variations on the basic soldier's uniform. Women's uniforms were of the same style as those for men, except that a skirt was substituted for trousers. Airborne troops wore an olive-green beret instead of the standard garrison or service cap. The naval infantry wore distinctive blue and white sleeve patches and black berets with anchor and wreath emblems. Mountain troops wore distinctive stiff field caps with semi-rigid visors and earflaps. They wore loose winter shirts under which additional layers could be worn. The shirt itself had a lining and a collar that could be turned up to cover the neck and chin. The trousers worn by mountain troops extended just below the knee, with a strap and buckle closure. Leather leggings, heavy wool socks, and foul-weather capes also were worn by the mountain troops.

Officers had to procure their own field, service, dress, and full dress uniforms. They wore insignia on the lapels of the field uniform shirts. The service uniform differed only in some details from the basic dress uniform. The shirt buttons of the dress uniform were yellow-gold instead of the service color. The trousers, jackets, and overcoats were piped along the seams with distinctive service colors, red for army, blue for air force, and black for navy. The dress cap visor showed the same piping as the officer's shoulder boards. The general officer's dress cap had a chin strap of twisted gold cord. Other officers wore plain plastic or leather chin straps. Full dress uniforms were blue and were worn with a yellow-gold sash belt lined with the appropriate service color. Cap emblems all included a red star with yellowgold rays, given distinctive configurations according to branch. Air force officers had the red star perched on the wings of an eagle with a sword clenched in its talons. Airborne officers had the red star resting on a silver parachute against a blue background. Cap emblems for general officers showed the same gold wreath as the shoulder boards.

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