In an episode of the talk show Face to Face hosted by Senad Hadžifejzović on Sarajevo’s Face TV, aired on May 17, a debate was held between Bosniak journalist Midhat Ajanović and Croatian politician and HOS general Ante Prkačin. Although the formal topic of the debate concerned World War II and the anti-fascist movement in Yugoslavia, both participants expanded the discussion, often speaking about earlier (the first Yugoslavia) and later (the second Yugoslavia) periods, as well as the nature and ideologies of their regimes.

On that occasion, Ante Prkačin, to support his claim that the understanding of the relationship between the Ustaša and Partisan movements can only be grasped by knowing the state of pre-war Yugoslavia, stated:

“In that Yugoslavia, the first Yugoslavia, there were 165 generals — one or two Croats, no Muslims, and all the rest Serbs, with Serbian majorization at every place and every moment.” (available here, from 9:31 to 9:43, also here, archived here)

The reference to the state of military affairs as a means of demonstrating Serbian superiority or of highlighting the Serbianization efforts of the Yugoslav authorities—both in the earlier and the later iterations—constitutes a relatively common rhetorical strategy. In this particular instance, the approach adopted by Prkačin follows a similar pattern, with the distinction that his swift presentation of statistical data conveys a sense of greater speaker confidence, as well as an impression of enhanced data credibility. Yet, consulting the most comprehensive scholarly work on the high-ranking officers of the first Yugoslav army, the book Generals and Admirals of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1918–1941 by retired university professor Mile S. Bjelajac[1] leads to the conclusion that Prkačin’s figures are almost entirely unfounded.

First of all, Prkačin’s flawed approach is evident in the fact that he failed to specify the exact year or time period to which the total number of generals he cited refers. If we consider that he is referring to the entire history of the first Yugoslavia, which Bjelajac’s book covers, the figure of 165 generals cannot be accurate. This is because Bjelajac, in his work, provides an overview of the biographies of no fewer than 502 generals and admirals, based on relevant archival sources[1] that confirm their status. Therefore, the final number of generals could only be higher than the one cited by Bjelajac, not lower.

The claim that all generals except one or two Croats were Serbs thus becomes less plausible and is, according to available data, incorrect. The claim that all generals except one or two Croats were Serbs thus becomes less plausible and is, according to available data, incorrect. Based on both scholarly[1] and archival sources, a total of 40 Croats held general or admiral ranks during the first Yugoslavia, including: Svetozar Andrić, Artur Catineli, Emil Domainko, Dragutin Hanel, Ante Hočevar, Đuro Isser, Paulus Jurišić Sturm, Vuko Lepetić, Franjo Kerčelić, Ignjat Kirhner, Karlo Klaić, Vilim Klobučar, Dragan Korais, Dragutin Kuzmić, Mijo Lukić, Julije Luterotti, Julio Malešević, Sebastijan Mantel, Vlatko Marijašević, August Marić, Miroslav Martinčić, Lavoslav Milić, Konstantin Mušicki, Maksimilijan Njegovan, Fridrih Opačić, Matija Parac, Armin Pavić, Ante Plivelić, Ljubomir Pokorni, Marijan Polić, Dragutin Prica, Ivan Prpić, Rikard Salher, Nikola Stanković, Vjekoslav Šušterić, Tomo Tijanić, Emil Uzelac, Viktor Vikerhauser, Vid Vončina and Janko Vuković Podkapelski.

Although there were indeed no Muslims among the generals and admirals, members of other ethnic groups also held these ranks, including 14 Slovenes ( Bogumir Armič, Ferdinand Janež, Adolf Kilar, Rudolf Kobal, Metod Koh, Otmar Langerholc, Anton Lokar, Mihael Lukanc, Rudolf Maistner, Fran Pogačar, Mirko Rajh, Metod Rakuša, Lav Rupnik, Vladimir Vauhnik), 2 Italians ( (Linus Dekaneva i Quintiliano Nobile de Tartaglia), 1 Czech (Vaclav Jelinek), 1 Bulgarian (Mihailo Bodi), and 1 Frenchman (Louis Felix Marie Francois Franchet D’Espery). The absence of Muslim generals does not necessarily indicate poor treatment within the army, considering, for example, that separate kitchens were set up from the beginning to respect their religious dietary practices, and that holidays such as Kurban Bayram and Ramadan Bayram[1] were officially celebrated, alongside Christmas and Easter. [4]

The overall percentage of non-Serb generals and admirals in the army of the first Yugoslav state thus totaled 59 individuals or 11.75% — a pronounced minority but far higher than Prkačin’s claim. This numerical dominance in favor of Serbs, however, does not indicate “Serbian majorization at every place and every moment” but rather reflects the state’s centralization. Of the remaining 443 Serbian generals and admirals, only ten came from the so-called Prečani Serbs (from today’s Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Vojvodina), and eleven from Montenegro (then also counted as Serbs). In fact, 84.06% of the high-ranking officers came from so-called “inner Serbia,” showing that favoritism likely existed based on geographic, not ethnic proximity to official Belgrade — a dynamic also affecting many Serbs outside this circle.
Additionally, the composition of lower army ranks was quite different, as the newly formed army was not organized along ethnic lines but reflected the inherited situation after World War I: 3,500 officers from the Kingdom of Serbia, 2,590 from the Austro-Hungarian army, 496 from Montenegro, twelve from the Russian Imperial Army, and three from Esad Pasha’s Albanian units[5]. Moreover, underdevelopment and low education levels in certain regions also contributed to underrepresentation, so areas like Macedonia, Kosovo, and the Montenegrin interior, then considered unquestionably Serbian, supplied as few officers as the majority-Muslim interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [6]

Thus, any unequal treatment within the army of the first Yugoslav state should be understood as a result of deeper political and hierarchical divisions within the state, rather than simply ethnic divisions. Analyzing the structure, command hierarchy, and rights access within the military can indeed reflect the political tensions of the interwar period, but addressing these inequalities requires focusing on a much broader picture than just ethnic composition — including military and political history, as well as the economic realities of various regions, not just the “tribes” of the first Yugoslavia.

Based on all the above, Ante Prkačin’s claim that almost all generals of the first Yugoslavia were Serbs, with only one or two Croats, proves to be unfounded and inaccurate according to relevant historical sources.

[1] (Belgrade’s INIS, 2004; all biographies available in an updated digital version at https://www.academia.edu/35982338/Spisak_admirala_i_generala_VKJ_od_A_do_%C5%BD (accessed May 23, 2025)

[2] Record group number: 14 Title of the record group: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA Date range of the records: 1918–1941

[3] Čulinović, Ferdo. Yugoslavia Between the Two Wars (Zagreb: Historical Institute of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1961

[4] Hasić, Nedim. “Eid in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.” Stav.ba. https://stav.ba/vijest/bajram-u-kraljevini-jugoslaviji/16602 (accessed May 23, 2025).

[5] Kulundžić, Zvonimir. Politics and Corruption in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Zagreb: Stvarnost, 1968), pp. 97–101.

[6] Ibid. 96.

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