Siege of Slunj | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Croatian War of Independence | |||||||
Fall of Slunj under JNA | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
SAO Krajina Support by: Yugoslavia | Croatia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Željko Ražnatović | Anton Tus | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Serb Volunteer Guard | Croatian Defence Forces | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
4,000 | 2,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
50 killed | 250 killed |
The siege of Slunj was an armed conflict in the territory of the municipality of Slunj in 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. [1] It was fought between the Croatian Army (HV) on one side, and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on the other. It was the largest Croatian enclave that was separated from the rest of Croatia during the conflict. After the JNA took over Slunj, over 16,000 Croats were expelled from the enclave and hundreds were murdered in war crimes during the occupation until the end of the war.[ citation needed ]
The battle for Slunj in 1991 was part of a wider conflict during the war in Croatia, specifically within the operations conducted by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) against the Croatian Army (HV). At the beginning of October 1991, the tactical group of the JNA launched an attack from the area of Ličko Petrovo Selo towards Slunj. [2] From 9-10 October, the JNA made an initial breakthrough. During late October and early November, JNA units continued to advance towards Slunj, putting pressure on the HV. Shots were fired in the city, the HV fought to hold Slunj, but they did not succeed, and the JNA entered deeper into the city, resulting in a panic in which over 16,000 Croats fled from the enclave to Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 16 November, Slunj fell. Between 16-18 November, JNA forces continued their advance, capturing additional territories and enclosing a Croatian pocket area. By 27 November JNA forces managed to completely capture the Slunj enclave, leading to its fall. [3]
The fall of Slunj represented a significant loss for the HV because this created a link between what was to be the northern half of the RSK centered around Petrinja-Karlovac and the southern portion near Knin. [4] This was a strategic success that enabled further operations in the region. [5]
During the Serb occupation of Slunj and surrounding areas until 1995, 297 Croat civilians were killed in several war crimes, most victims were the elderly, women and children. [6]
The Croatian National Guard was an armed force established by Croatia in April and May 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although it was established within the framework of the Ministry of the Interior for legal reasons, the ZNG was under the direct command of the Ministry of Defence. It was tasked with the protection of Croatia's borders and territory, and with tasks normally associated with police forces. The ZNG was formed with the transfer of special police units to the ZNG, establishing four all-professional brigades in May 1991, and was presented to the public in a military parade in Zagreb on 28 May. It was commanded by Defence Minister General Martin Špegelj before his resignation in early August. Špegelj was replaced by General Anton Tus, who became the first head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.
Operation Neretva '93 was an Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) operation against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in September 1993 on a 200 km long front from Gornji Vakuf to south of Mostar, one of its largest of the year, during the Croat–Bosniak War. The ARBiH made limited gains in the area of northern Herzegovina and around Mostar, but did not achieve a breakthrough to the southern Neretva, where the HVO retained control. The operation was halted in October. During the operation, dozens of Croat civilians were killed in the Grabovica and Uzdol massacres.
Operation Jackal (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Čagalj, also known as Operation June Dawns, was an offensive of the Bosnian War fought between a combined Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council army against the Army of Republika Srpska from 7–26 June 1992. The offensive was a Croatian pre-emptive strike against the VRS, a Bosnian Serb military formed in May 1992 from Yugoslav People's Army units that were stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The HV concluded that the JNA offensive operations of April and May 1992, resulting in the capture of Kupres and much of the Neretva River valley south of Mostar, were aimed at capturing or threatening the Croatian Port of Ploče and possibly Split. To counter this threat, the Croatian leadership deployed the HV, under the command of General Janko Bobetko, to the "Southern Front" including the area in which Operation Jackal was to be conducted.
The Zrinski Battalion was a special forces unit of the Croatian National Guard and later of the Croatian Army established in Kumrovec on 18 May 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The unit drew personnel from the special police forces and a former French Foreign Legion troops serving as its core. The battalion was set up and initially commanded by Ante Roso, while Major Miljenko Filipović took over as the commanding officer in August.
Operation Baranja was an aborted offensive of the Croatian Army north of the towns of Belišće and Valpovo, Croatia on 3 April 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence. The offensive quickly gained ground after the HV advanced north of the Drava River into Baranja. The defending force of the Croatian Serb Territorial Defence Force supported by the Yugoslav People's Army artillery were caught unprepared and offered light resistance.
The Bosnian offensive on Sarajevo in 1995 was a military offensive executed by Bosnian Muslim forces (ARBiH) against Serb forces (VRS) in an attempt to break the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. The Bosnian Muslim forces were superior in manpower, but not in heavy weapons, key items for Trench Warfare. This lack of weapons eventually led to commander Rasim Delić to stop the offensive due to heavy losses.
Operation Shield 94 refers to the offensive in Western Bosnia from the 4 November to 20 November 1994, the key goal was to fully destroy the 5th Corps, and to recapture lands lost during Operation Grmeć 94. It resulted in a decisive Serbian victory.
The Attack on Teslić was an attempt by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) to take Teslić and the surrounding settlements from the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in October 1994 during the Bosnian War. All attacks on the city were successfully defended by the VRS. After the signing of the Washington Agreement in late march 1994, which ended the Croat-Bosniak War in the Tešanj-Maglaj enclave, the ARBiH saved significant forces that were on the front lines against the 111th Croatian Defence Council (HVO) brigade from Žepče and transferred them to the Serb front line towards Teslić.
Operation Star 94 is the code name for the operation of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in the spring of 1994, in Gornje Podrinje. The goal of the operation was to force the political leadership of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to negotiate the signing of an armistice by capturing Goražde.
The Kalesija and Kamenica offensive was an offensive during the Bosnian war from 30th July – 30th October 1992. The offensive was launched by the ARBiH to connect Kamenica enclave with Bosnian government territory, and was also ARBiH from Kamenica attack to split the road from Zvornik to Šekovići. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina would fail to achieve this goal.
The Offensive on Teslić (1994) was the initial assault by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) on the town of Teslić during the Bosnian War.
The Treskavica Front was a crucial zone for the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. In mid-July 1995, the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) started a series of offensives on the Treskavica mountain range, causing heavy fighting. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) initially had success in pushing back Bosnian Serb troops at various times, but it always resulted in counter-offensives by the Army of Republika Srpska.
The attack on Stolice was an attempt by the ARBiH to control the positions of the VRS on Mountain Majevica. At first, the ARBiH suppressed the VRS, and a week later, the ARBiH attacked the VRS positions again, with which the VRS retaliated with a counterattack up to the top of Velika Jelica and returned part of the southern territory. The defense of Stolica and Banj brdo was carried out by the East Bosnian Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska.
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The Operation Sword 1 was first phase of a bigger operation called "Sword 95" during the 1995 Bosnian War and Inter-Bosnian Muslim War. The goal of Sword 1 was to make APZB double in size and to return its largest village Šturlić. And after that to be declared a republic. The goal of Sword 2 was to occupy Cazin because it was in the middle of the Bihać enclave, and that would put a lot of pressure on 5th Corps. But due to operation Storm, this phase did not start.
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Capture of Cerić was a battle during the Croatian War of Independence that was fought from 1 to 2 October 1991. It was fought between Croatia army and SAO Eastern Slavonia which was supported by the Yugoslav People's Army. The battle ended with a Serbian victory and the taking over of Cerić.
The Operation Čapljina also known as Evacuation from Čapljina was a military operation in the Bosnian war by the JNA against Croat-Bosniak forces. The goal of this operation was the evacuation of 170 civilians and soldiers from the barracks near Čapljina, which had been under siege for 2 weeks. On April 23, the JNA evacuated the soldiers and civilians without any casualties.