Yugoslav Ground Forces The Yugoslav Ground Forces ( Serbo - Croatian : " Kopnena Vojska " – KoV , Cyrillic script : Копнена Војска – КоВ ) was the ground forces branch of the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( JNA ) from 1 March 1945 until 20 May 1992 when it became the Ground Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the threat of sanctions . History . The origins of JNA can be found in the Yugoslav Partisan units of World War II . As a part of the antifascist People ' s Liberation War of Yugoslavia , the People ' s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia ( NOVJ ) , a predecessor of JNA , was formed on 22 December 1941 in the town of Rudo in Bosnia and Herzegovina . After the liberation of the country from the Axis Powers occupation , that date was officially celebrated as the " Day of the Army " in the SFR Yugoslavia . In March 1945 , the NOVJ was renamed the Yugoslav Army ( " Jugoslovenska Armija " ) and finally on its 10th anniversary on 22 December 1951 , received the adjective " People ' s " ( i . e . " Narodna " ) . In September 1968 the Territorial Organization was formed to support the JNA and on 21 February 1974 TO units were subordinated to their provinces or republics . Thus the JNA and TO became equal parts of the Yugoslav Armed Forces ( Oruzane Snage SFRJ ) . IAW the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution the Land Forces were divided into six armies allocated to the five republics : Plus the Coastal Naval District ( Split ) – formerly Fourth Army Tensions between the JNA and the To became evident at the political situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated in the 1980s . The Federal government became concerned that Yugoslavia ' s constituent republics would use the TO to facilitate their secession from Yugoslavia and therefore disarmed the Kosovo TO of 130 , 000 members . In 1988 the JNA absorbed the entire TO with the Bosnian Serb General Blagoje Adzic becoming the JNA Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff . In 1988 the armies were reorganized into Military Districts or Regions which no longer corresponded to internal borders thereby making it harder for the republics to control their own forces . Apart from the Proletarian Guard , a mechanized corps , the Land Forces infantry divisions were reorganized into 17 Corps each consisting of four to eight brigades . 1991 organization . Once considered the third largest army in Europe and the sixth largest in the world with 600 , 000 active troops and 2 . 4 million reserves , in 1991 the ground force s were organized in four military regions . Which were : In 1990 the army had nearly completed a major overhaul of its basic force structure . It eliminated its old division al 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 anti - tank 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 . Corps . There were 17 Corps ( both named and numbered ) , they consist of the following : Each Corps contained the following : During the course of the ten - year - long Yugoslav wars , corps were modified by being reinforced with extra units from out of theatre ; battalions then became regiments and regiments became brigades . However many units were also disbanded when their non - Serbian / Montenegrin personnel deserted . Personnel . In the 1980s the land forces had about 600 , 000 active - duty soldiers ( including 190 , 000 conscripts ) and could mobilize over 2 million trained reservist s in wartime . Most soldiers were of Serbian , Croatian , Bosnian or Montenegrin origin . Reserve forces were organized along republics ' lines into Partisan Forces and Territorial Defence Forces and in wartime they were to be subordinate to JNA Supreme Command as an integral part of defence system . Territorial Defence ( reserve force ) was made up of former conscripts and they were occasionally called up for war exercises . The ground forces were infantry , armour , artillery , and air defence , as well as signal , engineering and chemical defence corps . Operations . " See also : Yugoslav wars and Ten Day War " The Ten - Day War . During the Ten Day War the JNA performed abysmally as many of the Yugoslav soldiers did not realise they were taking part in a real military operation , rather an exercise , until they came under attack . The officer corps was dominated by Serbs and Montenegrins and in many cases ideologically committed to Yugoslav unity . The rank and file troops however were conscripts , many who had no strong motivation in fighting against the Slovenes . Of the soldiers of the 5th Military District , which was in action in Slovenia , in 1990 30 % were Albanians , 20 % Croats , 15 to 20 % Serbs and Montenegrins , 10 % Bosniaks , and 8 % Slovenes . The JNA eventually lost nearly all of its Slovenian and Croat personnel , becoming an almost entirely Serbian and Montenegrian force . Its poor performance in Slovenia and later in Croatia discredited its leadership – Kadijević resigned as defence minister in January 1992 , and Adžić was forced into medical retirement shortly afterwards . Due to the short duration ( 10 Days ) and relatively low intensity of the war , casualties were low . According to Slovenian estimates , the JNA suffered 44 fatalities and 146 wounded , while 4 , 692 JNA soldiers and 252 federal police officers were captured by the Slovenian side . According to post - war assessments made by the JNA , its material losses amounted to 31 tanks , 22 armoured personnel carriers , 6 helicopters , 6 , 787 infantry weapons , 87 artillery pieces and 124 air defence weapons damaged , destroyed or confiscated . Property damage was fairly light , due to the scattered and short - term nature of the fighting . Infantry . The ground forces led in personnel . It had about 540 , 000 active - duty soldiers ( including 120 , 000 conscripts ) and could mobilize over a million trained reservist s in wartime . Reserve forces were organized along republics ' lines into Territorial Defence Forces and in wartime they were to be subordinate to JNA Supreme Command as an integral part of defence system . Territorial Defence ( reserve force ) was made up of former conscripts and they were occasionally called up for war exercises . The ground forces were infantry , armour , artillery , and air defence , as well as signal , engineering and chemical defence corps . Tank and armoured brigades . Yugoslav tank brigades comprised two or three battalions each with 31 tanks in three ten tank companies . They operated 1614 Soviet T - 54 s and T - 55 s , 73 Soviet T - 72 s , 443 Yugoslav M - 84 s , and some United States - made M - 47 tanks . The army ' s tanks were in many respects its most obsolete forces . The T - 54 / - 55 was a frontline model during the 1960s . Domestic production of the M - 84 ( an improved version of the Soviet T - 72 built under license in Yugoslavia ) was providing the army with a late 1970s and 1980s model . The army also had a reserve of old T - 34 / 85 and Sherman tank s from World War II . The Yugoslav army had 955 M - 80A IFVs and 551 M - 60P armored personnel carriers produced domestically . The infantry also operated more than 200 Soviet - made BTR - 152 , BTR - 40 , and BTR - 50 armored personnel carriers ( APCs ) , 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 ( a variant of the BTR - 60 ) armored personnel carriers . Armored reconnaissance vehicles included a few older Soviet BTR - 40s , newer BRDM - 2 and BTR - 60 models , and domestic BOV and M - 8 vehicles . Artillery . Yugoslav artillery regiments were well equipped with Soviet , U . S . and domestic systems . Soviet artillery in these units consisted of approximately 1 , 000 towed 122 mm howitzers , 130 mm guns , 152 mm gun / howitzers , and 155 mm howitzers . There were about 700 older United States 105 mm and 155 mm 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 100 mm and 122 mm and Yugoslav - produced 105 mm M - 7 self - propelled guns . Those units had over 8 , 000 82 mm and 120 mm mortars , including a self - propelled 82 mm mortar mounted on an M - 60PB variant of the standard armored personnel carrier . Yugoslav artillery units operated several battlefield missile systems including 160 128 mm 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 . Anti - tank regiments . Yugoslav anti - tank regiments had towed anti - tank guns , recoilless rifles , and Soviet anti - tank guided missile s . Antitank guns included 75 mm , 90 mm , and 100 mm models . They were Soviet produced with the exception of the 90 mm M - 63B2 , which was manufactured domestically . The recoilless rifles were manufactured domestically and included 57 mm , 82 mm , and 105 mm models . Two self - propelled 82 mm recoilless rifles could be mounted on an M - 60PB armored personnel carrier . Anti - tank guided missiles were the Soviet AT - 1 ( NATO : " Snapper " ) and AT - 3 ( NATO : " Sagger " ) . They were used in both anti - tank 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 anti - tank platform . Air defense . 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 large numbers of Soviet SA - 6 , SA - 7 , SA - 9 , SA - 13 , SA - 14 , SA - 16 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 20 mm BOV - 3s and dual 30 mm BOV - 30 s . 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 . Coastal defense . The coastal artillery batteries had both surface - to - surface missiles and guns . They operated the Soviet - designed SS - C - 3 and a truck - mounted , Yugoslav - produced Brom antiship missile which was essentially a Yugoslav variant of the Soviet SS - N - 2 . Coastal guns included over 400 85 mm , 88 mm , 122 mm , 130 mm , and 152 mm artillery pieces obtained from the Soviet Union , the United States , captured and refurbished WW2 German and Italian pieces , and Yugoslav manufacturers . Rank and uniforms . Rank . According to the Army Law of 1 October 1982 the Land Forces had five categories of ranks ; general officers , senior officers , junior officers , Non - commissioned Officers , and soldiers . Enlisted . 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 land forces and air forces , 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 . Officers . Insignia for commissioned officers were worn on shoulder boards in olivegreen for the land forces . Shoulder boards were piped with single and double yellow - gold braid , respectively , for junior and senior officers . General officers wore shoulder boards piped with twisted gold cord . Junior officer ranks were junior lieutenant , lieutenant , captain , and captain first class and their shoulder boards had one , two , three , and four small yellowgold stars , respectively . Senior officer ranks were major , lieutenant colonel , and colonel and 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 one , two , three , four and five gold stars . General was rank created for federal secretary of people ' s defense in 1955 and it was abolished in 1974 . Tito was the only person to hold the rank of Marshal , and the position was abolished shortly after his death . Uniforms . Enlisted and NCO ' s . Soldiers and NCOs were issued uniforms field and service uniforms , while NCOs were authorized a dress uniform . Military school cadets wore soldier ' s uniforms . Soldiers ' winter and summer uniforms were made of light or heavy wool and cotton in olive - green . 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 and women ' s uniforms were of the same style as those for men with a skirt being substituted for trousers . Paratroops wore an olive - green beret instead of the standard garrison or service cap . 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 . Several different patterns of camouflage uniforms were worn by select units . Officers . Officers had to buy their field , service , dress , and full dress uniforms . They wore insignia on the lapels of the field uniform shirts . The service uniform differed only in a few 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 red along the seams . 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 yellow - gold rays , given distinctive configurations according to branch . 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 .