The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 963 Crazy!

Kosovo War!
In Liu Tao's own notebook, these five short words contain the details of the last war in the 20th century that attracted worldwide attention.

Once upon a time, Yugoslavia was so powerful in the Tito era.

At that time, more than 800 million tourists from both the Eastern and Western camps traveled to Yugoslavia every year, which not only brought considerable tourism revenue to Yugoslavia, but also reflected its cultural influence. At that time, Yugoslavia was highly industrialized, with a per capita GDP exceeding that of all other socialist countries, roughly at the same level as developed capitalist countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

As early as the 60s, the TV penetration rate in Yugoslavia had reached 50%, which means that almost half of the families in Yugoslavia had a TV in the 60s. By the end of the 70s, the TV penetration rate had reached almost 70%, which means that almost every family in Yugoslavia had a TV.

In the 70s, every family in Yugoslavia owned its own car, and by the end of the 70s, the average income of Yugoslavs had reached US$1500.

Economic development also promoted the great progress of Yugoslavia's culture, sports and other undertakings. At that time, other socialist countries generally regarded Western films and books as a scourge, but Yugoslavia took the lead in allowing the import of Western films and books that did not violate Yugoslav laws. At that time, Hollywood blockbusters could be seen in Yugoslavia as soon as they were released, and Yugoslav films and books were also exported to all parts of the world. Yugoslav classic films such as "Walter Defends Sarajevo" and "The Bridge" also had a wide influence in the world like Soviet films.

Yugoslavia's Red Star and Partisans have long dominated European football, and Yugoslavia's basketball level is second only to the United States. In 1960, the Yugoslav football team won the gold medal in the men's football at the Rome Olympics, and Yugoslavia reached the finals at the 1960 European Cup in France and the 1968 European Cup in Italy. Yugoslavia was able to reach the semi-finals at the 1962 Chile World Cup.

Politically, Tito, Egyptian President Nasser and Indian Prime Minister Nehru jointly proposed that under the bipolar structure, the majority of small and medium-sized countries should pursue an independent foreign policy and not ally with either of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. This is the "Non-Aligned Movement" known to the world. By participating in the Non-Aligned Movement, Yugoslavia followed the trend of the world's people pursuing peace and opposing war, and catered to the independent nationalist sentiment that was prevalent in the international community at that time.

This greatly enhanced Yugoslavia's influence and voice in international affairs. The United States and the Soviet Union both chose to respect Yugoslavia's independent non-aligned policy and win over Yugoslavia to prevent it from falling to another camp.

Militarily, Yugoslavia built an army of nearly one million people and also had a reserve force of about 200 million. At that time, the Yugoslav People's Army was the fourth largest army and the third largest land force in Europe. This army was well-equipped and well-trained, so much so that even the Soviet Union at that time was wary of Yugoslavia, while European and American countries praised Yugoslavia as the "Balkan Tiger".

The Yugoslav Army, which had more than 1100 tanks, more than 600 anti-tank self-propelled guns, 1300 armored vehicles of various types, and tens of thousands of artillery pieces of various types, was one of the "strongest ground forces in Europe" until 1992.

南斯拉夫海军在巅峰时期拥有1万名官兵和80艘各型舰艇，而且还拥有自主生产的潜艇。空军拥有3.2万名官兵和400多架固定翼飞机、200多架螺旋桨飞机、200多架直升机。

At that time, anyone who said that Yugoslavia would fall apart and its legacy would be divided among its member states within 15 years would be considered crazy. Anyone who said that Yugoslavia would be engulfed in war within 20 years would be considered crazy.

Liu Tao pointed directly to the South Slavic homeland, warning of the possibility of Americans starting a war here.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia still cannot be underestimated. Besides, the US government is constantly cutting military spending and is unwilling to start a war. How could it possibly start a war in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia!" A think tank shook his head repeatedly.

The two republics of Serbia and Montenegro jointly established the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which inherited the main position of Yugoslavia. Now the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has an area of ​​10.235 square kilometers and a population of over million.

Although the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were far inferior to those of Yugoslavia, they still had 13.5 people, 1270 tanks, 270 armored vehicles, 3200 artillery pieces, 750 anti-tank guns, and 1850 anti-aircraft guns. The navy had 1 people, equipped with 80 frigates of various types, speedboats, patrol boats, minesweepers, torpedo boats, and an anti-submarine helicopter squadron. The air force had 350 fighters and 160 armed helicopters.

The Americans would only attack Yugoslavia if they were crazy. Not to mention, everyone knows that the US government is suppressing military spending, and it is even rumored that the US military spending will be suppressed to 500 billion US dollars next year.

How can the US military, without money, start a war?

However, when Liu Tao said this, the other leaders all frowned slightly.

In this kind of situation, we should be prepared for the worst.

There are always various possibilities in the game between major powers.

The most basic thing is to use each other, confront each other, and constantly adjust foreign policies according to the development of the international situation.

There is a tacit understanding between major powers.

That is why it is not difficult for the Americans to detonate this powder keg in Yugoslavia.

As early as the Tito era, the seemingly powerful Yugoslavia had always had hidden dangers. For a long time, the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Albanias and other ethnic groups living in Yugoslavia have always lacked a unified national psychological identity. In history, these ethnic groups have both long-term integration and various grievances. As the main ethnic group, Serbia has only a relative advantage in terms of population size and political and economic strength, but does not have an absolute advantage greater than the sum of other ethnic groups.

When Tito was in power, he was able to suppress this problem with his unparalleled prestige.

But after Tito was gone, this problem became unsolvable, and no strong man appeared in Yugoslavia again. As a result, in less than 12 years, the powerful Yugoslavia fell apart. The major member states became independent sovereign states, divided up Yugoslavia's assets, and became the much smaller Federal Republic of Yugoslavia today.

But there are also many problems within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

There were Serbs, Albanians, Montenegrins, Hungarians and other ethnic minorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Montenegro, with a population of less than 70, always considered itself small and lowly, and was at odds with Serbia. There were also calls for independence from within Montenegro.

As for the Albanians in Kosovo, the same problem exists.

As long as the Americans provoke, the entire Balkan Peninsula, the powder keg of Europe, will explode!

(End of this chapter)