ВОЈСКА КРАЉЕВИНЕ ЈУГОСЛАВИЈЕ ПРЕД АПРИЛСКИ РАТ 1941
THE ARMY OF THE KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA FROM MARCH 27 TO APRIL 6, 1941

Summary/Abstract: The government of Army General, Dusan Simovic, formed after the putsch on Marc 27, took a series of measures that were supposed to strengthen the defensive capability of the country. However, they were also full of weak points, partial solutions and omissions, plus, they were made under the fear of the German army forces, hoping, at the same time, that they would menage to avoid the War. The negotiations with Germany and Italy as well as with Great Britain, Greece, United States of America and Soviet Union were conducted in this way. The decision to declare general mobilization had not been brought about until April 7 , only orders were given for activating and general activating of military force, ie units, but this activating also ran according to peacetime regulations which influenced the slowness of troops’ mobilization and their concentration, with the traffic connections being already weak. As a result, at the moment of the attack of German troops at dawn of April 6, only one third of Yugoslav units was at the locations for battle. Considering the inherited situation in the country, the heterogeneous national structure of the government, a short period of time they had at their disposal, defeatism in the higher commanding cadre, especially after France had defeated them, destructive operations of the Fifth Column, but also enemy troops’ superiority in numbers and in technology, it is clear why the Army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was forced to lay down the arms after 12 days of War.

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