Military Intelligence and Counterintelligence Services of the Kingdom of SHS/Jugoslavia 1918-1941 – Organisation and Activities

Abstract

The military intelligence and counter-intelligence services of the Kingdom of SHS/Jugoslavia were a continuation of the special services of the Kingdom of Serbia, which were established in the 19th century together with the state. The organisational solutions developed at that time allowed for the relatively rapid reconstruction and creation of the marginally effective information and counter-espionage system of the Yugoslav state after 1918. Over a period of more than twenty years, the Yugoslav Army's intelligence and counter-espionage service underwent four reorganisations aimed at strengthening state security. The proposition is advanced that the solutions applied worked well in the practice of operational activities. In principle, the organisational structure of Yugoslav military offensive and defensive intelligence reflected the trends in the field at the time, but was also characterised by models that corresponded to the realities of the Yugoslav state and the complex security architecture of the Balkans between 1918 and 1941.