lower general ranks of brigadni đeneral (brigadier general) and divizijski đeneral (divisional general). In 1924, the artillery strength of the remaining eight infantry divisions were brought up to brigade strength. In 1925, a Guards division was formed, consisting of two regiments of cavalry, and one regiment each of infantry and artillery. It was commanded by Petar Živković, a founder of the White Hand. The first significant acquisition of military aircraft were made in the same year, with 150 Breguet 19 light bomber and aerial reconnaissance biplanes being purchased from France under the terms of a loan. Extensions were also made to the arsenal at Kragujevac in 1925, but the previous deficiencies in the army continued to plague the force, with the result that despite its size, the army could not be expected to contend with a smaller and more modern force for any significant time. In 1926, the 5th Army was created, utilising two divisions from the 1st Army and one from the 4th Army. In the same year, 13 more companies of frontier troops were raised for deployment along the Hungarian and Italian borders, and 12 Dornier floatplanes were also purchased. 1927–1932 The first manoeuvres of any significant size since the formation of the army in 1919 were conducted between the troops of two divisions during 29 September to 2 October 1927, although the number of troops engaged did not exceed 10,000 and some reserves had to be called up to achieve this number. Prior to this, only local inter-garrison exercises had been conducted. The method adopted for the exercises and the tactics used were similar to those used by the British Army before the Second Boer War. In 1928, four new infantry regiments were established in response to an Italian buildup along the frontier. These were seen as the nucleus for a potential new infantry division. The arsenal at Kragujevac also went into operation, producing Mauser M24 series rifles and ammunition. In January 1929, King Alexander established a personal dictatorship and appointed Živković as prime minister. In April, thirty-two generals were forcibly retired, including the chief of the General Staff, Petar Pešić. During that year, the army took delivery of 4,000 light machine guns, eighty field guns and 200,000 vz. 24 rifles from the Czech firm Škoda. The latter meant that the standing army could finally be equipped with a single type of rifle. The year also saw