Military ranks of Serbia

The Military ranks of Serbia are the military insignia used by the current Serbian Armed Forces and historical Royal Serbian Army.

Ranks of the Serbian Armed Forces

Note: Serbian River Flotilla is a brigade-level brown water naval branch of the Serbian Armed Forces, subordinated to the Serbian Army.

Officers

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Serbian Army [1] v t e
			Генерал General		Генерал-потпуковник General-potpukovnik		Генерал-мајор General-major		Бригадни генерал Brigadni general		Пуковник Pukovnik		Потпуковник Potpukovnik		Мајор Major		Капетан прве класе Kapetan prve klase	Капетан Kapetan	Поручник Poručnik			Потпоручник Potporučnik
Serbian River Flotilla [1] v t e
			Адмирал Admiral		Вицеадмирал Vitseadmiral		Контраадмирал Kontraadmiral		Комодор Komodor		Капетан бојног брода Kapetan bojnog broda		Капетан фрегате Kapetan fregate		Капетан корвете Kapetan korvete		Поручник бојног брода Poručnik bojnog broda	Поручник фрегате Poručnik fregate	Поручник корвете Poručnik korvete			Потпоручник Potporučnik
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence [1] v t e
			Генерал General		Генерал-потпуковник General-potpukovnik		Генерал-мајор General-major		Бригадни генерал Brigadni general		Пуковник Pukovnik		Потпуковник Potpukovnik		Мајор Major		Капетан прве класе Kapetan prve klase	Капетан Kapetan	Поручник Poručnik			Потпоручник Potporučnik
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

Enlisted

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Serbian Army [1] v t e
	Заставник I класе Zastavnik I klase						Заставник Zastavnik		Старији Водник I класе Stariji Vodnik I klase		Старији Водник Stariji Vodnik						Водник Vodnik						Млађи водник Mlađi vodnik				Десетар Desetar		Разводник Razvodnik						Војник Vojnik
Serbian River Flotilla [1] v t e
	Заставник I класе Zastavnik I klase						Заставник Zastavnik		Старији Водник I класе Stariji Vodnik I klase		Старији Водник Stariji Vodnik						Водник Vodnik						Млађи водник Mlađi vodnik				Десетар Desetar		Разводник Razvodnik						Војник Vojnik
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence [1] v t e
	Заставник I класе Zastavnik I klase						Заставник Zastavnik		Старији Водник I класе Stariji Vodnik I klase		Старији Водник Stariji Vodnik						Водник Vodnik						Млађи водник Mlađi vodnik				Десетар Desetar		Разводник Razvodnik						Војник Vojnik
Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted

Ranks of the Royal Serbian Army

Following the unification of the Kingdom of Serbia into Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the ranks were replaced with the military ranks of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Officers

There were only three general ranks in Royal Serbian Army: General (from 1872), Army General (from 1900 to 1901) and Vojvoda (from 1901). There were only two types of shoulder cords: with double-headed eagle (from the coat of arms) for Vojvoda and without for all other General ranks. The different general grades were indicated by 6-pointed stars on the cuffs. Also the backing cloth for the shoulder cords was light blue for Army General (honorary rank from 1900 to 1901) and divisional generals and in a colour of service for brigadier general. ^[2] During the Middle Ages, the Vojvoda was a military commander rank and a noble titule. In the Balkan Wars and World War I this title was used to designate the highest military rank in the Royal Serbian Army (equivalent of the Field Marshal in other armies). This rank was introduced by the 1901 Law on the Organization of the Army and has been awarded only during the war for "special merits of top-ranking generals". The first Vojvoda was promoted by the Great Military Decree of the Kingdom of Serbia on 20 October 1912. Only four people ever officially held that military rank: Radomir Putnik (1912), Stepa Stepanović (1914), Živojin Mišić (1914) and Petar Bojović (1918). ^[3]

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Royal Serbian Army [4]
	Војвода Vojvoda		Ђенерал Đeneral								Пуковник Pukovnik		Потпуковник Potpukovnik		Мајор Major		Капетан I класе Kapetan I klase	Капетан II класе Kapetan II klase	Поручник Poručnik		Потпоручник Potporučnik		Заставник Zastavnik

Student officer ranks

Rank group	Student officer
Royal Serbian Army
	Питомац наредник Pitomac narednik	Питомац поднаредник Pitomac podnarednik	Питомац каплар Pitomac kaplar	Питомац Pitomac

Enlisted

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Non-commissioned officer			Enlisted
Royal Serbian Army
	Наредник водник Narednik vodnik	Наредник Narednik	Поднаредник Podnarednik	Каплар Kaplar	Редов Redov

Ranks of the Revolutionary Serbian Army

See also: Revolutionary Serbian Army

Senior ranks were the kaplar ("corporal"), fendrek (from "fähnrich"), kapetan or buljubaša ("captain"), podvojvoda and vojvoda ("warlord"), in the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13). ^[5] The ranks were initially given from within the army until the strengthening of central power when commander-in-chief Karađorđe with or without the Governing Council appointed them. ^[5] At the end of the uprising, the officer ranks included kapetan, poručnik , potporučnik , praporčik , vahtmajstor (or narednik, from wachtmeister ), estandarfirer (or barjaktar, "standard-bearer"), unteroficir (or podnarednik) and barabančik (or dobošar, "drummer"). ^[6]

See also

• Military ranks of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
• Military ranks of Socialist Yugoslavia
• Military ranks of Serbia and Montenegro

References

1. "ЧИНОВИ У ВОЈСЦИ СРБИЈЕ". vs.rs (in Serbian). Serbian Armed Forces. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
2. Bjelajac 2004, p. 15.
3. Milićević 2002, p. 41-59.
4. Thomas, Nigel; Babac, Dusan (2001). Armies in the Balkans 1914–18. Men-at-Arms. Osprey Publishing. p. 39. ISBN   978-1841761947.
5. Bodrožić 2022, p. 32.
6. Bodrožić 2022, p. 34.

Sources

• Bjelajac, Mile (2004). Generali i admirali Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1918—1941. Belgrade: Institut za novu istoriju Srbije. ISBN   86-7005-039-0.
• Bodrožić, Đuro (2022). "Vojska i država: počeci moderne srpske vojske". Nacionalni interes. 44 (2): 29–46.
• Milićević, Milić (2002). Reforma Vojske Srbije: 1897—1900. Beograd: Vojnoizdavački zavod. ISBN   86-335-0112-0.

External links

• "Serbia". uniforminsignia.org. The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 7 July 2022.