2nd Army Group

The 2nd Army Group was a wartime formation of the Royal Yugoslav Army during the German-led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It was commanded by Armijski đeneral Milutin Nedić and controlled the 1st Army and 2nd Army. Its assigned defensive sector extended along the frontier with Hungary, broadly from the Slatina area to the Tisza River, including parts of Bačka, Baranja and Slavonia. The formation was created through Yugoslav mobilisation plans rather than as a permanent peacetime organization. The 1st Army was based on the peacetime 1st Army District, headquartered in Novi Sad, while the 2nd Army was organized from the 2nd Army District, headquartered in Sarajevo. On paper, the group included four infantry divisions, one horsed cavalry division, two brigade-sized infantry detachments and one horsed cavalry regiment, supported by artillery, anti-aircraft units, border guards and Royal Yugoslav Army Air Force reconnaissance elements. In practice, mobilisation was incomplete when the invasion began on 6 April 1941. Some headquarters had not reached their planned operational locations, and many formations lacked their full complement of personnel, animals, equipment and ammunition. The 2nd Army Group initially faced the Hungarian 3rd Army but was not subjected to a full-scale attack during the first days of the campaign. Its position nevertheless deteriorated as German operations against neighbouring Yugoslav formations opened its flanks. On 9 April, the group received orders to move south of the Drava and Danube. The following day, the German 8th Panzer Division broke through the 4th Army's sector, crossed the Drava at Barcs and drove southeast toward the left flank of the 2nd Army Group. At the same time, German pressure on the 6th Army disrupted the Yugoslav defensive arrangement east of the Tisza and Danube. The retreat was further weakened by poor communications, limited mobility, the destruction of air reconnaissance assets and the disintegration of some units containing large numbers of Croat reservists. German armoured forces captured key positions including Našice, Osijek and Vukovar on 11 April, while Hungarian formations crossed the frontier in the north. By the end of that day, the 2nd Army Group had effectively been routed. Its units attempted to withdraw toward a defensive line behind the Sava, but German forces had already seized or threatened important crossings and rear areas. By 12 April, the 2nd Army was assessed as having little remaining combat capability, while remnants of the wider group struggled to regroup. The group continued to withdraw and fight in fragments along the Sava until the Yugoslav Supreme Command's unconditional surrender took effect on 18 April 1941. Large numbers of Yugoslav personnel were captured during the subsequent Axis advance. The formation therefore existed only as a short-lived operational command in the 1941 campaign and did not survive the collapse and occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

The 2nd Army Group belonged to the Royal Yugoslav Army, the armed force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. That army had been established after the 1918 creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by combining the former Royal Serbian Army with military personnel and formations inherited from territories previously ruled by Austria-Hungary. In 1929, after the state was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the army became the Royal Yugoslav Army. The army entered the Second World War with serious structural weaknesses. Limited state finances restricted procurement and training, while reliance on horse-drawn transport reduced operational mobility. Its infantry divisions were large by contemporary European standards but had insufficient firepower and inadequate supplies. Command arrangements and doctrine remained influenced by the trench warfare of the First World War, leaving the force poorly prepared for the German combined-arms and armoured methods demonstrated in Poland and France. Political and ethnic divisions also affected mobilisation and cohesion. The army was dominated by Serb officers and institutions, while the central government faced substantial opposition among other communities. Ustaše activity, ethnic German organizations, pro-Bulgarian sentiment in Macedonia and unrest among parts of the Albanian population were regarded as potential internal threats. Yugoslav war plans called for the 2nd Army Group headquarters to be raised during mobilisation. It was to coordinate the 1st Army, formed from the Novi Sad-based 1st Army District, and the 2nd Army, formed from the Sarajevo-based 2nd Army District. The 1st Army was expected to deploy in Bačka between the Danube and Tisza, with infantry, cavalry and brigade-sized detachments. The 2nd Army was assigned Baranja and Slavonia, with infantry divisions and a cavalry regiment positioned south of the Drava and around Osijek and Vinkovci. The group's wider sector ran along the Hungarian frontier from near Slatina to the Tisza. The political crisis preceding the invasion directly affected readiness. Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941 under pressure from Germany. A coup on 27 March overthrew the government that had signed it, but the new administration delayed general mobilisation until 3 April in an attempt to avoid provoking Germany. Germany nevertheless designated Yugoslavia an enemy and prepared the invasion that began on 6 April. The 2nd Army Group was only partially mobilised when hostilities opened. Some headquarters were still at their mobilisation centres, and the deployment of men and animals was incomplete. The group did not initially face the main German blow. It exchanged fire with Hungarian border forces, but the Hungarian 3rd Army was also still preparing for operations. The 2nd Army Group's situation changed as German attacks against adjacent Yugoslav formations created open flanks. On 9 April, the 6th Army on the group's right was ordered to move south of the Danube, while the 2nd Army Group was told to withdraw behind the Drava and Danube. The next day, German forces crossed the Drava in the neighbouring 4th Army sector. The 8th Panzer Division advanced southeast between the Drava and Sava, reached the Slatina area and threatened the group's left flank. The withdrawal exposed the group's organisational and logistical weaknesses. The 1st Army crossed the Danube and attempted to form new defensive positions, while the 2nd Army evacuated Baranja and tried to reinforce the threatened flank. German armoured forces advanced quickly despite poor roads and bad weather, assisted by air support. At the same time, pressure on the 6th Army disrupted the possibility of creating a stable defence behind the Danube. Units with substantial numbers of Croat reservists experienced desertions and dissolution, which reduced the combat power of the 2nd Army and complicated the withdrawal. On 11 April, Hungarian forces crossed into Yugoslavia north of Osijek and near Subotica. German forces captured or approached major points including Našice, Osijek and Vukovar. Yugoslav air reconnaissance assets supporting the group were destroyed in attacks on their airfields, further reducing command awareness. The 2nd Army Group was effectively routed by the end of the day. Its surviving formations were ordered toward a line behind the Sava, but German forces had already captured important crossings and threatened the group's rear. On 12 April, the 2nd Army was described as having no meaningful combat capability, while remnants attempted to regroup along the Sava. Fighting and movement continued in fragments until the Yugoslav Supreme Command surrendered unconditionally, effective at 12:00 on 18 April 1941. Tens of thousands of Yugoslav soldiers were captured during the Axis advance. The 2nd Army Group disappeared with the collapse of the Royal Yugoslav Army and the occupation and partition of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

• 1941

  2nd Army Group raised for mobilisation

  [1]2nd Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)en.wikipedia.org

  Yugoslav war plans called for the formation's headquarters to be activated during mobilisation under Milutin Nedić, with control of the 1st and 2nd Armies.

• 1941

  Axis invasion and collapse

  [1]2nd Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)en.wikipedia.org

  During the April invasion, German and Hungarian advances disrupted the formation's deployment and withdrawal. The group was effectively routed by 11 April and ceased to exist with the Royal Yugoslav surrender on 18 April.

• 1929

  Army renamed after the state becomes Yugoslavia

  [1]2nd Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)en.wikipedia.org

  When King Alexander renamed the country the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the army became the Royal Yugoslav Army.

• 1918

  Creation of the Yugoslav state and army

  [1]2nd Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)en.wikipedia.org

  The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established, and its army was built from the Royal Serbian Army and formations and personnel inherited from former Austro-Hungarian territories.

A northern-front wartime command intended to coordinate the 1st and 2nd Armies in the defence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia against Hungary and a possible German attack.

• 1941Defence of the northern Yugoslav frontier

  Kingdom of Yugoslavia

  The formation's principal wartime operation was the defence of the frontier sector facing Hungary, extending from the Slatina area toward the Tisza River. It coordinated the 1st and 2nd Armies during the April invasion, first holding its planned positions and then conducting a succession of withdrawals toward the Drava, Danube and Sava as neighbouring Yugoslav sectors collapsed.

  Outcome. German armoured penetrations and Hungarian advances outflanked and disrupted the formation. It lost effective cohesion by 11 April, and its remnants surrendered or were captured during the general Yugoslav capitulation.

  Source

• 1941

  Withdrawal behind the Drava and DanubeStrategy

  Background

  German successes against neighbouring Yugoslav formations threatened the group's flanks and made its original frontier deployment untenable.

  Action taken

  The 2nd Army Group and the 2nd Army were ordered to evacuate forward positions and reorganize a defensive line south of the Drava and Danube, later moving toward the Sava.

  Aftermath

  The withdrawal did not restore a coherent defence. German armoured forces reached the group's left flank, while Hungarian forces entered from the north and internal disintegration weakened the retreat.

  Source

• 1941

  Attempted defence along the SavaStrategy

  Background

  By the evening of 10 April, the group's forward positions were threatened by German armoured advances and the breakdown of adjacent formations.

  Action taken

  The group was directed to withdraw and establish a defensive line behind the Sava from the Debrc area toward the Vrbas confluence.

  Aftermath

  German forces captured or threatened key bridges and rear areas before the withdrawal could produce a stable defensive front. The 2nd Army had little remaining combat importance by 12 April.

  Source

1. 12nd Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)en.wikipedia.org