It was the second of the Yugoslav Wars to start in 1991, following the Croatian War of Independence, and by far the shortest of the conflicts with fewest overall casualties. The war was brief because the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA, dominated by Serbo-Montenegrins, although still made up of all the nationalities of Yugoslavia) did not want to waste resources on this campaign. Slovenia was considered "ethnically homogeneous" and therefore of no interest to the Yugoslav government. The military was preoccupied with the fighting in Croatia, where the Serbo-Montenegrin majority in Yugoslavia had greater territorial interests. In the BBC documentary The Death of Yugoslavia, which used archival footage, Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia, is recorded stating that "I was against using the Yugoslav Army in Slovenia." while Borisav Jović, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia, stated that: "With Slovenia out of the way, we could dictate the terms to the Croats."
Following the death of Yugoslav presidentJosip Broz Tito in 1980, underlying political, ethnic, religious, and economic tensions within Yugoslavia surfaced. In 1989 Slobodan Milošević, Chairman of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia since 1986, became President of Serbia, the largest and most populous of the six Yugoslav republics. As Milošević moved to consolidate power by centralizing the state, the governments of the other republics sought to loosen the central grip on power by devolving as much constitutional power as possible to each of the republics and autonomous provinces. A series of disagreements among delegates persisted until four of the six republics each made the decision to gain independence from Yugoslavia. Supported by Germany and the Vatican,[9] Slovenia was among those republics aiming for independence.
The first action in defence of Slovenian independence was when Slovene police forces prevented pro-Milošević protesters from reaching Ljubljana in December 1989 (known as Action North). This united the opposition and democratized the communist establishment in Slovenia. In April 1990, Slovenia held its first democratic multi-party elections, won by the DEMOS coalition.
Preparations for war
On 23 December 1990, Slovenia held a referendum, which passed with 88.5% of overall electorate supporting independence (94.8% of votes cast), with a turnout of 93.3%.[10][11] The Slovenian government was well aware that the federal government in Belgrade might seek to use military force to quash Slovenia's move towards independence. Immediately after the Slovenian elections, the Yugoslav People's Army announced a new defence doctrine that would apply across the country. The Tito-era doctrine of "General People's Defence", in which each republic maintained a territorial defence (TO), was to be replaced by a centrally directed system of defence. The republics would lose their role in defence matters, and their TOs would be disarmed and subordinated to the JNA's headquarters in Belgrade.
Slovenian Territorial Defence military drills held in March 1991
The Slovenian government resisted these moves and successfully ensured that the majority of Slovenian Territorial Defence equipment was kept out of the hands of the JNA. It also declared in a constitutional amendment passed on 28 September 1990 that its TO would be under the sole command of the Slovenian government. At the same time, the Slovenian government set up a secret alternative command structure, known as the Manoeuvre Structures of National Protection (Manevrska struktura narodne zaščite, or MSNZ). This was an existing but antiquated institution, unique to Slovenia, which was intended to enable the republic to form an ad hoc defence structure, akin to a home guard. It was of negligible importance prior to 1990, with antiquated weapons and few members. However, the DEMOS-led government realised that the MSNZ could be adapted to provide a parallel organisation to the TO that would be entirely in the hands of the Slovenian government.
When the JNA tried to take control of the Slovenian Territorial Defence, the TO's command structure was simply replaced by that of the parallel MSNZ. Between May and October 1990, some 21,000 Slovenian Territorial Defence and police personnel were secretly mobilised into the MSNZ command structure, of which the federal government was wholly unaware.[citation needed] The Slovenian government also undertook detailed planning of a military campaign against the JNA, which resulted in the production of an operational and tactical plan by November 1990 – over seven months before the conflict actually began.[12]
The Slovenes were aware that they would not be able to deter the JNA's forces for an extended period of time. Under Defence Minister Janez Janša, they adopted a strategy based on an asymmetric warfare approach. TO units would carry out a guerrilla campaign, using anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft missiles to ambush the JNA's units. Tank columns could be trapped by destroying the lead and rear vehicles in favourable terrain – for instance, on a narrow mountain road where room for manoeuvre was limited – enabling the rest to be dealt with more easily. In preparation for this, the Slovenian government covertly bought lightweight missile systems from foreign suppliers, notably the SA-7 Grail (Strela) anti-aircraft missile and the German-designed Armbrust anti-tank system.[citation needed] Hit-and-run and delaying tactics were to be preferred and frontal clashes were to be avoided since in such situations the JNA's superior firepower would have been very difficult to overcome.
Conflict
Slovenia and Croatia passed their acts of independence on 25 June 1991. This "advance" on the date of independence was a critical element of the Slovenian plan to gain an early advantage in the expected conflict. The Slovenian government fully expected the Yugoslav military to respond with force on the day of the declaration of independence or shortly afterwards. By secretly advancing the date by 24 hours, the Slovenians caught the Yugoslav government off guard, which had set 26 June as the date for its move.[13]
Although the Yugoslav army was adamantly opposed to Slovenian independence, it was divided about what to do. The JNA Chief of Staff, Colonel-General Blagoje Adžić, advocated a large-scale military operation to remove the Slovenian government and bring "healthy forces" to power in the republic. His political superior, the Yugoslav defence minister, General of the Army Veljko Kadijević, insisted on a more cautious approach – essentially a show of force that would convince the Slovenian government to back down on its declaration of independence. After some debate, Kadijević got his way.[14]
It is unclear how much the civilian members of the Yugoslav government were involved in the decision to resort to force in Slovenia. Ante Marković, the president of the Federal Executive Council (equivalent to prime minister) is reported to have said that the federal government had not been informed of the Army's actions.[15]
26 June 1991
On the morning of 26 June, units of the Yugoslav People's Army's 13th Corps left their barracks in Rijeka, Croatia, to move towards Slovenia's borders with Italy. The move immediately led to a strong reaction from local Slovenians, who organized spontaneous barricades and demonstrations against the JNA's actions. There had been no fighting yet, and both sides appeared to have an unofficial policy of not being the first to open fire.
By this time, the Slovenian government had already put into action its plan to seize control of the republic's border posts and the international airport at Brnik. The personnel manning the border posts were, in most cases, already Slovenians, so the Slovenian take-over mostly simply amounted to changing of uniforms and insignia, without any fighting. This was undertaken, in the words of Janez Janša, to "establish our sovereignty in the key triangle, border-customs-air control".[16] It also had important practical effects. The border crossings were a major source of revenue. In addition, by taking control of the borders, the Slovenians were able to establish defensive positions against an expected JNA attack. This meant that the JNA would have to fire the first shot. It was fired on 27 June at 14:30 in Divača by an officer of the JNA.[17]
27 June 1991
26 June; arrival of the JNA tank column at Vrtojba border crossing
Further JNA troop movements took place in the early hours of 27 June. A unit of the JNA's 306th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, based in Karlovac, Croatia, crossed the Slovenian border at Metlika. A few hours later, a column of tanks and armoured personnel carriers of the JNA 1st Armoured Brigade left their barracks at Vrhnika near the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, heading for the airport at Brnik. They arrived a few hours later and took control of the facilities. As the JNA was the federal army, its forces were customarily deployed in various places within the federal republics including Slovenia. To the east, JNA units left Maribor heading for the nearby border crossing at Šentilj and the border town of Dravograd further west. The Yugoslav Air Force aircraft dropped leaflets over various parts of Slovenia bearing the messages "We invite you to peace and cooperation!" and "All resistance will be crushed."[18]
In the early hours of 27 June the Slovenian leadership was told of the movements of the JNA. The military leadership of the Fifth Military District, which included Slovenia, was in telephone contact with Slovenian president Milan Kučan, telling him that the troops' mission was limited to taking over the border crossings and airport. A meeting of the Slovene presidency was hastily convened at which Kučan and the rest of the members decided on armed resistance.[19]
A memorial to Slovenian helicopter pilot Toni Mrlak in Ljubljana
The Slovenian government had received warnings that the JNA would use helicopters to ferry special forces troops to strategic locations. It issued a warning to the JNA's 5th Military Command District in Zagreb that if helicopters continued to be used they would be shot down. The warning was disregarded by the JNA leadership, which still believed that the Slovenians would back down rather than fight. This was, however, a disastrous miscalculation. In the afternoon of 27 June, the Slovenian TO (Slovenian Territorial Defence) shot down two JNA helicopters[20] with SA-7 missiles, one of them a Gazelle over Rožna Dolina, Ljubljana,[21] killing the occupants, one of whom, Toni Mrlak, was a Slovenian pilot, as the JNA's forces consisted of nationals from all the republics.[22] It was later discovered that the Gazelle which Mrlak had been flying was unarmed, and was carrying only bread for the Yugoslav soldiers.[23]
The Slovenian Territorial Defence also took up positions around JNA barracks in various locations, effectively besieging them, and launched a series of attacks on JNA forces across Slovenia. At Brnik, a Slovenian TO unit attacked the JNA troops holding the airport, and at Trzin a firefight developed in which four JNA soldiers and one Slovenian TO soldier (Edvard Peperko) were killed and the remainder of the JNA unit was forced to surrender. Attacks were also launched by Slovenian TO units on JNA tank columns at Pesnica, Ormož and Koseze near Ilirska Bistrica. A tank column from the JNA's 32nd Mechanised Brigade, advancing from Varaždin in Croatia, was blocked at Ormož near the Slovenian border and found itself unable to break through a Slovenian barricade.
Despite the confusion and fighting, the JNA nonetheless successfully accomplished much of its military mission. By midnight on 27 June it had captured all of the crossings along the Italian border, all but three crossings on the Austrian border and several of the new crossing points established along Slovenia's border with Croatia. However, many of its units were still stuck in vulnerable positions across Slovenia.
28 June 1991
Yugoslav movements in Slovenia during the Ten-Day War
During the night of 27–28 June, Slovenian TO units were ordered to undertake a general offensive against the JNA. The Slovenian defence ministry ordered:
At all locations where RS (Republic of Slovenia) armed forces (Slovenian Territorial Defence) have the tactical advantage, offensive actions against enemy units and facilities will be carried out. The enemy will be summoned to surrender, the shortest deadline possible for surrender given and action taken using all available weapons. While in action, any necessary arrangements will be made to evacuate and protect the civilians.
Additional fighting took place throughout the day. The JNA tank column that had been attacked at Pesnica the previous day was blocked by impromptu barricades of Slovenian trucks at Štrihovec, a few kilometres short of the border with Austria, where it again came under attack by Slovenian TO personnel and Slovenian police. The SFR Yugoslav Air Force mounted two airstrikes in support of the JNA forces at Strihovec, killing four truck drivers. At Medvedjek in central Slovenia, another JNA tank column came under attack at a truck barricade, where air raids killed six truck drivers.[24]
Heavy fighting broke out at Nova Gorica on the border with Italy, where the Slovenian special forces fired two Armbrust antitank rockets and fired 700 rounds from infantry weapons. Slovene troops destroyed two JNA T-55 tanks and captured an additional three, plus a BTS-1 military engineering vehicle. Three JNA soldiers were killed and 16 wounded, among them the commander of the armoured column, and 98 surrendered.[24] A number of wounded were admitted to Gorizia's hospital after crossing the Italian border.[25] Some sources claim that this was the decisive battle of the war.
The border crossing at Holmecwas captured by Slovenian TO forces. Two Slovenian and three JNA soldiers were killed, and 45 JNA soldiers captured.[17] The JNA barracks at Bukovje Mansion in Bukovje near Dravograd were attacked by Slovenian TO units and a JNA weapons depot at Borovnica fell to the Slovenian TO, significantly improving the Slovenians' supply of weapons. The Yugoslav Air Force carried out attacks at a number of locations across the country, most notably at Brnik Airport, where two journalists from Austria (Nikolas Vogel and Norbert Werner) were killed and four Adria Airways airliners were seriously damaged.[26][27] The Yugoslav Air Force also attacked the Slovenian TO military headquarters at Kočevska Reka and flew sorties against radio and television transmitters at Krim, Kum, Trdina Peak, and Nanos in an attempt to silence the Slovenian government broadcasts.
By the end of the day, the JNA still held many of its positions but was rapidly losing ground. JNA was beginning to experience problems with desertions – many Slovenian members of the JNA quit their units or simply changed sides - and both the troops on the ground and the leadership in Belgrade appeared to have little idea of what to do next.
29 June 1991
The outbreak of the war galvanised diplomatic efforts by the European Community to find an end to the crisis. Three EC foreign ministers met with Slovenian and Yugoslav government representatives in Zagreb during the night of 28–29 June and agreed on a ceasefire plan, but this was not put into practice. In the morning, the Slovenians achieved several significant military successes. The JNA troops at Ljubljana Airport near Brnik surrendered to Slovenian TO forces, who had surrounded the facility overnight.
In the north, several JNA tanks were captured near Strihovec and later reorganised into a TO tank company. JNA special forces attempted a maritime landing at Hrvatini but were ambushed and repulsed by the Slovenians, suffering two dead and three wounded. The JNA-held border crossings at Vrtojba and Šentilj also fell to the Slovenian TO, who seized the federal troops' weapons and tanks, providing a much-needed boost to their arsenal.[28]
The JNA issued an ultimatum to Slovenia, demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities by 09:00 on 30 June. In response, the Slovenian Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a peaceful solution to the crisis that did not jeopardise Slovenian independence, and rejected the JNA ultimatum.
30 June 1991
Skirmishing continued in several places during the day. Separatist forces seized the strategic Karawanks Tunnel under the Alps on the border with Austria and captured nine JNA tanks near Nova Gorica, on the border with Italy. The entire JNA garrison at Dravograd – 16 officers and 400 men, plus equipment – surrendered, and the garrisons at Tolmin and Bovec also fell to the Slovenians. The weapons captured from the garrisons were quickly re-issued to the Slovenian forces.
1 July 1991
A column of JNA BOV-3 armoured vehicles in the Krakovo Forest
More skirmishes took place, with Slovenian TO forces taking over a JNA facility at Nova Vas, south of Ljubljana. The JNA's ammunition dump at Črni Vrh caught fire and was destroyed in a massive explosion, damaging much of the town. However, the Slovenians successfully captured depots at Pečovnik, Bukovžlak, and Zaloška Gorica, taking possession of some 70 truckloads of ammunition and explosives.[29]
The JNA 306th Light Air Defence Artillery Regiment's column retreated from its exposed position at Medvedjek and headed into the Krakovo Forest (Krakovski gozd) near the Croatian border. It ran into a blockade near the town of Krško and was surrounded by Slovenian forces, but refused to surrender, probably hoping for help from a relief column.[29]
In the meantime, the JNA's leadership sought permission to change the tempo of its operations. Defence Minister Veljko Kadijević informed the Yugoslav cabinet that the JNA's first plan – a limited operation to secure Slovenia's border crossings – had failed, and that it was time to put into operation the backup plan of a full-scale invasion and imposition of military rule in Slovenia. However, the collective presidency – headed at the time by Serbia's Borisav Jović – refused to authorise such an operation. The JNA Chief of Staff, General Blagoje Adžić, was furious and publicly denounced "the federal organs [which] continually hampered us, demanding negotiations while they [the Slovenians] were attacking us with all means."[30]
2 July 1991
The heaviest fighting of the war to date took place during 2 July. The Domžale radio transmitter was attacked at 10:37 UTC (11:37 local time) and heavily damaged by two JNA MiG-21 planes. During the rest of the day there were a number of major set-backs for the JNA. The JNA convoy in the Krakovo Forest came under sustained attack from TO units, forcing it to surrender. Units from the JNA's Fourth Armoured Brigade attempted to move up from Jastrebarsko in Croatia but were beaten back near the border town of Bregana. The Slovenian TO mounted successful attacks on border crossings at Šentilj, Gornja Radgona, Fernetiči and Gorjansko, overrunning them and taking a number of JNA troops prisoner. A protracted engagement between JNA and Slovenian TO forces took place during the afternoon and evening at Dravograd, and a number of JNA facilities around the country fell to Slovenian forces.
At 21:00, the Slovenian presidency announced a unilateral ceasefire. However, this was rejected by the JNA leadership, which vowed to "take control" and crush Slovenian resistance.
3 July 1991
A large JNA armoured convoy set off from Belgrade on the morning of 3 July, ostensibly to go to Slovenia. It never arrived; according to the official account, this was due to mechanical breakdowns.
Fighting continued in Slovenia, with a JNA relief force heading for the Gornja Radgona border crossing being halted near Radenci. JNA forces at the Kog border crossing were also attacked by TO units. In the evening, the JNA agreed to a ceasefire and a withdrawal to barracks. In a separate incident not far from Radenci, in the village of Hrastje–Mota, a Yugoslav Mi-8 helicopter developed mechanical problems and was forced to land. The helicopter was seized by the Slovene military, but was deemed not suitable for the newly created air force and handed back to Belgrade on 13 August.[31]
4–6 July 1991
With a ceasefire now in force, the two sides disengaged. Slovenian forces took control of all of the country's border crossings, and JNA units were allowed to withdraw peacefully to barracks and to cross the border to Croatia.
7 July 1991 and afterwards
Slovene military member (front left) supervising JNA personnel before departure
The Ten-Day War was formally ended with the Brioni Accord, signed on the Croatian Brijuni Islands. Slovenian and Croatian independence were agreed to. The terms were distinctly favourable to Slovenia; it was agreed that Slovenia and Croatia would postpone their independence for three months—which in practical terms had little real impact—and the Slovenian police and armed forces (Slovenian Territorial Defence) were recognised as sovereign on their territory.
The last JNA troops leaving Slovenian soil by sea
It was agreed that all Yugoslav military units would leave Slovenia, with the Yugoslav government setting a deadline of the end of October to complete the process. The Slovenian government insisted that the withdrawal should proceed on its terms; the JNA was not allowed to take much of its heavy weaponry and equipment, which was later either deployed locally or sold to other Yugoslav republics. The withdrawal began about ten days later and was completed by 26 October.
Casualties
Due to the short duration and low intensity of the war, casualties were not high. According to Slovenian estimates, the JNA suffered 44 fatalities and 146 wounded, while the Slovenians had 19 killed and 182 wounded, 6 Slovenian civilians were killed.[32][6] Twelve foreign nationals were also killed in the conflict, principally journalists and Bulgarian truck drivers who had strayed into the line of fire. 4,692 JNA soldiers and 252 federal police officers were captured by the Slovenian side. According to post-war assessments made by the JNA, its material losses amounted to 31 tanks, 22 armoured personnel carriers, 6 helicopters, 6,787 infantry weapons, 87 artillery pieces and 124 air defence weapons damaged, destroyed or confiscated. Property damage was not heavy, due to the scattered and short-term nature of the fighting.[33]
The border station at Holmec was the location of an alleged war crime perpetrated by Slovenian TO forces on 28 June,[34] and filmed by the Austrian public broadcasting station ORF. Video footage shows a small group of JNA soldiers standing or walking slowly with raised hands, holding up a white sheet in an apparent attempt to surrender. Moments later, gunfire is heard and the soldiers fall or jump to the ground. Neither the origin of the gunfire nor its exact effect are clearly visible on the video segment. Slovene officials maintain that the JNA soldiers jumped for cover and were not hit, and that the matter was thoroughly investigated years ago. However, the incident sparked renewed public debate after the footage was shown on Serbian TV station B92 in 2006, with many claiming that the soldiers were shot and killed by Slovenian TO troops and that Slovenia is trying to cover up the affair.[35][36][37]
The fate of the JNA soldiers identified on the footage is disputed. One report claims that the soldiers are still alive, 15 years after the conflict.[38] Other reports identify three young soldiers as victims (Zoran Ješić, Goran Maletić and Antonio Šimunović) and claim that they were killed in the Holmec incident.[34]
Strategic aspects
The actions of Slovenia's forces were largely dictated by the military strategy devised some months before and were tightly integrated with an equally detailed media management plan. An international media centre was established prior to the outbreak of conflict with Jelko Kacin designated to act as information minister and Slovenia's public face to the world. The Slovenian government and media successfully presented the conflict to Western European audiences as a case of a "David versus Goliath" struggle between an emerging democracy and an authoritarian communist state, and the columns of Yugoslav tanks brought to mind the events of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 two years earlier. This won considerable international sympathy and favourable media coverage for the cause of independent Slovenia.
The Slovenians had the advantage of superior morale, compared to their adversaries in the Yugoslav army.[citation needed] Many of the Yugoslav soldiers did not realise they were taking part in a real military operation, rather than an exercise, until they came under attack.[3] They sent only 2000 untried conscripts, which split up into smaller groups. It was a tactical error. The officer corps was dominated by Serbs and Montenegrins and in many cases ideologically committed to Yugoslav unity. The rank and file troops however were conscripts, many of whom had no strong motivation in fighting against Slovenes. Of the soldiers of the 5th Military District, which was in action in Slovenia, in 1990 30% were Albanians, 20% Croats, 15 to 20% Serbs and Montenegrins, 10% Bosniaks, and 8% Slovenes.[39]
The Slovenians were also well aware that the Serbian government of Slobodan Milošević was not particularly concerned about Slovenia's independence,[3] given the lack of any significant Serbian minority in the country. On 30 June, Defence Minister General Kadijević suggested to the Yugoslav federal presidency a massive attack on Slovenia to break down the unexpectedly heavy resistance. But the Serb representative, Borisav Jović, shocked the military establishment by declaring that Serbia did not support further military action against Slovenia.[40] Serbia was at this point more concerned with the situation in Croatia; even before the war had ended, JNA troops were already repositioning themselves for the imminent war in Croatia.[41]
According to the journalist Hermann Tertsch, who covered that war firsthand:
The weak military deployment of the federal army had only two reasons, the external cosmetic, to claim that Belgrade defended its international borders. And the collection of property from its bases in Slovenia, especially from the borders with Austria and Italy. On the 25th the independence of this ethnically homogeneous republic had been proclaimed, without a religious minority or any Serb legacy. On July 7, having collected properties and documents from the barracks, the Yugoslav army, in reality already pan-Serbian, left a Slovenia that Milosevic and his generals did not give a damn about.[42]
Consequences of the war
For Slovenia, the war marked the decisive defence of its independence in regard to Yugoslavia. It was officially recognised by all European Community member states on 15 January 1992 and joined the United Nations on 22 May.
The war led to a series of major shifts on the Yugoslav side. The JNA eventually lost nearly all of its Slovenian and Croat personnel, becoming an almost entirely Serbian and Montenegrin force. Its poor performance in Slovenia and later in Croatia discredited its leadership – Kadijević resigned as defence minister in January 1992, and Adžić was forced into medical retirement shortly afterwards.
The Slovenian and Croatian governments were urged by the European Commission to freeze their declaration of independence for a period of three months, hoping to ease tension, to which Slovenia and Croatia agreed. Slovenia used the period to consolidate its institutions, deliver some of the most urgent economic reforms and prepare for international recognition of the country.
↑ Silber, Laura & Little, Allan. The Death of Yugoslavia. Penguin, London, 1995
↑ Ramet, Sabrina (2005). The three Yugoslavias: state-building and legitimation, 1918–2005. Woodrow Wilson Center Press Series. Indiana University Press, p. 39. ISBN0-253-34656-8
↑ Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans, 1991–2000. Osprey Publishing, p. 5. ISBN1-84176-290-3
↑ Spencer, Metta (2000). The lessons of Yugoslavia. Volume 3 of Research on Russia and Eastern Europe. Emerald Group Publishing, p. 17. ISBN0-7623-0280-1
↑ Meier, Viktor. Yugoslavia – A History of its Demise. Routledge, London, 1999
↑ Vasić, Miloš. "The Yugoslav Army and the Post-Yugoslav Armies", in Yugoslavia and After – A Study in Fragmentation, Despair and Rebirth, ed. David A. Dyker & Ivan Vejvoda. Longman, London, 1996
The Yugoslav People's Army, also called the Yugoslav National Army, was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its antecedents from 1945 to 1992.
The Brioni Agreement, also known as the Brioni Declaration is a document signed by representatives of Slovenia, Croatia, and Yugoslavia under the political sponsorship of the European Community (EC) on the Brijuni Islands on 7 July 1991. The agreement sought to create an environment in which further negotiations on the future of Yugoslavia could take place. However, ultimately it isolated the federal prime minister Ante Marković in his efforts to preserve Yugoslavia, and effectively stopped any form of federal influence over Slovenia. This meant the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) would focus on combat in Croatia, creating a precedent of redrawing international borders and staking the EC's interest in resolving the Yugoslav crisis.
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats, Serbs and other ethnic groups. As Yugoslavia began to break up, Serbia's President Slobodan Milošević and Croatia's President Franjo Tuđman began pursuing nationalist politics. In 1990, an armed insurrection was started by Croatian Serb militias, supported by the Serbian government and paramilitary groups, who seized control of Serb-populated areas of Croatia. The JNA began to intervene in favour of the rebellion, and conflict broke out in the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia in May 1991. In August, the JNA launched a full-scale attack against Croatian-held territory in eastern Slavonia, including Vukovar.
The Plitvice Lakes incident was an armed clash at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. It was fought between Croatian police and armed forces from the Croatian Serb-established SAO Krajina at the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, on 31 March 1991. The fighting followed the SAO Krajina's takeover of the Plitvice Lakes National Park and resulted in Croatia recapturing the area. The clash resulted in one killed on each side and contributed to the worsening ethnic tensions.
The Croatian War of Independence was an armed conflict fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia — which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) — and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat operations in Croatia by 1992.
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of armed conflicts on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) that took place between 1991 and 2001. This article is a timeline of relevant events preceding, during, and after the wars.
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.
The Yugoslav Ground Forces was the ground forces branch of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) from 1 March 1945 until 20 May 1992 when the last remaining remnants were merged into the Ground Forces of the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, under the threat of sanctions.
The Pakrac clash, known in Croatia as the Battle of Pakrac, was a bloodless skirmish that took place in the Croatian town of Pakrac in March 1991. The clash was a result of increasing ethnic tensions in Croatia during the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was one of the first serious outbreaks of violence in what became the Croatian War of Independence.
Serbia, as a constituent subject of the SFR Yugoslavia and later the FR Yugoslavia, was involved in the Yugoslav Wars, which took place between 1991 and 1999—the war in Slovenia, the Croatian War of Independence, the Bosnian War, and Kosovo. From 1991 to 1997, Slobodan Milošević was the President of Serbia. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has established that Milošević was in control of Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia during the wars which were fought there from 1991 to 1995.
The Battle of Gospić was fought in the environs of Gospić, Croatia, from 29 August until 22 September 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. The battle pitted the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), stationed in five barracks in the town, and paramilitary elements of the Serbian Guard against the Croatian National Guard (ZNG), police forces based in Gospić and police reinforcements from elsewhere in Croatia. Fighting in the eastern districts of Gospić, controlled by JNA forces with supporting artillery, was largely static but the balance shifted in favor of the Croatian forces following the capture of several JNA depots and barracks on 14 September. The remaining barracks were captured by 20 September leading to the expulsion of the JNA and Serbian Guard forces from the town.
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 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia was a series of engagements between the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), the Yugoslav Navy and the Yugoslav Air Force, and the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) then the Croatian Army (HV) during the Croatian War of Independence. The JNA was originally deployed in order to preserve Yugoslavia, and the initial plan of the campaign entailed the military occupation of Croatia and the removal of the Croatian leadership elected in 1990. The JNA intervention was the culmination of its involvement in the confiscation of weapons from Croatia's Territorial Defence, and in the Croatian Serb revolt that had begun in August 1990. From that time, the JNA had been frequently deployed to form a buffer zone between the Croatian Serb guerrillas and the ZNG or the Croatian police. In effect, these JNA buffer zones often secured the territorial gains of the insurgents and led to an increasingly hostile relationship between the JNA and Croatia. The JNA campaign plan was amended shortly before the campaign to include the relief of JNA barracks besieged by the ZNG. The besieging and subsequent capture of several JNA facilities allowed Croatia to arm its previously poorly equipped military and to equip and recruit new ethnic Croat conscripts and officers of the Yugoslav People's Army.
The Battle of Kupres was a battle of the Bosnian War, fought between the Bosnian Croat Croatian Defence Forces (Hrvatske obrambene snage - HOS) supported by the Croatian Army troops on one side and the Yugoslav People's Army, augmented by the Bosnian Serb Territorial Defense Force on the other at the Kupres Plateau, on 3–11 April 1992. During the fighting on 8 April, the Bosnian Croat TO was reorganised as the Croatian Defence Council. The objective of the battle was to control the strategic Kupres Plateau, a major supply route.
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.
The Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia was a military engagement that ensued in the aftermath of World War I between forces loyal to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and later the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and forces loyal to the Republic of German-Austria. The main theater of the conflict was the linguistically mixed region in southeastern Carinthia. The conflict was settled by the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919, which stipulated that the territorial dispute be resolved by a plebiscite.
The siege of Varaždin Barracks, also referred to locally as Varaždin's days of war, was the blockade and capture of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) barracks and other facilities in and around the city of Varaždin during the Croatian War of Independence. The blockade began on 14 September 1991, quickly escalated into fighting, and ended on 22 September with the surrender of the JNA garrison. It was part of the Battle of the Barracks—an effort by Croatian armed forces to isolate JNA units based at barracks in Croatia, or capture the barracks to provide arms for Croatia's nascent army.
The siege of Bjelovar Barracks, also known by the codename Operation Bilogora, was the blockade and capture of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) barracks and other facilities in and around the city of Bjelovar, a part of the JNA 32nd (Varaždin) Corps, during the Croatian War of Independence. A general blockade of the JNA facilities in Croatia was ordered on 14 September 1991, and it continued until 29 September when the JNA garrison was captured by Croatian forces. Its capture occurred one week after the bulk of the 32nd Corps surrendered. It was part of the Battle of the Barracks—an effort by Croatian armed forces to isolate JNA units based at barracks in Croatia, or capture the barracks to provide arms for Croatia's nascent army.
The Battle of Nuštar was a major battle during the Croatian War of Independence. Fought between the 2nd of November to the 5th of November, 1991. It was fought between Croatia, and SAO Krajina which was supported by the Yugoslav People’s Army, between the dates of 2–5 November 1991. Nuštar was situated near Vukovar and Vinkovci, it was a major necessity to the Croatian defenders at Vukovar and Vinkovci, due it’s road that led to nearby villages and towns, which had supplied the Croats in Vukovar. Nuštar saw major artillery shelling from the Yugoslav People’s Army, along with air strikes conducted by the Yugoslav Air Force. Despite the major bombing and shelling from the Yugoslav People’s Army and the Yugoslav Air Force, The Croatian garrison in Nuštar never fell, but it suffered massive infrastructural damage.
The 1992 Yugoslav campaign in Bosnia was a series of engagements between the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and the Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) during the Bosnian war. The campaign effectively started on 3 April and ended 19 May.
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