Military history of Serbia

The Serbian army in the Middle Ages primarily consisted of light cavalry and infantry force armed with spears, javelins or bows.

The core of the army consisted of noble cavalry (vlastela) armed with lance and bow in the Byzantine style in early medieval times.

[2] Ragusan historian Mavro Orbin recorded that Prince Lazar used cannons as early as 1373 in his war against Nikola Altamanovich in northern Serbia.

[3] Despot Stefan has armed his knights with light firearms (musket "Fitiljača"), also with spears, swords, daggers, maces, bow and arrows, crossbows, shields, armours, halberd and cannons.

The subsequent Second Serbian Uprising of 1815–1817 led to full independence and recognition of the Kingdom of Serbia and weakened the Ottoman dominance in the Balkans.

Serbian military activity after World War I took place in the context of various Yugoslav armies until the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the restoration of Serbia as an independent country in 2006.