4th Army (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

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4th Army

Armijski đeneral Petar Nedeljković commanded the Yugoslav 4th Army during the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia

Active 1941

Disbanded 1941

Country Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Branch Royal Yugoslav Army

Type Infantry

Size Corps[a]
 Part of 1st Army Group

Engagements Invasion of Yugoslavia

Commanders

Notable Petar Nedeljković

commanders

The 4th Army was a Royal Yugoslav Army formation mobilised prior to the German-

led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II. It was drawn from
the peacetime 4th Army District. When mobilised, it consisted of three divisions,
a brigade-strength detachment, one horse cavalry regiment and one
independent infantry regiment. It formed part of the 1st Army Group, and was
responsible for defending a large section of the Yugoslav–Hungarian border, being
deployed behind the Drava river between Varaždin and Slatina. Like all Yugoslav
formations at the time, the 4th Army had serious deficiencies in both mobility and
firepower.
Despite concerns over a possible Axis invasion, orders for the general mobilisation of
the Royal Yugoslav Army were not issued by the government until 3 April 1941, in order
to not provoke Germany any further following the military coup d'état and precipitate
war. When the invasion commenced on 6 April, the 4th Army was only partially
mobilised, and this weakness was exacerbated by fifth-column activities within its major
units and higher headquarters. Revolts of Croat soldiers broke out in all three divisions
in the first few days, causing significant disruption to their mobilisation and deployment.
The town of Bjelovar was taken over by rebel troops. Widespread desertions of Croat
troops, many of whom turned on their Serb comrades, made control even more difficult.
German activity in the 4th Army sector in the first four days included limited objective
attacks to seize crossings over the Mura and Drava rivers, along with air attacks by
the Luftwaffe.
The formation and expansion of German bridgeheads were facilitated by fifth-column
elements of the Croatian fascist Ustaše organisation and their sympathisers among the
Croat-majority populace of the 4th Army sector. Elements of the 4th Army did put up
scattered resistance to the Germans, but it began to withdraw southwards on 9 April,
and on 10 April it quickly ceased to exist as an operational formation in the face of two
determined armoured thrusts by XXXXVI Motorised Corps from bridgeheads
at Zákány and Barcs. The 14th Panzer Division captured Zagreb late that day, and the
Germans facilitated the proclamation of an independent Croatian state. A senior staff
officer at the headquarters of the 1st Army Group who sympathised with
the Ustaše issued orders redirecting formations and units of the 4th Army away from the
advancing Germans, and fifth-column elements arrested some 4th Army headquarters
staff.
Under the leadership of its commander, Armijski đeneral[b] Petar Nedeljković, the mostly
ethnic Serb remnants of the 4th Army attempted to establish defensive positions in
northeastern Bosnia, but were brushed aside by the 14th Panzer Division as it drove
east towards Sarajevo, which fell on 15 April. A ceasefire was agreed on that day, and
the remains of the 4th Army were ordered to stop fighting. The Yugoslav Supreme
Command surrendered unconditionally effective on 18 April.

Contents

 1Background
 2Formation and composition
 3Deployment plan
 4Mobilisation
 5Operations
 6Fate
 7Notes
 8Footnotes
 9References

Background[edit]

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.[3] 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.[4]
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 Latin: 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. [5] 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, [6] as
compared to contemporary British infantry divisions of half that strength. [7] 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.
[8]
 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.[9][10]
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.[11][12] 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 fascist Ustaše and the ethnic German minorities but also potentially from
the pro-Bulgarian Macedonians and the Albanian population of Kosovo.[11]

Formation and composition[edit]

Peacetime organisation[edit]
 Sisak

Zagreb/Dugo Selo

Koprivnica

Virovitica

Varaždin

Slatina
class=notpageimage|
Mobilisation centres (blue) and main border defences (red) of the 4th Army

Yugoslav war plans saw the 4th Army organised and mobilised on a geographic basis
from the peacetime 4th Army District, which was divided into three divisional districts,
each of which was subdivided into regimental regions.[13] Zagreb, Dugo
Selo and Sisak were key centres for the mobilisation and concentration of the 4th Army
due to their good rail infrastructure. [14] Prior to the issue of mobilisation orders for the 4th
Army, the 4th Army District headquarters had been involved in planning border
defences and conducting exercises for border troops, including demolition plans for
bridges and other infrastructure in the event of war. [15]
On 8 June 1940, the Yugoslav Supreme Command had issued orders to the 4th Army
District headquarters to make all necessary preparations for defence
and demolitions and ordered a 14-day exercise for border troops. 4th Army District
headquarters submitted a progress report on this work on 30 January 1941. This report
indicated that along the Hungarian border, bunkers and trenches had been constructed
for the immediate defence of the Drava river along the Yugoslav-Hungarian border, in
particular at Varaždin, Koprivnica, Virovitica and Slatina, but no obstacles such
as barbed wire entanglements or anti-tank ditches had been developed.[15]
Wartime organisation[edit]
See also: Yugoslav order of battle prior to the invasion of Yugoslavia
The 4th Army was commanded by Armijski đeneral Petar Nedeljković, and his chief of
staff was Brigadni đeneral[c] Anton Lokar.[1] The 4th Army consisted of:[1]

 27th Infantry Division Savska

 40th Infantry Division Slavonska
 42nd Infantry Division Murska
 Detachment Ormozki (brigade-strength)
 127th Infantry Regiment
 81st Cavalry Regiment
Army-level support was provided by the motorised 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment, the
81st Army Artillery Regiment, the motorised 4th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, six border
guard battalions and the motorised 4th Army Anti-Aircraft Company. The 4th Air
Reconnaissance Group comprising eighteen Breguet 19s was attached from the Royal
Yugoslav Army Air Force (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Kraljevine
Jugoslavije, VVKJ) and was based at Pleso airfield near Velika Gorica just south of
Zagreb.[1][16] The troops of the 4th Army included a high percentage of Croats. [17]

Deployment plan[edit]
 Det Ormozki

42nd ID

27th ID

40th ID

4th Army
class=notpageimage|
Planned deployment locations for formations of the 4th Army (red) and 4th Army headquarters (blue)

The 4th Army was part of the 1st Army Group, which was responsible for the defence of
northwestern Yugoslavia. The 4th Army defended the eastern sector along the
Hungarian border, and the 7th Army along the German and Italian borders. The 1st
Cavalry Division was to be held as the 1st Army Group reserve around Zagreb. On the
left of the 4th Army, the boundary with the 7th Army ran from Gornja Radgona on
the Mura river through Krapina and Karlovac to Otočac. On the right of the 4th Army
was the 2nd Army of the 2nd Army Group, the boundary running from just east of
Slatina through Požega towards Banja Luka. The Yugoslav defence plan saw the 4th
Army deployed in a cordon behind the Drava between Varaždin and Slatina. [18] The
planned deployment of the 4th Army from west to east was: [19]
  Detachment Ormozki, responsible for the border between Gornja Radgona
and the triple border with Germany and Hungary, but with its main defences
along the Drava between the confluence with the Dravinja river and the
village of Petrijanec, and its headquarters in Klenovnik;
 42nd Infantry Division Murska (42nd ID), opposite the Hungarian city
of Nagykanizsa, between the triple border with Germany and Hungary and
the confluence of the Mura at Legrad, with divisional headquarters at Seketin,
just south of Varaždin;[20]
 27th Infantry Division Savska (27th ID), opposite the Hungarian village
of Gyékényes, between the confluence of the Mura at Legrad and Kloštar
Podravski, with divisional headquarters at Kapela, north of Bjelovar; and[21]
 40th Infantry Division Slavonska (40th ID), opposite the Hungarian town
of Barcs, between Kloštar Podravski and Čađavica, with the main line of
defence along the northern slopes of the Bilogora mountain range, and
divisional headquarters at Pivnica Slavonska.[22]
Border guard units in the 4th Army area of responsibility consisted of: [23]

 the 601st Independent Battalion in the sector of the Detachment Ormozki,

 the 341st Reserve Regiment in the sector of the 42nd ID,
 the 3rd Battalion of the 393rd Reserve Regiment and 576th Independent
Battalion in the sector of the 27th ID, and
 the 2nd Battalion of the 393rd Reserve Regiment in the sector of the 40th ID.

Mobilisation[edit]
After unrelenting pressure from Adolf Hitler, Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact on 25
March 1941. Two days later, a military coup d'état overthrew the government that had
signed the pact, and a new government was formed under the VVKJ
commander, Armijski đeneral Dušan Simović.[24] A general mobilisation was not called by
the new government until 3 April 1941, out of fear of offending Hitler and thus
precipitating war.[25] The same day as the coup, Hitler issued Führer Directive 25, which
called for Yugoslavia to be treated as a hostile state and, on 3 April, Führer Directive 26
was issued, detailing the plan of attack and command structure for the invasion. [26]
The Yugoslav historian Velimir Terzić described the mobilisation of the 4th Army as a
whole on 6 April as "only partial",[27] and states the headquarters of the 4th Army was
mobilising northeast of Dugo Selo, 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Zagreb, with 30–35
percent of the staff officers and ten percent of the soldiers having reported for duty. [22]
Detachment Ormozki[edit]
Detachment Ormozki was an ad hoc formation based on the headquarters of the 1st
Cavalry Brigade, with an infantry regiment attached from the 32nd Infantry
Division Triglavski, and two cavalry regiments and a squadron of cavalry artillery
attached from the 1st Cavalry Division. On 6 April, it was concentrating in
the Ormož area, as follows:[28]
  the detachment commander and his headquarters staff were in Čakovec;
 the 39th Infantry Regiment was marching from Celje via Lepoglava to
Varaždin, but on 6 April had only reached Rogatec;
 the 6th Cavalry Regiment was mobilising in Zagreb;
 the 8th Cavalry Regiment was mobilising in Čakovec;
 a squadron of cavalry artillery was moving from Varaždin to the concentration
area, and had reached Vratno; and
 the 1st Bicycle Battalion had departed Ljubljana, and on 5 April had
reached Žalec.
The 39th Infantry Regiment was later transferred to the 42nd ID, leaving
Detachment Ormozki predominantly as a cavalry formation.[20]
42nd Infantry Division Murska[edit]
The 42nd ID had only commenced mobilisation, and was largely in its mobilisation
centres or moving to concentration areas. On 6 April, the elements of the division were
located as follows:[20]

 the divisional commander Divizijski đeneral[d] Borisav Ristić and his

headquarters staff were mobilising in the Zagreb area
 the 36th Infantry Regiment was concentrating in the Ludbreg district
 the 105th Infantry Regiment, with about 55 percent of its troops, was
concentrating in the Varaždin area
 the 126th Infantry Regiment was mobilising in Zagreb
 the 42nd Artillery Regiment headquarters and two batteries were mobilising in
Zagreb, with the remaining two batteries mobilising in Varaždin
 the divisional cavalry squadron was located in Čakovec
 the remainder of the divisional units were mobilising in Zagreb
Orders were issued for the 36th Infantry Regiment to join the 27th ID, replaced by the
39th Infantry Regiment from Detachment Ormozki. Two artillery batteries from the 40th
Artillery Regiment of the 40th ID that were mobilising in Varaždin were ordered to join
the 42nd ID.[20]
27th Infantry Division Savska[edit]
The 27th ID had only commenced mobilisation, and was largely in its mobilisation
centres or moving to concentration areas.[21] On 4 April, Nedeljković had reported that
the division could not move for another 24 hours due to lack of vehicles. [29] A small
proportion of the division was in its planned positions on 6 April:[21]

 the divisional commander Divizijski đeneral August Marić and his

headquarters staff were mobilising in Zagreb
 the 35th Infantry Regiment (less its 3rd Battalion) was marching from Zagreb
to Križevci, with its 3rd Battalion still in Zagreb
  the 53rd Infantry Regiment, with about 50 percent of its troops and 15 percent
of its animals, was moving by rail from its mobilisation centre in Karlovac via
Križevci to Koprivnica, with its 1st Battalion detraining in Koprivnica
 the 104th Infantry Regiment was marching from its mobilisation centre
in Sesvete via Dugo Selo to Bjelovar
 Two batteries of the 27th Artillery Regiment were in position in Novigrad
Podravski and near Koprivnica, with the rest of the 27th Artillery Regiment
still mobilising in Zagreb and Varaždin
 the divisional cavalry squadron was mobilising in Čakovec, but had no
horses, and the divisional machine gun battalion was mobilising in Zagreb,
but had no animal transport
 the remainder of the divisional units were at their mobilisation centres in and
around Zagreb
40th Infantry Division Slavonska[edit]
The 40th ID was partially mobilised, with some elements of the division still mobilising,
some in concentration areas, and only a small proportion actually deployed in their
planned positions:[22]

 the divisional commander Brigadni đeneral Ratko Raketić and his

headquarters staff were mobilising in Bjelovar
 the 42nd Infantry Regiment with two battalions was marching towards their
positions near Daruvar, while the rest of the regiment was mobilising in
Bjelovar and could not move due to lack of draught animals
 the 43rd Infantry Regiment, with about 75–80 percent of its troops and 30
percent of its animals, was marching from its mobilisation centre in Požega
towards Našice, but had only reached Jakšić, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) northeast
of Požega
 the 108th Infantry Regiment was marching from Bjelovar but had only
reached Severin
 the 40th Artillery Regiment was still mobilising with the headquarters and one
battery in Osijek and two batteries in Varaždin
 the divisional cavalry squadron and machine gun battalion were unable to
deploy from Virovitica due to lack of animals, although on 5 April, Nedeljković
had requisitioned private cars for the machine gun battalion and ordered it to
concentrate at Lukač northeast of Virovitica
 the remainder of the divisional units were at their mobilisation centres in and
around Bjelovar
The 43rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to march east to join the 17th Infantry
Division Vrbaska (17th ID), which was part of the 2nd Army Group's 2nd Army. The 89th
Infantry Regiment, originally allocated to the 17th ID, was ordered to march from its
mobilisation location in Sisak and join the 40th ID to replace the 43rd Infantry Regiment.
The divisional cavalry did not receive sufficient horses, and had to deploy on foot as
infantry. The division was without artillery support throughout the fighting because the
40th Artillery Regiment did not complete mobilisation. [30]
Army-level support[edit]
Army-level support units were mobilising as follows: [31]

 the 81st Heavy Artillery Regiment was mobilising in Zagreb, but there were
only sufficient strong draught animals to pull the guns of two of the four
batteries. These two batteries were moving towards the border, but en route
they were weakened by desertion
 the 81st Cavalry Regiment was mobilised with personnel from
the Cazin district of northwest Bosnia, but due to sabotage by the Ustaše, no
horses had been mobilised from the Zagreb military district
 the 4th Army anti-aircraft units were deployed at Lipik
 supply units were poorly mobilised due to lack of vehicles and draught
animals
Overall condition of the 4th Army[edit]
At the time of the invasion, many units of the 4th Army were still at their mobilisation
centres or in their concentration areas, and only a few units had actually deployed into
their planned positions to defend the border. Many conscripts did not report to their
mobilisation centres. The logistics of the 4th Army were in a poor state, mainly due to a
lack of livestock and vehicles for transport, but also due to fifth-column sabotage by
the Ustaše and their sympathisers, to the extent that many units did not even have ten
per cent of their transport needs. It was also equipped poorly, lacking in many tools of
modern warfare, including tanks, light artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and air support.
These deficiencies affected both its fighting power and morale. [32]

Operations