МОТОРИЗАЦИЈА ТЕШКЕ АРТИЉЕРИЈЕ У ВОЈСЦИ КРАЉЕВИНЕ СХС/ЈУГОСЛАВИЈЕ (1918–1941)
MOTORIZATION OF THE HEAVY ARTILLERY UNITS IN THE ARMY OF KINGDOM OF SCS/YUGOSLAVIA (1918–1941)

Summary/Abstract: The paper is based on the archival sources from the Military Archives in Belgrade, published documents and appropriate literature. The author presents development of the heavy artillery motorized units in the Army of Kingdom SCS/Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1941, including its performance during the short April war 1941. During the 1920‘s Yugoslav army possessed only 9 heavy artillery motorized batteries consisted of 18 Škoda М16 305 mm siege howitzers which were captured from the Austro-Hungarian army at the end of a Great war. First plan of Yugoslav General Staff was to create 4 army regiments of motorized heavy artillery, but there were not enough artillery pieces for that purpose. When the new 12 Škoda heavy artillery motorized batteries comprised 20 M28 150 mm long range guns, 10 М28 220 mm howitzers and 4М11/30 305 mm siege howitzers were purchased from 1929 to 1934 from Czechoslovakia, Yugoslav army managed to create 3 motorized battalions of heavy artillery which should convert to 3 artillery regiments during the wartime. A new material consisting of 18 new Škoda motorized batteries (12 Škoda 150 mm howitzers and 6 Škoda 105 mm long range guns batteries) was bought 1937, also from Czechoslovakia. After that a new artillery unit was formed as a 1st heavy artillery regiment which should be converted to 114th and 115th war regiment of heavy artillery during the war time. Yugoslav General Staff had idea to purchase 18 more heavy artillery motorized batteries from Škoda Company and to create another 2 heavy artillery regiments forthe war time (one for each of 7 war time armies), but they did not make it until the beginning of hostilities with Nazi Germany in April 1941. In April 1941 Yugoslav Army had 124 heavy artillery motorized pieces. According to the project of the strategic deployment of the Yugoslav forces elaborated inside the Yugoslav war plan R – 41, heavy artillery motorized units were deployed as a part of 3rd group of armies in Macedonia, 5th Army in eastern Serbia, 6tharmy in Šumadija, and 1st group of armies in Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia.The overall impression of its activities in the April war 1941 is not different from the general remark on the attitude of the whole armed forces, who, except for a few examples of courage and self-initiatives, were infected by defeatism and vulnerable to actions of the ”fifth column”, so that they could offer only sporadic and short-lasting resistance

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