The Yugoslav 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.
Yugoslav 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.
Yugoslav 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 Yugoslav 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.
Yugoslav 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.
Yugoslav 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.
Yugoslav 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 Soviet produced 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 four wheeled BOV-1 armored reconnaissance vehicle could be equipped with six AT-3 launchers to serve as a highly mobile antitank platform.
Larger Yugoslav 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 Yugoslav 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 Yugoslav 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.
The YPA became involved in internal security when unrest in Kosovo escalated in 1981. Under a declaration of national emergency, the army intervened to stop demonstrations by ethnic Albanians beyond the control of the People's Militia, and local militia. Hundreds of citizens were injured and some were killed during the YPA's suppression of the demonstrations. Some reports indicated that one-fourth of the YPA's total manpower remained in Kosovo to maintain order throughout the 1980s. The YPA presence added to local resentment; demonstrations resumed in 1987 and continued through the end of the decade.
Use of military force against the domestic population to maintain order aroused controversy. Top government and party leaders, rank and file military, and government critics expressed varying opinions. Political leaders expected the military to ensure the unity of Yugoslavia and preserve its constitutional order against internal threats. Yet the internal security mission put the YPA under great stress because it was not structured or equipped for such activity. In Kosovo, the YPA suffered intense hostility from the entire ethnic Albanian population, including armed attacks by local militants.
Post-1990 Organization
The JNA's structure was changed several times since the Slovenian War of Independence. Three major military re-organizations took place in 1991, 1992 and 1993. But, until the summer of 1991, the JNA was organized into three Military Districts (MD) and a Naval Military District. The Air and Air Defence Force had a separate headquarters at the same level of command as the MD. The MD, designated the 1st, 3rd, and 5th, represented an intermediate level of command between the General Staff and actual combat units. Each MD was responsible for exercising Federal control of forces within its geographic region.
The 1st MD, headquartered in Belgrade, was responsible for coordinating the defence of central and north-eastern Yugoslavia. Its estimated strength was 40,000 troops organized into six corps formations, plus units directly subordinate to the MD. Corps headquarters subordinate to the 1st MD were the following:
- 4th Corps, headquartered at Sarajevo;
- 5th Corps, headquartered at Banja Luka;
- 12th Corps, headquartered at Novi Sad;
- 17th Corps, headquartered at Tuzla;
- 24th Corps, headquartered at Kragujevac; and
- 37th Corps, headquartered at U ice.
In addition to these forces, the 1st MD had a mechanized infantry division (headquartered in Belgrade), three mixed artillery and anti-tank brigades, and a rocket artillery brigade directly subordinate to the MD headquarters. The 1st MD was thought to have 968 tanks, 633 armoured combat vehicles and 1,392 artillery pieces, including 92 multiple rocket launchers.
The 3rd MD, headquartered in Skopje, was responsible for the defence of Yugoslavia's southern flank. Its estimated troop strength was 41,000, again organized into Corps and direct reporting units. The five Corps headquarters subordinate to the 3rd MD were:
- 2nd Corps, headquartered at Titograd;
- 21st Corps, headquartered at Niš;
- 41st Corps, headquartered at Bitola;
- 42nd Corps, headquartered at Kumanovo; and
- 52nd Corps, headquartered at Priština.
Two brigades of armour and two brigades of mixed artillery and anti-tank weapons were directly subordinate to the MD. The 3rd MD had 729 tanks, 472 armoured combat vehicles, and 1,190 artillery pieces, including 60 multiple rocket launchers.
The 5th MD, headquartered at Zagreb, was responsible for the defence of northern Yugoslavia and had an estimated troop strength of 35,000. The 5th MD had five Corps headquarters:
- 10th Corps, headquartered at Zagreb;
- 13th Corps, headquartered at Rijeka;
- 14th Corps, headquartered at Ljubljana;
- 31st Corps, headquartered at Maribor; and
- 32nd Corps, headquartered at Vara din.
The 5th MD had 711 tanks, 367 armoured combat vehicles, and 869 artillery pieces, of which 64 were multiple rocket launchers.
Current Order of Battle
The sucessors of the YPA are the Army of Yugoslavia [VJ] and the Army of the Serb Republic [VRS], though in practice the distinction between these formations has declined with time.
The Dayton agreement limited the number of heavy weapons of the army. At the beginning of 1998 the land forces had 90,000 members and 630 tanks (230 modern M-84's and the remaining 400 T-55's), 634 armored personnel carriers and infantry armored vehicles, 38 BPDM-2 armored reconnaissance vehicles, 474 105mm and 122mm guns and howitzers, 180 130mm guns, 75 122mm self-propelled howitzers, and 132 152mm and 155mm howitzers.
As of 1998, the the Armed Forces were aligned into three Armies and one Corps:
- The 1st Army is oriented toward the north and Croatia.
- The 2nd Army is oriented toward Bosnia-Herzegovina
- The 3rd Army is oriented toward the south and southwest -- Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
- The Special Purposes Corps includes a paratroop brigade, an armored brigade, and a mixed unit of brigade strength for diversionary and reconnaissance actions and for antiguerilla and antiterrorist combat operations.
The 3rd Army, headquartered in Nis, is under the command of Lt Col Gen Pavkovic. The 3rd Army includes
- Timok Tactical Group
- Nis Corps
- Leskovac Corps
- Pristina Corps
- 15th Mechanized Brigade
- 52nd Mixed Artillery Brigade
- 58th Light Mechanized Brigade
- 102nd Mechanized Antiarmor Brigade
- 243rd Armored Brigade
- 549th Motorized Brigade
- Air-Defense Rocket-Artillery Brigade has anti-aircraft missiles along with associated radar stations
Units of the 2nd and 3rd Armies of the Yugoslav Army have conducted exercises in counterinsurgency and anti-landing operations in the area of the Pester plateau in Sandzak, and have continued similar exercises in the Kosovo area.
Range (m) | # known to exist | Country of Origin | Remarks | |
| Tanks | ||||
| T-54/T-55 (100 mm) | 1500 | 400 | Russia | AT-10, 7.62 mm, 12.7 mm |
| T-34 (100 mm) | 1000 | 181 | Russia | in storage |
| M-84A (125 mm) | 2000+ | 239 (+) | Yugoslavia | T-72 variant, 7.62 mm, 12.7 mm |
| PT-76 (76 mm) | 650 | ? | Russia | light tank |
| APCs | ||||
| BVP M80A (20 mm) | 517 (-) | Yugoslav | 7.62 MG, twin AT-3 launcher | |
| M-60 P/PB | 112 (-) | Yugoslav | tracked | |
| BTR-60 (12.7 mm) | 2000 | 6 | Russia | 8x8, open top |
| BOV-VP (7.62 mm) | 60 (-) | Yugoslav | 3x20 mm cannon, w/Sagger, 4x4 | |
| Recon Vehicles | ||||
| BRDM-1 (12.7 mm) | 2000 | 30 | Russia | w/Sagger and 7.62 MG |
| BRDM-2 (14.5 mm) | 2000 | 30 | Russia | w/Sagger, BTR-60 turret |
| Artillery | ||||
| 155-mm M59 | 22,000 | 60 (-) | US | |
| 152-mm ML-20 | 17,265 | ? | Russia | towed field gun |
| 130-mm M-46 | 27,490 | 180 (-) | Russia | towed |
| Howitzers | ||||
| 155-mm M65 | 14,600 | 24 | US | |
| 152-mm M84 | 24,400 | 40 (-) | Russia | Yugoslavian copy of M114 |
| 152-mm D-20 | 17,400 | 25 | Russia | copy of Soviet D-20 |
| 152-mm M1937 | 17,265 | 48 (-) | Russia | |
| 122-mm 2S1 | 15,300 | 75 (-) | Russia | amphibious |
| 122-mm D-30 | 15,400 | 130 (-) | Russia | SP gun |
| 122-mm M1931/37 | 20,800 | 150 (-) | Russia | towed |
| 105-mm M56 | 10,575 | 174 (-) | Italy | towed |
| Mortars | ||||
| 120-mm UB M-52 | 5400 | 560 (-) | Yugoslav | |
| 82-mm M31/M68 | 4100/5000 | 1700 (-) | Russia | |
| MRL | ||||
| 262-mm M87 LRSV | 50,000 | ? | Yugoslav | 12 round |
| 128-mm YMRL-32 | 20,000 | 24 | Yugoslav | 32 round, truck mounted |
| 128-mm M85/M63 | 8,600 | 48 | Yugoslav | 32 round, towed |
| 128-mm RL M71 | 72 | Yugoslav | light rocket launcher | |
| Air Defense Vehicles | ||||
| BOV -30 | 3000 | 8 | Yugoslavia | SP 30 mm cannon, twin mount |
| BOV-3 | 2500 | 65 | Yugoslavia | SP 20 mm cannon, triple mount |
| ZSU-57-2 | 4000 | 54 | Russia | two 57 mm cannon |
| ZSU-30-2 | 3800 | ? | Russia | two 30 mm cannon |
| Air Defense Guns | ||||
| 57-mm S-60 | 6000 | ? | Russia | 1&2 gun mounts |
| 37-mm M1939 | 3000 | ? | Russia | AP ammo |
| 30-mm M53/-59 | 6300 | ? | Czech Republic | SP, twin mount on a truck chasis |
| Anti-Tank Missiles | ||||
| AT-2 Snapper | 4000 | ? | Russia | |
| AT-3 Sagger | 3000 | 135 | Russia | |
| Surface-to-Air Missiles | ||||
| SA-6 Gainful | 24,000 | 80 | Russia | radars: straight flush |
| SA-7 Grail | 5500 | 500 | Russia | radars: none |
| SA-9 Gaskin | 9000 | 130 | Russia | radars: Hat Box, Dog Ear |
Operations in Kosovo
At the beginning of 1998, the Ministry of Interior [MUP] police forces were primarily responsible for internal security operations against the KLA in Kosovo, while the army was primarily responsible for border security. Initially, there was very little cooperation between the police and the army. Apart from occasional actions by the Military Police, Army units were not used against the KLA prior to mid-1998, in part to prevent casualties among draftee soldiers, since casualties could could trigger a negative political response by the conscript soldier's parents. The situation changed in April and May 1998, when the Army became actively involved in actions using heavy artillery and equipment which the police did not have in sufficient quantities. Subsequently, according to some reports the Yugoslav Army took over command of operations from the Serb Special Police.
Armed forces deployed in Kosovo were part of the 3rd Army. Support could also come from the 98th Air Force Brigade, the 172nd Air Force Brigade, and the 119th Helicopter Brigade from bases in Kraljevo, Podgorica, and Nis. As of mid-1998 Pristina Corps units, commanded by Gen. Nebojsa Pavkovic, the seven brigades of the Pristina Corps, which are not fully manned in peacetime, had a total strength of some 7,000 men. Including the Pristina Corps' garrison in Krusumlija, the total strength of the Corps and its associated support units was about 10,000 soldiers, who were for the most part professional contract soldiers. In case of mobilization, these forces would have grown to some 25,000 soldiers.
As of early-1999, total VJ strength in Kosovo was approximately 15-16,000, with some reinforcements from other VJ formations outside Kosovo.
One armored mechanized brigade was located in Pristina, and another in Urosevac. One motorized brigade was located in Kosovska Mitrovica and in Pec, and another located in Djakovica and Prizren. These units were deployed in two main directions:
- garrisons in Leposavic, Kosovska Mitrovica, Vucitrn, Pristina, and Urosevac
- garrisons in Pec, Djakovica, and Prizren, which dealt with forces entering from Albania
The BOV-3, a Self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) based on the BOV-M A wheeled reconnaissance vehicle chassis with a triple mounted 20mm cannon in a turret, has been used in the ground role to good effect. The PRAGA, an armoured truck with a twin mounted 30mm cannon, is another SPAAG that has been used to great effect against houses and the KLA.
Border security facilities included the watchtowers in the Morina, Gorozup, Pastrik, Kosare, Koznjar and other sectors. The Army of Yugoslavia extended the depth of the border control zone to five or six kilometers, significantly impeding movement between Kosovo and Albania. Soldiers mined the area along the border with Albania.
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