Founded in 1830, it became a standing army taking part in the First and Second Serbo Turkish Wars of 1876–1878, the first conflict in the nation modern history, after which the country gained its full independence.

A small Serbian army was established in 1830 after the Russian victory over the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29), and the signing of the Treaty of Adrianople (1829), which re-guaranteed the autonomy of Serbia as per the earlier Akkerman Convention of 1826.

[3] After Mihailo Obrenović became Prince following his brother's abdication in 1861, he created a National Militia (Narodna Vojska).

Serbia had 2,417 professional (regular) soldiers, armed and uniformed in the European fashion, trained by the former Austrian and Russian officers.

[5] As the Regular Army was too small to protect the country from its powerful neighbours (Austria and Ottoman Empire), during the crisis of Hungarian Revolution of 1848, when Serbia was directly threatened by the Austrian invasion, Serbian government resorted to enlistment of all the men available for the military service, the so-called People's Militia (Serbian: Народна војска, Narodna vojska).

After the Russian defeat in Crimean War (1853–1856), Serbia was made a joint protectorate of Russia, Austria, France and United Kingdom by the treaty of Paris (1856).

Prince Miloš Obrenović returned to power in Serbia with the support of France and Russia, who were dissatisfied with the pro-Austrian policy of the Serbian government.

His son and heir, Prince Mihailo (ruled 1860–67), led a very ambitious foreign policy, aimed at the liberation of all the South-Slavic peoples.

Prince Mihailo founded Ministry of War (led by French colonel Hyppolyte Mondain), doubled the size of the Regular Army (to 3,529 men) and declared the foundation of the Serbian National Militia (Serbian: Народна војска, Narodna vojska), which conscripted all the men aged 20–50 for the compulsory military service.

People's Militia was divided into the First (men under the age of 35) and the Second class, organized into territorial battalions (62 in number) and regiments (17, one in each county).

Every county had its own military department, with several regular officers and NCOs, who organized recruitment, supplies, armament and training of National Militia.

[7] In 1866. new military schools were opened in Beograd and Kragujevac, to provide Militia officers with basic training in tactics, fortification and topography.

[7] During the reign of Prince Milan Obrenović (1868–1889, King of Serbia since 1882), modernization of the Serbian army continued.

Serbian army had 317 officers (5 colonels, 12 lieutenant-colonels, 20 majors and only one general, Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac).