An Introduction to Yugoslavia

An Introduction to Yugoslavia Editor's Note: The disintegration of the former Yugoslavia and the ensuing civil war between factions in the various republics have resulted in the presence of a large United Nations peacekeeping force and the prospect of a wider, general war that may spread through the Balkans. Congress has discussed a range of U.S. options, from complete non-involvement, to participation in the peacekeeping force, to some form of direct intervention, Geography like air strikes. The following analysis was assembled from nonclassified the Mediterranean sources by the Intelligence Division, Directorate of Combat Developments. and continental re-The fonner Yugoslav Republic (FYR) covers an area of approximately 99,000 square miles, about the size of Wyoming. It was the ninth largest country in Europe and was the largest in the Balkans. It occupies an irregularly shaped, mostly mountainous region, stretching northwest to southeast along the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea on the southern flank of eastern Europe. It is nearly 600 miles long, and its maximum width of almost 300 miles occurs in the central portion of the country.

The greater part of the country is hilly or mountainous: about 60 percent of the total land area consists of hills and ridges Erom 600 to 3,000 feet in elevation, and another 20 percent consists of high mountains and ranges over 3,000 feet high. Tall mountains are a dominant featm of the landscape in the south and southwest as well as in a small area of the extreme northwest near the Austrian border. The principal lowland area lies in the extended Pannonian Plain, located in the north and northeastern part of the country. This fertile area, together with the many fluvial valleys scattered among the hills and lower mountain slopes, constitute the remaining 20 percent of the Yugoslav territory.

The 1,200 mile-long coastal area is studded with more than 600 offshore islands, most of which are rocky and hilly. The highest in this long chain is about 2500 feet. The coastal lowland is generally hilly and, in some Sectors, barren mountains and bluffs rise abruptly from the sea to elevations above 5,000 feet.

Boundaries and Politlcai Dhrlsions The seven states that border on the FYR, together with the astern shore of the Adriatic Sea, form a perimeter of more than 3,000 miles. The approximatley 1,800 miles of land borders are divided as follows: Hungary, 387; Romania, 350; Bulgaria, 330; Albania, 300; Greece, 160; Austria, 200, and Italy, 130. All of the land boundaries have been demarcated and none are in dispute: most of them cross mountainous terrain and follow natural features. The FYR claims temtorial waters extending for 10 miles from its coastline along the Adriatic Sea.

Weat her Yugoslavia has a wide variety of climatic conditions. A Meditmean climate of mild, rainy winters @e-cember through February) and wann to hot, less rainy summers (June through August), prevails in narrow zone along the coast. Over the plains in the north, the climate is continental. Winters axv cold and have light precipitation, frequently snow, and summers are hot and showery. In the rugged hilly and mountainous interior between these two regions, the climate has some of the characteristics of both gimes; however, because of differences in elevation and exposure, climatic conditions vary markedly from place to place. In general, temperatures are lower year round, and snow cover usually lasts longer in the highlands.

MIiItary Aspects of Movement and Terrain Roads The highway system consists of approximately 54,000 miles of roads of various types. Of these, about 11,400 miles 8te all weather and hard surfaced, over 27,000 miles consist of gravel, crushed stone, or rock surfaces; nearly 13,000 miles are graded but unimproved; and the remainder are traces of tracks suitable only for limited use in good weather. The highway network is oriented northwest-southeast and, because of the dictates of terrain, largely parallels rail routes between major ports. Railroads The FYR operated about 6,600 miles of mostly single-tracked lines, of which about 5,700 were standard gauge, and about 900 miles were narrow gauge. The rail network was relatively limited, being mostly developed in the north and northwest portions of the country. A large portion of the lines generally followed narrow river valleys, has steep grades, sharp curves, and numerous viaducts, bridges, and tunnels.

Ports The coastline of the Adriatic Sea, along its 1.200 mile stretch from ARMOR - JUly-AUgUSt 1993 45 north to south, is highly indented and has many sheltered bays with virtually no silting or extreme tidal action. The water is generally deep close to shore, providing excellent conditions for har-borsandparts.

There are as many as 200 locations suitable for sheltering various types of craft used in the many maritime activities along the coast. Rijeka (Fiume), in the north, on the Gulf of Fiume, is the country’s largest and most modem port. It has excellent rail and road locations and is well equipped to handle large oceangoing vessels. The nation’s second major port is Split, in the central portion of the Dal-matian Coast. It is a general purpose port and also has excellent repair and cargo handling facilities. The seven secondary ports of Koper, Pula, Sibenik, Ploce, Dubnwnik, Zelenilm, and Bar are well distributed along the coastal ma and handle coastal and intemational shipping. There are more than 1,200 miles of inIand waterways: the majority of the routes are a part of the Danube-Tisa canal system in the extreme northwest sector of the plains area. The leading river port is Belgrade, followed by Novi Sad, Smederevo, and Vukovar in the Vojvodina region. ~ -Manpower and Equipment Statistics BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

CROATIA

MACEDONIA

SLOVENIA

SERBlAlMONTENEGRO

ARTY

Serb 300 180 480 -APC

FORCES

-MBT

-67,006 Muslim Croat 50,000 1 00,Ooo 200 200 150 20,000 N/A N/A N/A 15,000 120 20 UNK

135,Ooo 1 ,m 1,100 1,650 300-50,000 Noto: Croatia’s force numbers include 50,000 resewists called up, Ser-biflontenegro has 400,OO resewists from their former Terriiorial Defence Force.

Flgure 1 46 Military The principal source of manpower for the FYR, since 1948, has been universal conscription. It applied equally to all male citizens; no distinction was made between regions of the country or between national or religious groups. The system selected hardy individuals who were physically fit, adaptable, and capable of performing general militmy duties. The majority of the young recruits had rural backgrounds and were accustomed to the rigors of life in the open, taking care of themselves, and subsisting on simple foods. The period of service was for 18 months, with most conscripts being inducted between the ages of 19 and 27. There were no organized reserve units, but a trained manpower pool of individual reservists was maintained. These individuals were given regular periods of E-fresher mining and, in time of emergency, would be recalled to active duty and assigned to operating units. Accurate data on manpower and equipment are difficult to ascertain. An approximate total can be devised RMOR - JUly-AUgUSt 1993 for equipment based on where it was located under the FYR. Some allowance will have to be made for equipment stolen, abandoned, or captured that has served to cross-level some holdings of the Serbs and Muslims in Bosnia-Haegovina. It is known that Belgrade withdrew all heavy weapons from armories in Bosnia-Herzegovina up to two years in advance of their split from Serbia. Figure 1 is based on these assumptions.

The Former Yugoslavian Republic’s military was always geared towards defense. The FYR envisaged a concept of total nationwide defense as a deterrence against aggression by even the most powerful aggressor. They held the premise that they would succeed even without outside help, if necessary, by making intervention and aggression so costly, militarily and politically, that it would not be attempted.

Each republic had an army to defend that republic, although limited plans were in place for the republics to shift some forces from one to the other. The patriotism and determination of FYR troops when their country was endangered by foreign forces has been described as highly exemplary. With the breakup of the republics, forces are once again divided among major ethnic groups. These groups will have the necessary training and ability to form and maintain coordinate forces of troops and material to prosecute well-led and vigorously applied doctrine and tactics.

The threat of massive outside intervention may well drive some ethnic groups together long enough to form unsteady alliances to combat these forces should they feel that it would give them greater control or voice in their future determination of self-government. of an order for Kuwait, which purchased the tanks just prior to the iraqi invasion. Note the’ non-standard gunners primary sight and the wind sensor on turret roof. On the Fence Yugoslavia’s Motley Arsenal Reflected Nation’s Position Between East and West For over 40 years, the diverse ethnic and religious factions living in the former Yugoslavia were held together by the powerful regime and personality of Josip Broz (Tito), a wily resistance fighter whose partisans tied down and bedeviled the thousands of Nazi troops attempting to occupy the Balkans.

When the Cold War followed and surrounding nations fell within the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain, Tito resisted Stalin’s pressure. Nor did he join the West. Both sides attempted to gain influence through provision of military technology, which accounts for Yugoslavia’s diverse stocks of armor and artillery.

According to Jane’s, the nation’s war reserves include many of the 400 surplus M4 Shermans supplied by the U.S. in the postwar years, and 200 T-34-85s supplied by the Soviets. The U.S. later gave Yugoslavia over 300 M-47 medium tanks, and the Soviets about 800 T-54/55s. In 1977, the nation arranged to build a version of the T-72 under license and completed its first prototypes in 1982-83. The M-84 in the photo above grew out of this capacity.

Yugoslavia’s military stocks in APCs, artillery, and other systems also reflect this East-West flavor - M8 armored cars and Soviet BTRs, for example. A recent issue of International Defense Review included a repofi of some fighting in the former Yugoslavia. With it was a photo of a nearly pristine ex-U.S. M18 Hellcat tank destroyer -a vehicle that would be the envy of many a military vehicle museum cmtor today.