2nd Army (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

2nd Army
a colour photograph looking across a river at old buildings
The 30th Infantry Division Osiječka was deployed astride the Drava river at Osijek
Country Kingdom of Yugoslavia Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Branch Royal Yugoslav Army
Type Infantry
Size Corps[lower-alpha 1]
Part of 2nd Army Group
Engagements Invasion of Yugoslavia (1941)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Dragoslav Miljković

The 2nd Army (Serbo-Croatian: 2. armija) was a Royal Yugoslav Army formation commanded by Armijski đeneral Dragoslav Miljković that opposed the German-led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941 during World War II. It consisted of three infantry divisions and one horsed cavalry regiment. It formed part of the 2nd Army Group, and was responsible for the defence of the Yugoslav–Hungarian border along the Drava river from Slatina to the Danube.

The 2nd Army was not directly attacked during the first few days after the invasion commenced, but attacks on its flanks from 10 April resulted in successive orders to withdraw to the lines of the Danube and then the Sava. On 11 April, the Hungarians crossed the border in the sector for which the 2nd Army had been responsible, but the Yugoslavs were already withdrawing and the Hungarians faced almost no resistance. On the same day, the German 8th Panzer Division, driving on Belgrade into the flank of the 2nd Army, had effectively routed the entire 2nd Army Group. The disintegration of the 2nd Army as a combat force was accelerated by fifth column activities and desertion by many of its Croat soldiers. The Germans captured Belgrade on 12 April. Remnants of the 2nd Army continued to resist along the line of the Sava on 14 April, and the headquarters of the 2nd Army was rebuffed when it contacted the Germans in an attempt to negotiate a separate ceasefire. On 14–15 April, tens of thousands of Yugoslav soldiers were captured. The Germans closed on Sarajevo, capturing it on 15 April, and accepted the unconditional surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on 17 April, which came into effect at 12:00 the following day.

Background

Map highlighting the location of Yugoslavia
A map showing the location of Yugoslavia in Europe

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created with the merger of Serbia, Montenegro and the South Slav-inhabited areas of Austria-Hungary on 1 December 1918, in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established to defend the new state. It was formed around the nucleus of the victorious Royal Serbian Army, as well as armed formations raised in regions formerly controlled by Austria-Hungary. Many former Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers became members of the new army.[2] From the beginning, much like other aspects of public life in the new kingdom, the army was dominated by ethnic Serbs, who saw it as a means by which to secure Serb political hegemony.[3]

The army's development was hampered by the kingdom's poor economy, and this continued during the 1920s. In 1929, King Alexander changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, at which time the army was renamed the Royal Yugoslav Army (Serbo-Croatian: Vojska Kraljevine Jugoslavije, VKJ). The army budget remained tight, and as tensions rose across Europe during the 1930s, it became difficult to secure weapons and munitions from other countries.[4] Consequently, at the time World War II broke out in September 1939, the VKJ had several serious weaknesses, which included reliance on draught animals for transport, and the large size of its formations. Infantry divisions had a wartime strength of 26,000–27,000 men,[5] as compared to contemporary British infantry divisions of half that strength.[6] These characteristics resulted in slow, unwieldy formations, and the inadequate supply of arms and munitions meant that even the very large Yugoslav formations had low firepower.[7] Generals better suited to the trench warfare of World War I were combined with an army that was neither equipped nor trained to resist the fast-moving combined arms approach used by the Germans in their invasions of Poland and France.[8][9]

The weaknesses of the VKJ in strategy, structure, equipment, mobility and supply were exacerbated by serious ethnic disunity within Yugoslavia, resulting from two decades of Serb hegemony and the attendant lack of political legitimacy achieved by the central government.[10][11] Attempts to address the disunity came too late to ensure that the VKJ was a cohesive force. Fifth column activity was also a serious concern, not only from the Croatian nationalist Ustaše but also from the country's Slovene and ethnic German minorities.[10]

Formation and composition

Peacetime organisation

Yugoslav war plans saw the 2nd Army organised and mobilised on a geographic basis from the peacetime 2nd Army District, headquartered in Sarajevo, which was divided into three divisional districts, each of which was subdivided into regimental regions.[12][13] Slavonski Brod and Tuzla were key centres for the mobilisation and concentration of the 2nd Army due to their good rail infrastructure.[14]

Wartime organisation

The 2nd Army was commanded by Armijski đeneral[lower-alpha 2] Dragoslav Miljković, and his chief of staff was Brigadni đeneral[lower-alpha 3] Bogdan Maglić.[16] The 2nd Army consisted of:[16]

  • 10th Infantry Division Bosanska (10th ID)
  • 17th Infantry Division Vrbaska (17th ID)
  • 30th Infantry Division Osiječka (30th ID)
  • 76th Cavalry Regiment (horse)

Its support units included the 76th Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion, the 2nd Army Anti-Aircraft Company, and a border guard battalion at Subotica. The 3rd Air Reconnaissance Group comprising sixteen Breguet 19s was attached from the Royal Yugoslav Army Air Force and was based at Staro Topolje just east of Slavonski Brod.[16]

Deployment

Main deployment areas of the 2nd Army, with the locations of Brod and Doboj highlighted.

The 2nd Army was part of the 2nd Army Group, which was responsible for the eastern section of the Yugoslav–Hungarian border, with the 2nd Army in the Baranya and Slavonia regions between Slatina and the Danube, and the 1st Army in the Bačka region between the Danube and the Tisza.[17] On the left flank of the 2nd Army was the 4th Army of the 1st Army Group, which was responsible for the defence of the Yugoslav–Hungarian border west of Slatina. The boundary with the 4th Army ran from just east of Slatina through Požega towards Banja Luka. The Yugoslav defence plan saw the 2nd Army deployed from the boundary with the 4th Army to the Danube, with two divisions along the line of the Drava and one division in depth.[18] Of the formations of the 2nd Army, the 10th Infantry Division Bosanska and the 17th Infantry Division Vrbaska were partly mobilised, and the 30th Infantry Division Osiječka had only commenced mobilisation.[19] The deployment of the 2nd Army from west to east was:[20]

  • 17th Infantry Division Vrbaska south of the Drava from just east of Slatina to Valpovo
  • 30th Infantry Division Osiječka astride the Drava from Valpovo to the confluence with the Danube, centred on Osijek
  • 10th Infantry Division Bosanska in depth on the right flank, behind the Vuka river, centred on Vinkovci

The 33rd Infantry Division Lička, which was under the direct command of the General Headquarters of the VKJ,[21] was deployed further south behind the Sava river, centred on Doboj.[18]

Operations

The 2nd Army faced the Hungarian 3rd Army, and during the first few days after the commencement of the invasion, there were exchanges of fire with Hungarian border guards, but the 2nd Army faced no direct attacks. Neither the 2nd Army nor the Hungarians were ready for full-scale fighting, as they were still mobilising and deploying their forces.[17] On 9 April, due to events in other parts of Yugoslavia, the 6th Army on the right flank of the 2nd Army Group was ordered to withdraw south of the Danube and deploy on a line facing east to defend against an attack from the direction of Sofia, Bulgaria. The headquarters of the 2nd Army issued orders to evacuate Baranja and reinforce the left flank.[22]

The following day, the situation deteriorated significantly when the German XLI Motorised Corps crossed the Yugoslav–Romanian border into the Yugoslav Banat and struck the 6th Army, halting its withdrawal and disrupting its ability to organise a coherent defence behind the Danube.[23] Also on 10 April, the main thrust of the XLVI Motorised Corps of the 2nd Army, consisting of the 8th Panzer Division leading the 16th Motorised Infantry Division crossed the Drava at Barcs in the 4th Army sector on the left of the 2nd Army. The 8th Panzer Division turned southeast between the Drava and Sava rivers, and meeting almost no resistance and with strong air support, had reached the left flank of the 2nd Army at Slatina by evening, despite poor roads and bad weather.[24]

Later that day, as the situation was becoming increasingly desperate throughout the country, Dušan Simović, who was both the Prime Minister and Yugoslav Chief of the General Staff, broadcast the following message:[24]

All troops must engage the enemy wherever encountered and with every means at their disposal. Don't wait for direct orders from above, but act on your own and be guided by your judgement, initiative, and conscience.

— Dušan Simović

The 2nd Army was able to evacuate Baranja and organised a defence of the left flank of the 2nd Army Group, now threatened by the 8th Panzer Division, but Croat reservists began to desert their units due to the fifth column activities of the fascist Ustaše and their sympathisers. This significantly reducing the combat power of the 2nd Army. By the evening of 10 April, the 2nd Army Group was ordered to withdraw from this line and form a defensive line behind the Sava, from Debrc to the confluence with the Vrbas river, for which one or two days would be needed. On the night of 10/11 April, the whole 2nd Army Group continued its withdrawal, but units of the 2nd Army that included significant numbers of Croats began to dissolve.[25]

a black and white photograph of a twin-engined monoplane
Messerschmitt Bf 110s of Zerstörergeschwader 26 destroyed the air reconnaissance assets of the 2nd Army at Bijeljina on 12 April

At dawn on 11 April, Hungarian forces,[26] consisting of the Mobile, IV and V Corps of Altábornagy (Lieutenant General) Elemér Gorondy-Novák's 3rd Army,[27] crossed the Yugoslav border north of Osijek and near Subotica,[28] overcame Yugoslav border guards and advanced on Subotica and Palić.[29] The XLVI Motorised Corps continued to push east south of the Drava, with the 8th Panzer Division capturing Našice, Osijek on the Drava, and Vukovar on the Danube, followed by the 16th Motorised Infantry Division which advanced east of Našice, despite bridge demolitions and poor roads.[26][24] The 8th Panzer Division had effectively routed the 2nd Army Group by 11 April.[30] On the same day, the 3rd Air Reconnaissance Group Breguet 19s were flown from Staro Topolje to Bijeljina. The following day, Messerschmitt Bf 110s of I Group of the 26th Heavy Fighter Wing (German: Zerstörergeschwader 26, ZG 26) destroyed the 3rd Air Reconnaissance Group aircraft when they swept over the airfield in one of the most effective attacks of the campaign.[31] On the night of 11/12 April, the 8th Panzer Division captured Sremska Mitrovica on the Sava at 02:30, after two important bridges over the Sava were captured intact.[24] The 8th Panzer Division then destroyed a bridge over the Danube at Bogojevo,[32] and advanced on Lazarevac about 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of Belgrade.[24] These advances delayed the withdrawal of the 2nd Army Group south of the Sava.[29]

Fate

By 12 April, the withdrawal of the 2nd Army Group was being threatened from the left flank, with 2nd Army being described by the Polish historian Andrzej Krzak as having "no combat importance at all". On the far right flank, 6th Army attempted to regroup while being pressed by the 11th Panzer Division as it drove towards Belgrade.[32] West of Belgrade, remnants of the 2nd Army Group tried to establish a line along the Sava, but XLVI Motorised Corps had already captured the bridges. Elements of the 8th Panzer Division captured Zemun without a fight. On 12 April, the 1st Army's 3rd Cavalry Division counter-attacked on the right flank of the 2nd Army at Šabac and pushed the Germans back across the Sava. The Ustaše had captured Slavonski Brod without German assistance, but 2nd Army units recaptured the town and destroyed the bridge over the Sava.[29] The Hungarians occupied Baranja without facing resistance.[33]

a black and white photograph of a half-tracked prime mover pulling heavy trucks along a muddy road
The 8th Panzer Division and 16th Motorised Infantry Division struggled along poor roads during their drive into the left flank of the 2nd Army on their way to Belgrade

On the evening of 12 April, elements of the SS Motorised Infantry Division Reich, under command of XLI Motorised Corps crossed the Danube in pneumatic boats and captured Belgrade without resistance. About the same time, most of the elements of XLVI Motorised Corps that were approaching Belgrade from the west were redirected away from the capital, but part of the 8th Panzer Division continued their thrust to capture the Sava bridges to the west of Belgrade, and entered the city during the night. The rest of the 8th Panzer Division turned southeast and drove towards Valjevo to link up with the left flank of the First Panzer Group southwest of Belgrade. The 16th Motorised Infantry Division was redirected south across the Sava, and advanced toward Zvornik.[34]

On 13 and 14 April, the 8th Panzer Division led a southward thrust towards Sarajevo, where both the Yugoslav Supreme Command and the headquarters of the 2nd Army were located, and during that day the 2nd Army asked the Germans for a separate ceasefire agreement, but were rebuffed, as by this stage only the unconditional surrender of the whole Yugoslav Army would be considered by the Germans. On 14 and 15 April, tens of thousands of Yugoslav soldiers were taken prisoner by the Germans during their drive on Sarajevo in the centre of the country, including 30,000 around Zvornik and 6,000 around Doboj. On 15 April, the 8th Panzer Division approached Sarajevo from the east as the 14th Panzer Division entered it from the west, and the 2nd Army surrendered. After a delay in locating appropriate signatories for the surrender document, the Yugoslav Supreme Command unconditionally surrendered in Belgrade effective at 12:00 on 18 April.[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Royal Yugoslav Army did not field corps, but their armies consisted of several divisions, and were therefore corps-sized.[1]
  2. ↑ Equivalent to a U.S. Army lieutenant general.[15]
  3. ↑ Equivalent to a U.S. Army brigadier general.[15]

Footnotes

References

Books

  • Brayley, Martin; Chappell, Mike (2001). British Army 1939–45 (1): North-West Europe. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-052-0.
  • Figa, Jozef (2004). "Framing the Conflict: Slovenia in Search of Her Army". Civil-Military Relations, Nation Building, and National Identity: Comparative Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-313-04645-2 – via Questia. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Hoptner, J.B. (1963). Yugoslavia in Crisis, 1934–1941. New York, New York: Columbia University Press. OCLC 404664 – via Questia. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Geografski institut JNA (1952). "Napad na Jugoslaviju 6 Aprila 1941 godine" [The Attack on Yugoslavia of 6 April 1941]. Istorijski atlas oslobodilačkog rata naroda Jugoslavije [Historical Atlas of the Yugoslav Peoples Liberation War]. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Vojnoistorijskog instituta JNA [Military History Institute of the JNA].
  • Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
  • Shores, Christopher F.; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete, 1940–41. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-07-6.
  • Terzić, Velimir (1982). Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941: Uzroci i posledice poraza [The Collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941: Causes and Consequences of Defeat] (in Serbo-Croatian). 2. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Narodna knjiga. OCLC 10276738.
  • Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
  • U.S. Army (1986) [1953]. The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 16940402. CMH Pub 104-4.
  • Van Creveld, Martin (1973). Hitler's Strategy 1940–1941: The Balkan Clue. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20143-8.

Journals and papers

  • Barefield, Michael R. (May 1993). "Overwhelming Force, Indecisive Victory: The German Invasion of Yugoslavia, 1941". Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College. OCLC 32251055.
  • Krzak, Andrzej (2006). "Operation "Marita": The Attack Against Yugoslavia in 1941". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 19 (3): 543–600. doi:10.1080/13518040600868123. ISSN 1351-8046.

Web

  • Niehorster, Leo (2013a). "Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces Ranks". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2013b). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Army 2nd Army 6th April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2013c). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle 3rd Hungarian Army April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2013d). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Army GHQ Direct 6th April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2013e). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Army 6th April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2018a). "Royal Hungarian Armed Forces Ranks". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  • Niehorster, Leo (2018b). "German Army and Waffen-SS Ranks". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
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