Editing Military doctrine (section)

====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]].