Themilitary history of Croatia encompasses wars, battles and all military actions fought on the territory of modernCroatia and the military history of theCroat people regardless of political geography.
The first mention of Croatian military actions dates from the time of the Croatian principalities in the 8th and 9th centuries.Vojnomir led a Croatian army in wars against theAvars at the end of the 8th century. He launched a jointcounterattack with the help ofFrankish troops underCharlemagne in 791. The offensive was successful and the Avars were driven out of what then becameLower Pannonia under Frankish overlords. In 819, his successor DukeLjudevit Posavski raised a rebellion against the Franks. Ljudevit won many battles against the Franks, but in 822 his forces were defeated. PrinceBorna of Croatia led the army ofDalmatian Croatia and had a primary role in crushing Ljudevit's rebellion. Borna reported his successes to the Frankish Emperor, stating that Ljudevit had lost over 3,000 soldiers and 300 horses during his campaign. PrinceTrpimir I of Croatia battled successfully against his neighbours, theByzantine coastal cities under thestrategos ofZadar in 846–848. In 853 he repulsed an attack from an Army of theBulgarianKhanBoris I and concluded a peace treaty with him, exchanging gifts.PrinceDomagoj of Croatia is known in the history for his navy which helped theFranks to conquerBari from theArabs in 871. During Domagoj's reignpiracy was a common practice, which earned him a title ofThe worst duke of Slavs (Latin:pessimus dux Sclavorum).One of the strongest Croatian princes wasBranimir, whose naval fleet defeated theVenetian navy on 18 September 887.
First Croatian kingTomislav defeated theMagyar mounted invasions of theArpads inbattle and forced them across theDrava River. In 927 Tomislav's army heavily defeated the army of Bulgarian EmperorSimeon, under the command of generalAlogobotur in theBattle of the Bosnian Highlands. One ofTomislav's admirals lead more than 5,000 sailors, soldiers and their families intoSlavic quarter ofPalermo,Sicily. At the peak of his reign, according to Byzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogenitos'De Administrando Imperio, written around 950, Tomislav could raise a vast military force composed out of 100,000infantrymen and 60,000horsemen and a sizable fleet of 80 large ships and 100 smaller vessels. According to thepalaeographic analysis of the original manuscript ofDe Administrando Imperio, the estimation of the number of inhabitants in medieval Croatia between 440 and 880 thousand people, and military numbers of Franks and Byzantines - the Croatian military force was most probably composed of 20,000-100,000 infantrymen, and 3,000-24,000 horsemen organized in 60allagions.[1][2] but these numbers are generally taken as a considerable exaggeration.[3]
KingDmitar Zvonimir of Croatia took the hard line against theByzantine Empire and joined theNormans in wars against Byzantium. WhenRobert Guiscard,Duke of Apulia, invaded the western Balkan provinces of the empire in 1084, Zvonimir sent troops to his aid.
KingPetar Snačić's troops maintained resistance against repelling Hungarian assaults at Mount Gvozd in the war for the succession of the Croatian throne. At the end, the last native Croatian king was defeated and killed by KingColoman of Hungary in theBattle of Gvozd Mountain (1097).
Notable wars and battles that included Croatian army:
Croatian medieval military organization was based on Hungarianbanderial system. This kind of organization was mentioned for the first time in 1260.[4] In the aftermath of1491 Peace of Pressburg, Croatian feudal magnates such asFrankopans, orCounts of Krbava were permitted by the king to hold 400 strong banderium (with previous figure being 500 men), consisting out of 200heavy cavalry and 200light cavalry. In case of necessity, rest of the nobility had to equip and mobilize one soldier for each 20serfs they owned, while ten members of lower nobility had to mobilize one horseman and place them under the banderium of their localcounty (županija).[5]Ban of Croatia was obliged to have 1000 strong banderium.[4]
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The supreme commander of Croatian Army wasban of Croatia. If necessary (due to his other duties), he had the option of appointing "Supreme captain of the Kingdom".[7]
Croatian Sabor assembling inKriževci in 1538, drafted a law regarding military service of the peasantry. The law required for every feudal landlord in the Kingdom to provide one horseman from 36 serf houses on his estate.[7] This horseman had to be equipped withhelmet,spear andshield and provided with salary throughout entire year.[7] These horsemen made part of theFrontier army. Sabor also had the option of hiringmercenaries.[7] In case of Ottoman raid on Croatian territory, alarm had to be raised by firing cannons or ignitingbonfire.[7]
In wake ofHasan Pasha's Great Offensive on Croatia in 1592, Croatian sabor drafted a law onGeneral Insurrection. The law required for all nobles, landlords and magnates to respond tomobilization personally. Each feudal landlord had to provide one well armed horseman from 10 houses on his estate and two riflemen. Lower nobility had to go to arms personally. Women were required to stay home nad pray. Each monastery had to provide at least 4 horsemen.Royal free cities had to mobilize all citizens, except for barbers (medics). The supreme commander of insurrection army was Supreme captain of the Kingdom. All commoners caught selling weapons to Turks were to be summarily executed, while nobility members caught selling weapons to Turks were to be trialed against and all their weapons would be confiscated.[8]
Croatian historianTadija Smičiklas refers toKonstantin Mihailović, a 14th century Serb soldier turnedJanissary in claiming that in the mid 15th century, both Croatians and many European armies lagged behind Ottomans in the art of warfare, until in the mid 16th century Croats adopted Ottoman style of warfare.[9] Both authors emphasized advantages of Ottoman light cavalry in comparison with European heavy knights due to their superior mobility and visibility. Contrary to European knights, Ottomans preferred killing enemy's horse in order to immobilize the knight.[9] Croatians eventually also moved on from heavy medieval chivalry and accepted mobile Ottoman style of warfare which laid the foundation forCroatian light cavalry. Croatians also adopted raids into enemy territory as common element of warfare and started launching raids of their own against the Ottomans.[10]
At the beginning of the 19th century, many Croatian troops (as a part of theAustrian imperial army) fought in theNapoleonic Wars against the FrenchGrande Armée. Later, a significant Croatian force (four regiments) fought on the French side duringNapoleon's invasion of Russia.[11] According to French generalAuguste Marmont, during withdrawal from Russia, Napoleon told him that: "he never had more courageous and better soldiers in every sense".[12]
At the end of the first half of the 19th century, following in the wake of the French revolution, Croatianromantic nationalism emerged to counteract the non-violent but apparentGermanization andMagyarization. By the 1840s, and during therevolutions of 1848, the movement had moved from cultural goals to resisting Hungarian political demands which grew even bigger during theHungarian Revolution of 1848. CroatianBanJosip Jelačić cooperated with the Austrians in quenching theHungarian Revolution of 1848 by leading a military campaign into Hungary.
Battles of theHungarian Revolution involving Croats:
Croatian troops also contributed in other conflicts which involved theAustrian Empire. According to the sources, out of 7,871 sailors on Austrian ships around 5,000 wereCroats.[13] Many Croatian sailors fought on the Austrian side in 1866 duringThird Italian War of Independence in theBattle of Vis.
The territory ofMilitary Frontier - a buffer zone along Habsburg-Ottoman border taken from Croatia back in the 16th century due to theCroatian-Ottoman Wars was demilitarized and in July 1873 and united with civil Croatia in 1881.[14]
After reaching theCroatian-Hungarian Settlement of 1868, theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia gained limited autonomy in relation to theKingdom of Hungary.[16] The settlement was a legal basis for creation ofRoyal Croatian Home Guard, a special detachment of Hungarian Honved where Croatian symbols, Croatian oath of allegiance and Croatian command language were in use.[17] After restructuring of 1889-1899 Croatian Home Guard became part of the country's regular standing army.[17]
The standard weapon of 16th Croatian-Hungarian Infantry Regiment fromVaraždin was an 8mmMannlicher M1895 bolt action rifle withbayonet.[18] Soldiers had both parade uniforms and campaign uniforms. The latter ones consisted of grayish trousers, blouse, cap andgreatcoats for cold weather.[18]
When it comes to Hussar Home Guard Regiments, in 1914, they were armed withMannlicher cavalry carbine and 87 cm longsabre.[18] Cavalrymen also wore a distinctive hat (chako) withLands of the Crown of Saint Stephen coat of arms, which includes Croatian, Dalmatian and Slavonian coats of arms and inscription written in Croatian: "for king and homeland" (Za kralja i domovinu).[18]
Croatian troops, including Home Guard units under command of baronJosip Filipović[20] took part inAustro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1878.[16] In preparation for the Bosnia and Herzegovina campaign troops of 36th Division were additionally reinforced. 18th Split Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant field marshalStjepan Jovanović participated in Austro Hungarian southern thrust into Herzegovina in August 1878.[21] The 18th made two pronged thrust into Bosnia and Herzegovina nearVrgorac andImotski and pushed towardsLjubuški, with their ultimate objective beingMostar.[21] The 18th reached Mostar by 5 August and next day Jovanović established control over the city.[22] Croatian troops also took part in battles in Bosanska Krajina, during efforts to take Bihać.[23]
DuringWorld war I, Croat soldiers served inRoyal Croatian Home Guard and other units. Some of notable Croatian commanders of that time were Field MarshalSvetozar Boroević, GeneralStjepan Sarkotić and AdmiralMaximilian Njegovan.
Unlike the other fronts, Croats participating in World War I, were most motivated to fight on theItalian front, asTreaty of London (which brought Italy into World War I), promised large chunks of Croatian littoral to Italy.[24] Secondly, unlike the other fronts, on Italian front Croats did not have to fight their "slavic brothers".[24]
Notable battles of World War I that included Croatian troops:
![Svetozar Boroević - Croatian field marshal, credited for repelling twelve Italian offensives[25] on Italian front, thus earning nickname a "Lion of Isonzo".[25][26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSvetozar_Boro%25C3%25ABvi%25C4%2587_von_Bojna_1914.jpg)
The end of World War I was followed by the dissolution of theAustro-Hungarian monarchy and the formation of new national states. TheState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was formed from the southernmost parts of theAustria-Hungary but it lasted for only a month.
After it was clear thatAustria-Hungary had lost World War I, the Austrian government decided to give much of theAustro-Hungarian Navy fleet, to the newly formedState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This move would have avoided handing the fleet to the Allies, since the new state had declared neutrality.Soon, the Fleet was attacked and dismembered by the ItalianRegia Marina and the flagshipSMS Viribus Unitis was sunk along with his captain and commander of Navy of the newly formed state, admiralJanko Vuković.
Throughout the interwar period, theRoyal Yugoslav Army was mostly Serb dominated institution, which discouraged Croatians from joining it. Major issue was Serbian tradition ofcorporal punishment, which was unknown in former Austro-Hungarian lands and which caused much resistance when introduced.[27] Former Austro-Hungarian officers were ofter regarded as second-class officers, and often found themselves subordinated to much younger Serbs officers who were completely uneducated.[27] Croatian officers often felt offended for being attacked on national basis.[27] In certain cases, officers were put to jail for not knowing how to write inSerbian Cyrillic script.[27] This ethnic inequality in armed forces caused frequent desertions and occasional rebellions among Croatians in the army.[27] Prior to World War II out of 165 generals only two were Croats, two were Slovenes, the rest were Serbs.[28]
As Axis forces overran Kingdom of Yugoslavia inApril War of 1941, Croatian fascistsUstaše under German-Italian sponsorship arrived toZagreb and proclaimedIndependent State of Croatia (NDH).[29] Almost immediately, Ustaše started a campaign ofmass terror (and genocide) against large Serb population in NDH, as well asJews,Romani and anti-fascist Croats.[30] However, whenHitler started hisOperation Barbarossa in June 1941, Croatian communists responded bylauncing an uprising, thus giving Serbs of NDH a chance to escape the Ustaše persecution by joining their ranks. To great annoyance of Germans, Ustaše continued their persecution which made the uprising grow ever bigger,[31] forcing Germans to commit ever more tropps to quell it. While Serbs were forced to join communistPeople's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOVJ) in order to save their lives,[32] Croatians as a nation were divided between those supporting Axis in order to preserve what they perceived as their new state and those opposing Ustaše. Yugoslav communists who opposed pre-war Serb domination, also offered a federalized state to the Croats, thus creating a platform acceptable to both Serbs and Croats.[33] However, when Ustaše gave away much of Dalmatia to Italian irredentists by agreeing toTreaties of Rome, their support among Croatians sank even lower, especially inDalmatia which was given to Italy.[34] As Croatian historianDušan Bilandžić points out; throughoutWorld War II, Croats as a nation were engaged in several wars at once.[35] Firstly, they were engaged in a war against axis occupation.[35] Secondly, they were engaged in a civil war between those Croats who are anti-fascist and those who are pro-axis.[35] And thirdly, they were engaged in an inter-ethnic war between Croats and Serbs.[35]
In general, NDH units can be divided into two categories: firstly there were theHomeguards (Domobrani), which was a regular army of NDH consisting out of conscripted men with a low desire to fight. Besides them, there were alsoUstaše militia (Ustaška vojnica) - an official paramilitary arm of Ustaša movement, virtually independent of regular army and mostly consisting of volunteers.[36] In 1942, Ustaše government sent a detachment of its units to fight along Axis forces inBattle of Stalingrad.[37]
Communist partisans continued to wage a guerilla war against Axis forces in the country. A major breakthrough happened in September 1943, when fascist Italy capitulated which was a major impetus for Dalmatian Croats to join communist partisans as well as partisans who acquired large quantities of Italian weapon stocks.[38][39] That same year, partisan uprising spread among Croats inIstria, however Germans consideredIstrian peninsula too important in case of spaculated Allied landing on Eastern Adriatic, soErwin Rommel was sent toIstria and his forces quashed the uprising by brute force.[40]
Except for NOVJ and NDH loyal units, Greater SerbianChetnik Royalist detachments also operated in the countrycommitting massacres against non-Serb population.
As Allied forces prevailed over Axis, NOVJ became recognised as part of an Allied Coalition inTeheran conference of 1943. As ever more people joined their ranks, NOVJ guerilla warfare evolved into a full-fledged army –Jugoslavenska Armija (JA) by 1945. On the other hand, by 1944, NDH authorities were forced to merge their Ustaše militia with their regular Homeguard units intoCroatian Armed Forces (HOS).[41] As war came to its end in Spring 1945, remnants of HOS units with Ustaša government pulled out towards the Austrian border to surrender to the Allies, however British who awaited them there insisted for HOS to surrender to JNA. After the surrender, the HOS members along with many civilians who accompanied them were massacred inBleiburg rapatriations.[39]
Battles ofWorld War II:
In 1991, as Croatia proclaimed its independence, tensions between the new Croatian government and Croatian Serb militia backed by Yugoslav Federal Army (JNA) escalated into theCroatian War of Independence. WithCroatian Territorial Defense (TO) weapons kept by theFederal Army, Croatia saw urgent need to form its own armed forces.[43] They expanding their police force and formed theCroatian National Guard (ZNG) subordinated to the newly formedMinistry of Defense.[44][45] In September 1991, Croatian National Guard and Police blocked Yugoslav Federal Army's barracks throughout Croatia and in theBattle of Barracks forced JNA to withdraw from most of Croatia. Croatians managed to get their hands on heavy weapons and most of the TO arsenal, a lot of it stored in the Varaždin barracks.[46] In September 1991, Croatia also formed its general staff.[47] Despite being well motivated at the time, Croatian troops were just a "loosely organized and hastily trained" light infantry force supported with a limited number of tanks and artillery.[47] On 3 November 1991 ZNG was formally renamed toCroatian Army (HV)[48]
After 1991, Croatia created their own doctrine, military culture and professional troops with the main aim of retaking self proclaimedRepublic of Serbian Krajina, a separatist proto-state.[49] In 1992, HV established an officer school for platoon and company commanders, as well as a command school for staff officers and senior field commanders. This was all later unified as the Petar Zrinski HV University.[49] In 1994, Croatian Army also establishedNCO school in Zadar for its all-professional Guards brigades,[49] whose main purpose was conducting offensive operations.[50] These brigades were as follows:
In terms of equipment, the HV also acquired more heavy weapons such as:Argentinian CITER 155 mm field guns,Romanian APR-40 rocket launchers, 21MiG 21 fighter jets and 8Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunships.[51] Croatians also domestically produced their own UAVs (such as: MAH-1, MAH-2 and BL M-99 "Bojnik"), used for scouting enemy positions and guiding artillery fire.[52][53][54] These systems were put to use in military operations in late stages of the war.[53] According to the assessment of theCIA, based on HV performance in the late stages of Croatian War of Independence as well as Bosnian War - by the late 1995 - Croatian Army became "a premier military organization in the Balkans"; with "excellent staff planning andcombined arms capabilities".[55]
Some of the battles of from Croatian War of Independence include:
![The unmanned flying vehicle M-99 "Bojnik", the kind of which Croatian Army used in late stages of Croatian War of Independence.[53]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMini_besposadna_letjelica_M99_Bojnik_(2).jpg)
In terms of Croatian involvement in Bosnian War, CIA claims that in 1992 Croatian strategy and policy towardsBosnia and Herzegovina was shaped by presidentTuđman and so-called Herzegovina lobby's vision, who considered that Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be preserved as a unified state.[56] Tuđman apparently consideredBanovina Hrvatska as legitimate and desirable model of territorial defining of Croatia.[57]
As the war in Croatia entered a ceasefire phase in 1992, while the Bosnian War was only beginning,Zagreb sent shipments of weapons to Bosnian Croats and allowed Bosnian Croats serving in HV to bring their weapons home, where they helped forming the Bosnian Croat armyCroatian Defense Council (HVO). In certain cases still nascent HVO forces were commanded and organized by HV officers for which CIA refers to them as HV/HVO.[56] Foreign Arabicmujahideen fighters (formerly participating inconflicts in Afghanistan andPakistan) arrived to Bosnia and Herzegovina across Croatia in two waves.[58] The first wave of mujahedeens arrived throughout 1992. The second wave of mujahedeeds arrived in spring 1994 after cessation of hostilities inCroat-Bosniak War.[58]
During the 1994 and 1995 Croatia suppliedBosnian 5th Corps defending Bihać with ammunition and medical supplies by anairbridge across Serb held territory.[59][60] Altogether 101 helicopter flights were organised; out of which 91 ended successfully while 10 failed.[61] AsSerb forces tightened their grip on Bihać, by the late 1994, Croatians assessed potential fall of enclave as a threat to its own strategic position and threatened to intervene in the matter.[62] Croatians feared that if Bihać falls the Serb forces engaged in the siege would be able to redeploy to wider Karlovac area, where territory of Croatia was only ten kilometers deep before Slovenian border.[63] In order to deter Serbs from further attacking Bihać, as well as to improve its own positions arountKnin, Croatians launchedOperation Winter '94 in late 1994.[62] As situation for Bosniak Army deteriorated in relation to Bosnian Serbs, Bosniaks asked Croatia for urgent help in July 1995, which resulted in signing ofSplit Agreement between Croatian and Bosnian government and established alliance between Croats and Bosniaks in the Bosnian War.[60] CIA also assessed thatOperation Storm as well as joint Croat/Bosniak offensives in autumn 1995, had greater influence thanNATO's air campaign in bringing Bosnian Serbs to negotiating table which ended the Bosnian War.[64]
Croatia sent its troops to Afghanistan for the first time in 2003. This initial Croatian contingent consisted of 50 personnel, most of whom then were military policemen. As the time passed the number of Croatian troops in Afghanistan increased, along with complicity of the tasks assigned to them. Croatian troops took over tasks of mentoringAfghan National Army members, mentoring of Afghan pilots and air force technicians as well as providing security for various people and objects.[65] In 2006, Croatian soldier Goran Špehar was wounded nearKandahar by an RPG round explosion.[66] Another Croatian soldier was wounded in 2009 during training activities.[66] On 24 July 2019, corporal Josip Briški of CroatianSpecial Forces Command was killed in aTaliban suicide attack. He was the only Croatian soldier killed in action during Croatian deployment in Afghanistan.[67] In 2020 presidentZoran Milanović announced complete withdrawal from Afghanistan after initial Croatian deployment.[68] Last Croatian soldiers pulled out in September same year.[69]
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Godine 1529. sudjelovao je u obrani Beča,
Istom oko 2 sata popodne pogje za rukom pukovniku Hostineku, zapovjedniku 53. pjesac pukov te opkoli desno krilo ustaško i jurišem prisili na uzmicanje. Tom zgodom se odlikovaše Hrvati Leopoldovci.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Nasuprot raspravi o naravi Bitke na Sutjesci, povjesničari su suglasni da je to po nacionalnom i teritorijalnom sastavu partizanskih jedinica bila "hrvatska bitka", a Dalmatince je u partizane, kažu, otjerao teror talijanskih fašista.
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