Editing Military doctrine (section)

===SFR Yugoslavia===
With the passing of the National Defense Law of 1969, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] adopted a [[total war]] military doctrine named ''Total National Defense'' or ''Total People's Defense''{{ref label|Total National Defense|b|}}. It was inspired by the [[Yugoslav People's Liberation War]] against the fascist occupiers and their collaborators in the [[Second World War]], and was designed to allow Yugoslavia to maintain or eventually reestablish its [[independent state|independent]] and [[Non-Aligned Movement|non-aligned]] status should an invasion occur. According to it, ''any citizen who resists an aggressor is a member of the armed forces'', thus the whole population could be turned into a monolithic resistance army.

Starting from the [[elementary school]] education, over [[high schools]], [[universities]], organizations and companies, the authorities prepared the entire population to contest an eventual occupation of the country and finally to liberate it. For this purpose, the [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defense Forces]] (TO) would be formed to mobilize the population in case of an aggression. The combat readiness of the TO meant that the steps of organization and training could be bypassed after the start of hostilities. The TO would supplement the regular [[Yugoslav People's Army]], giving it greater defensive depth and an armed local population ready to support combat actions. Large numbers of armed civilians would increase the cost of an invasion to a potential aggressor.

The most likely scenario in the doctrine being used was a general war between the NATO and the Warsaw Pact. In such a situation, Yugoslavia would remain non-aligned, and it would not accept foreign troops of either alliance on its territory. The doctrine recognized the likelihood that one side or the other might try to seize Yugoslav territory as a [[Staging area|forward staging area]], to ensure [[Line of communication|lines of communication]] or simply to deny the territory to enemy forces. Such action would be considered aggression and would be resisted. Regardless of ideology, the occupiers would be considered Yugoslavia's enemy.

====Territorial Defense Forces====
The [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defense Forces]] (TO) were formed in 1969 as an integral part of the Yugoslav ''Total National Defense'' doctrine. The TO forces consisted of able-bodied civilian males and females. Between 1 and 3 million Yugoslavs between the ages of 15 and 65 would fight under TO command as irregular or [[guerrilla]] forces in wartime. In peacetime, however, about 860,000 TO troops were involved in [[military training]] and other activities.

The TO concept focused on small, lightly armed [[infantry]] units fighting defensive actions on a familiar local terrain. A typical unit was a [[company (military)|company]]-sized [[detachment (military)|detachment]]. More than 2000 communes, factories, and other enterprises organized such units, which would fight in their home areas, maintaining local defense production essential to the overall war effort. The TO also included some larger, more heavily equipped units with wider operational responsibilities. The TO [[battalion]]s and [[regiment]]s operated in regional areas with [[artillery]] and [[antiaircraft]] guns and some [[Armored car (military)|armoured vehicle]]s. Using their mobility and tactical initiative, these units would attempt to alleviate the pressure of enemy armored columns and [[air strikes]] on smaller TO units. In the coastal regions, TO units had naval missions. They operated some [[gunboats]] in support of [[navy]] operations. They were organized to defend strategic coastal areas and naval facilities against enemy [[amphibious landing]]s and raids. They also trained some [[Military diving|divers]] for use in [[sabotage]] and other [[special operations]].

The TO was helped by the fact that most of its citizen-[[soldiers]] were one-time JNA [[conscript]]s who had completed their term of compulsory [[military service]]. However, TO [[Military recruitment|recruitment]] was somewhat limited by the army's desire to include as many recently released conscripts as possible in its own [[military reserve]]. Other sources of TO manpower lacked prior military service and required extensive [[recruit training|basic training]].

The TO organisation was highly decentralized and independent. TO units were organized and funded by the governments in each of the Yugoslav [[Country|constituent republics]]: [[Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Socialist Republic of Croatia|Croatia]], [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro|Montenegro]], [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]] and [[Socialist Republic of Slovenia|Slovenia]].