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The disintegration of Yugoslavia began with the open separatism of Slovenia and Croatia. At the same time, the first one left easily, the second independence was given with great bloodshed. Slovenia did not actually participate in civil war, therefore, did not feel a particular need to strengthen its armed forces. They got a small part of the JNA equipment, and Ljubljana did not claim more.
Land fleet country
Slovenia has been a member of NATO since 2004, the interest of its leadership in rearmament fell to zero. New technology is not acquired, so the VS are an increasingly symbolic value.
In Slovenia, there is no division into the army, aviation and navy, which is characteristic of the vast majority of countries. The Air Force and Navy are so small that it makes no sense to make them certain types, they are structural units ground forces, which in turn are identical to the BC as a whole. They include the 1st (Ljubljana), 72nd (Maribor) and transport brigades, a special forces group, reconnaissance, communications, logistics, military police battalions, the 15th air wing (Air Force), the 430th naval division (Navy) . In service:
- 19 M-84 tanks (Yugoslav version of the T-72),
- 10 Turkish armored vehicles "Cobra",
- 13 Yugoslav infantry fighting vehicles M-80A,
- 85 armored personnel carriers "Valuk" (Austrian "Pandur"),
- 30 BTR "Svarun" (Finnish AMV).
Yugoslav BMP M-80A
Artillery represented by 18 Israeli M-845 (TN-90) howitzers and 56 MN-9 (K-6) mortars of the same origin. There are 12 self-propelled anti-tank systems "Malyutka" and "Fagot" on the chassis of the Yugoslav armored personnel carrier BOV-3 and 10 portable anti-tank systems "Fagot".
air defense includes 12 air defense systems (6 French Rolands and Soviet Strela-1 each), 126 Russian MANPADS (4 Igla-1, 122 Igla), 60 ZSU (12 Yugoslav BOV-3, 24 Czechoslovak M-53 / 59, 24 Soviet ZSU-57-2). In addition to MANPADS and, possibly, the Roland air defense system, all these means are not combat-ready.
Aviation Slovenia does not have combat aircraft, only transport (1 Czech L-410, 2 Swiss PC-6, 1 American Falcon-2000) and training (9 Swiss RS-9M, 8 Czech Z-242 and 2 Z-143). Helicopters - multipurpose (1 Bell-212, 9 Bell-412) and transport helicopters (4 AS532AL, 6 Bell-206, 1 AW-109E and EC135 each).
Marine division consists of two patrol boats - the Israeli type "Super Yard" and the Russian project 10412.
Troops on two tanks
Croatian army was born during a long bloody confrontation with the Serbs during the collapse of Yugoslavia. For Zagreb, this war ended in the fall of 1995, when its armed forces completely captured the Serbian Krajina. In 2009, Croatia entered the third wave of NATO expansion. But the Armed Forces are still equipped almost exclusively with Soviet, Yugoslav and domestic equipment, a significant part of which has already exhausted its resource. And the main supplier of the new one is not NATO, but neutral Finland.
Tank M-84 (Yugoslav version of T-72)
Ground forces include armored and motorized infantry brigades, as well as regiments - infantry, artillery, air defense, engineering, transport, communications, intelligence and military police.
tank park consists of 74 M-84s, of which two have been upgraded to the M-84D level, with the rest stalled due to lack of funds. Two more M-95 tanks of our own design, but based on the same T-72 / M-84.
In service 10 Italian LMV armored personnel carriers, 104 Yugoslav M-80 infantry fighting vehicles and about 500 armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles (up to 18 old Soviet BTR-50, 54 Yugoslav BOV-VP and 36 BOV-M, up to 72 LOV-1OP, 126 latest Finnish AMV, 212 American , using MRAP technology - 30 MaxxPro, 162 Oshkosh, 20 RG-33).
Artillery: there are 9 Soviet 2S1 self-propelled guns and 15 of the latest German PzH-2000, 12 M48 mountain guns, 89 American M-2A1 and their Yugoslav counterparts M-56H1, 54 Soviet D-30s modernized in Croatia itself, 18 Argentine L-33s. All mortars of own and Yugoslav production: 69 M57, 69 M96, 43 M-75. MLRS - 24 Romanian APR-40s and their towed RAK-12s (a variant of the Yugoslav M-63).
There are about 800 anti-tank systems - 461 Soviet "Malyutka" (of which 43 are self-propelled on the M-83 armored personnel carrier), 119 "Bassoons", 42 "Competition" (24 on the chassis of the BMP M-80), 54 "Metis", up to 100 French " Milanov.
Military air defense predominantly Soviet-made: 9 Strela-10 air defense systems on the AMV chassis, 221 MANPADS (141 Strela-2, 80 Igla), as well as 62 Yugoslav ZSU on the BOV-3 armored personnel carrier chassis and 189 anti-aircraft guns (177 Yugoslav M -55, 12 Swedish L/70).
air force include two air bases - the 91st ("Pleso") and the 93rd ("Zemunik"). It is armed with 13 old Soviet MiG-21s (9 MiG-21bis, 4 combat training MiG-21UM) and 6 American counterguerrilla attack aircraft AT-802AF. There are 9 transport aircraft (1 CL-604 and 6 CL-415, 1 American RA-31 and Cessna-210 each) and up to 22 training aircraft (17 Swiss PC-9M and 5 Czech Z-242L) in service. Multi-purpose and transport helicopters: 13–14 Mi-8, 10 Mi-17, 11 American Bell-206V and 1 AB-212. 3 American "Hughes-369" are in storage.
Navy have in their composition the minesweeper "Korcula", 5 missile (1 "Koncar", 2 "Helsinki", 2 "King", all armed with Swedish anti-ship missiles RBS-15), 5 landing (2 "Cetina", 2 "Type-11" , 1 "Type-22") and 4 patrol boats "Mirna" (in the Coast Guard). Except "Helsinki", all the rest are locally built. Coastal defense has three RBS-15K SCRC batteries and 21 artillery batteries.
The Balkans remain an extremely restless, unstable region, so the potential of the armed forces of Slovenia and Croatia may, under certain circumstances, be insufficient. And membership in NATO will not help at all.
Although the Yugoslav wars began in Slovenia, the main focus of the war between 1991 and 1995 was Croatia, the land on which more than one generation of nationalists grew up ().
Death of Yugoslavia. Croatian youth are burning the Yugoslav flag to the cries of "sig-heil".
By the time of the collapse of Yugoslavia, Croatia was the second largest republic of a federal state. 4,784,300 people lived on its territory. The lion's share of the inhabitants of the republic were Croats (78.09% of the population), there were significantly fewer Serbs (12.15% of the total population), the rest of the inhabitants of Croatia were representatives of other ethnic groups. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Serbian and Croatian enclaves were mixed, which incredibly complicated the state "divorce" and subsequently led to the formation of another hotbed of tension in Serbian Krajina.
Croatia had historical ties with Austria and little experience as an independent nation state. The Croatian language was similar to Serbian, but the Croats, unlike the Serbs, used the Latin alphabet for writing and professed a different Christian doctrine - Catholicism. As a result, centrifugal forces were strong inside the republic, interested in the collapse of the SFRY and the withdrawal of Croatia from the federal state.
Of course, the bloody Croatian-Serbian conflict could have been avoided if the Croatian leadership had granted autonomy to the Serbian enclaves and respected the language and customs of the "brothers in the federation." Unfortunately, the leadership of the new Croatia was all hard-nosed nationalists who took an uncompromising attitude towards the Serbs, which led to a monstrous four-year massacre.
We have resolved the Serbian question, there will not be more than 12% Serbs or 9% Yugoslavs, as it was. And 3%, how many there will be, will no longer threaten the Croatian state.
From the speech of Franjo Tuđman at the opening of the military school "Ban Josip Jelačić" in Zagreb on December 14, 1998.
Before starting a review of the Serbo-Croatian conflict, it makes sense to take a closer look at the armed forces of the newly formed state.
CROATIAN ARMY AT THE FIRST STAGE OF THE WAR (1990-1991).
In fact, the army of independent Croatia was born on September 9, 1990. On this day, President Tudjman appointed a new Minister of Defense of the Republic - the former commander of the 5th Army of the JNA Martin Spegel. Spegel understood that in the very near future the Yugoslav army could become an enemy of the new European state. For this reason, the Croatian Minister of Defense asked for military assistance from the authorities of East Germany and Bulgaria. In less than two months, the Bulgarians handed over 10,000 AK-47s to the Croats. The Germans supplied Spegel's men with heavy handguns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Alija Siljak. One of the leaders of the Croatian HOS.
In April 1991, a group of Croatian fighters managed to take control of a tank factory in the town of Slavonski Brod and captured several M-84 tanks that had just been assembled there. Later, in the summer and autumn of 1991, during the capture of the JNA barracks, the Croats managed to get their hands on: 40 152-mm howitzers, 37 122-mm howitzers, 42 105-mm howitzers, 40 155-mm howitzers, 12 MLRS, 300 82-mm mortars and 120 mm, 180 guns ZIS-3 and B-1, 110 anti-tank guns 100-mm, 36 self-propelled guns, 174 anti-tank systems, 2000 grenade launchers, 190 tanks M-84, T-55, PT-76 and even T-34-85, 179 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 180 anti-aircraft guns 20-mm, 24 ZSU M- 53/59 "Prague", 10 ZSU ZSU-57-2, 20 anti-aircraft guns, 200,000 units small arms, 18,600 tons of ammunition, 1,630 tons of fuel. With such stockpiles of weapons, the Croats could resist the Yugoslav army for several months in the autumn and winter of 1991-1992.
By April 12, 1991, the Croatian authorities had reduced all police forces to the National Guard Corps (Zbor Narodne Garde) (the fighters of these units were often called "Zengovtsy"). On May 15, the first national infantry brigade was formed, and another 13 days later (May 28, 1991) a military parade was held on the streets of Zagreb, in which 4 class A infantry brigades (active) participated. On May 30, a Special Guards Battalion appeared in Hovartia, the purpose of which was to ensure the safety of the first persons of the state. Additional R-Class Guard Brigades (reserves) were formed throughout the summer of 1991. Their target was maintenance depots controlled by the federal government.
During the summer of 1991, the Croatian government closely watched the Slovenian crisis and prepared the republic for a full-scale JNA invasion. By August 1991, the Croatian army included 4 A-class brigades and 15 R-class brigades. On September 20, the Croatian authorities carried out the next stage of the army reform. The Croatian Armed Forces (Hrvatska Vojska) were created and the republican territory was divided into 6 operational zones (from 1 to 6). General Anton Tus became the commander-in-chief of the Croatian army ( former commander Yugoslav Air Force), since Spegel was the victim of a serious conflict with Tudjman and was "promoted" to the post of inspector general of the Croatian army. In mid-autumn, numerous deserters joined the newly minted army, leaving the ranks of the JNA forever.
The first real battle between Croatian nationalists and the Yugoslav army took place in Borovoye Selo on May 1, 1991. The national flag of the SFRY, hung on the wall of the local administration, was in the center of attention of the warring parties. Armed Croats tried to get to the city center in cars and armored personnel carriers, but they ran into fierce resistance from the Serbs, drove into a pre-arranged ambush and lost 12 people killed and their commander, Stepan Boshnyak. Several dozen people were taken prisoner, including citizens of Romania and Albania, as well as a visiting figure from the USSR. Parts of the JNA saved the Croats from the complete defeat, which separated the participants in the shootout "on opposite sides of the ring." However, the Serbs had no doubt that the Croats would repeat their visit very soon. In fact, the conflict over Borovo Selo became the prologue of a full-scale Serbo-Croatian war, which will be the subject of the next part of our story.
Yugoslav equipment captured in the barracks by the "Zengovites".
At the time of the outbreak of hostilities between Croatia and the SFRY, the administrative structure of the Croatian army was as follows: each operational zone was under the control of 0-2 Class A brigades; 5-16 R-class brigades, 0-11 separate guards battalions and the zonal headquarters (it included 1-2 artillery battalions, 1-2 air defense battalions, 1 engineering battalion and one military police battalion) were located on the territory of the zone. The 3rd zone, which secures Zagreb, was defended by twice as many troops as any other zone (precautions proved unnecessary as the JNA never struck the Croatian capital). Zones 1 and 6 (Slavonia and Dalmatia, respectively) were saturated with heavy weapons, since they were supposed to hold back the onslaught of the Yugoslav troops.
By winter, the war in Croatia had reached its climax. Both sides of the conflict made full use of heavy equipment and artillery. Thousands of civilians died, and horrific rumors about torture and concentration camps being formed on both sides of the front began to seep into the Western and Russian press. The Yugoslav army experienced all the charms of the city tank battle(Vukovar), while the Croats suffered monstrous losses during the attacks against the fortified Serbian positions. Actually, neither one nor the other side of the conflict really knew how to fight. No one had modern combat experience, and the experience of the Second World War was exclusively partisan, not very suitable for a siege war, in which artillery and tanks were actively used. Croatian and Serbian generals had to experiment right on the battlefield, which led to an unjustified increase in losses.
In December 1991, the Croatian Army had 230,000 personnel (including 180,000 Croats), both men and women, organized into 60 A and R class brigades. At the same time, 3,000 Croatian military personnel were former JNA officers. The 1st (Tigers), 2nd (Lightning), 3rd (Martens) and 4th brigades (Spiders) were formed from professional military personnel. These brigades included rapid reaction units. The remaining 56 brigades were formed from reservists and volunteers of various levels of training. In addition to this, the Croatian army included 19 separate infantry battalions, 8 artillery battalions, 11 air defense units, 7 engineer battalions and 7 military police battalions. A separate "Zrinsky" battalion of sabotage operations was attached to the Ministry of Defense. On January 20, 1992, another one was formed from the judicial personnel of the police - the 98th brigade.
According to the charter, the Croatian brigade was supposed to consist of 1,800 people, but in conditions of continuous fighting, its strength ranged from 500 to 2,500 people. Additional fighters were volunteers, mercenaries or people driven by a sense of revenge.
At the first stage of the war, the Croatian army did not have serious combat experience and often suffered heavy losses from ax blows "on the forehead" of the enemy position. For example, during the battle for the JNA barracks in Mirkovci (September 21, 1991), the Croats tried to storm the fortified Serbian position with a detachment consisting of a thousand people. Naturally, a frontal attack on a position reinforced by ZSU, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy machine guns could only end in defeat and heavy losses among the attacking troops.
Despite the lack of experience, the Croatian commanders did not suffer from the shortcomings inherent in the Yugoslav command: they did not evade the battle (“saving” the lives of their soldiers) and even more so did not hand over their weapons to a potential enemy (JNA commanders left at least 1/3 all stockpiles of weapons located on the territory of Croatia.
Soldiers of the Guards Brigade "Thunder".
Formation of reservist brigades (R - class) by months (1991):
June 1991: 100, 101, 105-110, 112-114
July 1991: 111
August 1991: 103.104
September 1991: 99
October 1991: 115, 117-119, 123, 125-134, 137-138, 145, 148-150, 153, 204
November 1991: 102, 116, 120-122, 124, 135, 136, 139-141, 143-144, 151-154
December 1991: 142, 156
Guards Brigades of the Croatian Army:
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade "Tigers" (1990-2008)
2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade "Thunder"(1991-2008) (in some sources it is called "Lightning" for some reason).
3rd Guards Brigade "Martens" (1991-2003)
4th Guards Motorized Brigade "Spiders" (1991-2008)
5th Guards Brigade "Falcons" (1992-2008)
7th Guards Brigade "Puma" (1992-2003)
9th Guards Brigade "Wolves", originally 6th (1992-2008)
The structure of brigades and battalions of the National Guard:
The motorized brigade of the National Guard included a headquarters consisting of an engineering and police company, as well as a reconnaissance, counter-terrorist platoon, as well as a communications platoon and a commando detachment. In addition to this, it included 1-4 infantry battalions,
plus mixed artillery, tank or air defense battalions.
The infantry battalion of the National Guard included a headquarters, which included a signals company and a security company, as well as an engineer, artillery and logistics platoon plus a support platoon. In addition, the battalion included 1-4 platoons of regular or volunteer infantry.
The company of the Croatian National Guard included 80+ personnel (1-4 platoons) and a supply platoon, each platoon had 1-4 squads of 12 people
The mixed artillery battalion (division) included one 105 mm howitzer and two 120 mm field guns.
The tank battalion consisted of one mechanized and two tank companies (two platoons each). A motorized brigade, as a rule, included 4 infantry and 1 artillery battalions, as well as various additional units, the composition of which depended on the tasks performed by the brigade.
Vukovar tower. Symbol of the civil war.
CROATIAN ARMY IN THE SECOND STAGE OF THE WAR (1992-1995)
In 1992, the situation on the Croatian front changed somewhat. The Serbian offensive fizzled out. In addition to this, a second "Muslim" front was opened against the Serbian army in Bosnia. The short-term truce established between Serbs and Croats in the second half of 1992 was interrupted in January 1993. New stage the war continued for another two years, while the Croats fought not only on their own land, but also on the territory of Bosnia (which did not prevent them, at the same time, from fighting together with the Serbs against the Muslims in a separate Croatian-Bosnian conflict).
By mid-1995 (that is, by the time Operation Storm began), the Croatian army was a cohesive fighting force, hardened by 4 years of hostilities and capable of achieving its goals, despite the fierce resistance of the enemy. Some researchers generally believe that in the mid-90s, the Croats had the most combat-ready army on the European continent.
After another disagreement with Tudjman, on January 22, 1992, General Anton Tus left his post. The new head of the Croatian army was General Janko Bobetko, who resigned on July 15, 1995 and transferred command to General Zvonimir Cervenko.
After the beginning of the truce (1992), the Croats formed 12 brigades: 2 in the 1st operational zone (157 and 160), 5 in the 3rd operational zone (98, 161 later 57, 162, 165, 175), 1 in 5 -th operational zone (155) and 4 in the 6th operational zone (158, 164, 159, 163). The number of personnel has been reduced. In March 1992, 20,000 people were demobilized, in May-June another 100,000 fighters, and finally, in November, another 40,000 military personnel were dismissed from military service.
A Croatian policeman waits out an artillery "raid". Late autumn 1991.
(c) Jean Claude Coutausse.
Using the knowledge of American instructors, the Croats reduced the size of the army to 105,000 regulars and 100,000 reservists. Most of the independent battalions became "Guards". The soldiers of the former Territorial Battalions joined the so-called Croatian Domobranstvo.
The Domobranstva included 43 regiments and 34 brigades, including 15 new regiments (1, 4-5, 7-8, 11, 13-17, 20, 21, 24, 52), 5 regiments were formed from brigades , at the same time they changed their numbering (129 to 3, 141 to 6, 135 to 9, 124 to 10, 162 to 12), 23 regiments were formed on the basis of brigades without changing the serial number (107-110, 116, 118, 121, 125, 126, 132-134, 136-138, 140, 142, 143, 154-157, 163), 30 brigades remained in the forces defending operational zones (99-106, 112, 114-115, 119, 122, 128, 130-131, 144, 145, 148-151, 153, 158-160, 164-165, 175, 204). Four brigades were abolished (98, 117, 120, 127), three brigades became mechanized brigades (11, 113, 123), one brigade became a separate mechanized battalion (139). The 161st brigade was renamed the 57th brigade. The number of artillery battalions was increased from 8 to 10 (2, 4, 6, 8, 10-12, 14, 16, 19). The "defence" included two anti-tank battalions (3, 5) and two anti-tank brigades (15, 16), four air defense brigades (201-204), two engineering battalions (32, 34) and one engineering brigade (33), one signal regiment (40) and six signal companies (251-256).
4 infantry brigades, formed in 1991, were transformed into Guards motorized brigades in December 1992. Their number was increased to 7. On December 23, 1992, the Croatian government disbanded 19 separate infantry battalions and formed 5 separate guard battalions (numbers 80-84) from their fighters.
The protection of any of the six Operational Zones of Croatia in 1992-1995 was to be provided by forces: 0-2 Guards motorized brigades, 2-15 motorized brigades or Home Guard regiments, 0-3 separate guard battalions together with a headquarters unit (0-3 artillery battalions, 0-2 anti-tank battalions, 0-1 air defense brigade, 0-1 engineer brigade or battalion, and reconnaissance company and military police battalion). The actual composition of the defensive units depended on the current situation on the front line, as well as on the number of reserves available to the Croats. In February 1993, the Operations Zone system was abolished and replaced by the Corps District system.
Soldiers of the Serbian army in the battle for Vukovar.
During the conflict with the Serbs, the Croatian army fought mainly positional warfare. The focal points of the confrontation were the Croatian cities, besieged Serbian army, or Serbian cities besieged by Croatian units. The region of the most intense fighting was Slavonia, on whose territory numerous Croatian units fought, reinforced by police units, special forces battalions and HSP fighters (the Croatian Party on the right is the direct heirs of the Ustashe).
In the early stages of the war, Croatian special units suffered heavy losses. Their fighters did not have a unified training and often went into battle without a clear plan of action. Losses were especially heavy in enemy territory. Unable to overcome the "front line", the Croats fell into the "bag" and were destroyed by the advancing Serb forces with the help of tanks or heavy equipment.
Croatian special units demonstrated great effectiveness during operations on their territory. Their attacks on enemy mechanized columns were also effective (they used the tactic of destroying the first and last vehicles, followed by the destruction of the center of the column). At the first stage of the war, such attacks occurred so often that the Serbian tankmen called this period the Corn War (the Croats liked to use flowering corn thickets for ambushes).
Understanding the weakness of their own special forces, the Croats seriously took up the training of fighters by Western military specialists. By the end of the war, the special forces of the Croatian army were able to conduct successful combat raids deep behind enemy lines.
CROATIAN AIR FORCE, NAVY AND MILITIES
As it was written above, the backbone of the Yugoslav Navy was made up of people from Croatia. The Croatian Navy was established on September 12, 1991. The personnel of the fleet consisted of 1,000 people, under the command of Admiral Sveto Letitsa. By May 1995, the fleet's personnel had been increased to 1,850 men. Croats had 2 missile boats, a torpedo boat, a minelayer, a submarine and a ship designed to support commando operations. Subdivision marines consisted of 53 companies, several Home Guard battalions, a coastal artillery battery, 51 communications battalions and 74 military police battalions.
The Croatian Air Force was established in January 1992. Colonel Tomo Madic formed the backbone of the Air Force, recruiting 150 professional pilots, mechanics and air defense specialists, from which 3 air squadrons and three separate aviation platoons were formed. Croatian pilots flew mainly on military equipment captured from the JNA, as well as on civilian aircraft, which they inherited from the former Yugoslav owners.
Croatian fighter in West German winter uniform.
The Croatian Territorial Defense Force was another branch of the armed forces at the disposal of the Croatian government. Tudjman's men seized control of the local TO forces on November 8, 1990. By the time the Serbian-Croatian conflict began, the number of Croatian TOs was 240,000 people. During the active phase of the war, these people joined the ranks of the Zengovtsy or fought as part of separate units of the Territorial Defense, which operated on the front lines until 1995.
The People's Defense Forces (Narodna zastita - NZ), formed on April 5, 1991, consisted of 100,000 volunteer fighters whose task was to protect private property, strategic enterprises and convoys, as well as collect data on the movement of enemy troops. All divisions of the People's Defense were disbanded in March-April 1992.
CROATIAN POLICE
In May 1990, the Croatian militia numbered 16,000 (the militia was renamed the police on November 8, 1990). Initially, the militia was subordinate to the Republican Ministry of the Interior (Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - MUP). On the territory of Croatia there were 119 police secretariats (17 in Zagreb, the rest in other Croatian territories). At least 60% of the Croatian police were Serbs.
On August 17, 1990, the Croatian militia attempted to disarm Serb militiamen operating on Croatian territory. In response to this, the Serbian police general Milan Martic began to distribute weapons to the Serbs, which led to a crisis in the Serbian Krajina with the subsequent separation of this territory from the newly formed Croatian state. After the collapse of Croatia into two hostile territories (Croatia and Serbian Krajina), the Croatian police were completely bled, new fighters had to be taught everything from the very beginning.
JNA soldiers suddenly attacked a Croatian police station. A photographer inside captured the commotion in the building.
(c) Jean Claude Coutausse.
The first 1,800 people trained by the Croats under the new program joined the Special Forces Unit on September 12, 1990 (in December of the same year, this detachment was renamed the Lutsk Counter-Terrorist Unit).
In 1991, the tension between the militia formations of Serbs and Croats reached its climax, automatic weapons were used. On March 2, 1991, in Pakrac (Western Slavonia), the Croatian position captured the building of the Security Service, which was guarded by the Serbs. The JNA units came to the aid of the Serbs, against which the Croats used armored personnel carriers. In Plitvice, the Croatian police recaptured the local police building from the Serbs, and then entered into battle with the Serbian police forces. The fighting continued for two days.
In the summer of 1991, such skirmishes became an internal affair of the police / militia, since the JNA fighters had to treat both sides of the conflict equally. By the end of the year, the situation had changed and the Yugoslav army began to join the battle on the side of the Serbian militia.
In January 1991, the Croatian police force consisted of 55,260 personnel (21,360 regular police, 22,900 reservists and 11,000 fighters from special police units). In May 1991, a Special Police Brigade was created from three territorial police battalions, capable of conducting combat operations against Serbian troops (later regular A-class brigades were created on the basis of such brigades). In June 1991, the police administrative structure was divided into 19 police departments. The total number of fighters was reduced to 40,000 people (regulars and reservists) plus 4,000 fighters in the special units police. On December 26, 1992, the police was reorganized again, its administrative structure increased to 20 district departments.
During the hostilities, military police companies and battalions were used not only to restore order in the territories controlled by the Croats, but also to break through the enemy defense line. Often, police units acted as fire brigades, which plugged "holes" in problem areas of the front. It is worth noting that the morale of the Croatian police, on average, was higher than that of regular units, which affected the performance of combat missions in the face of active opposition from the enemy.
HOS fighters. "Black Legion".
CROATIAN MILITARY UNITS
The first paramilitary unit of the Croatian Nationalists was the HSP combat detachments, led by the ultra-right nationalist Dobroslav Paraga. The ideological predecessors of the KhSP were the Ustashe during World War II. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the battle banners and uniforms of the KhSP fighters were replete with Ustashe symbols. The total number of combat wing of the new Ustasha was 10,000 people, which included 300 fighters of the resurrected "Black Legion" (under the command of Alia Sidzhak). The HOS fighters won the respect of the regular units of the Croatian army for the fanatical tenacity shown during the battle for Dubrovnik and Vukovar.
In November 1991, Tudjman arrested Paraga, the military wing of the HOS was disbanded, and its fighters were included in the 109th and 114th brigades of the National Guard.
Dobroslav Prague throws up his hands.
CROATIAN ARMED FORCES. 1991
1. Voinik, unit "Marko Kovac", Territorial Defense Forces, Chakovets, September 1991.
Croatian TO fighters wore Yugoslav uniforms and insignia until the end of 1990. In 1991, the Croats finally abandoned the “titivok” hats and began to wear classic mountain caps. This fighter wears Croatian national symbols on a cap and on an armband (the Croatian national symbol is the Spanish shield Sahonvica, decorated with a red and white checkerboard pattern. There is a red square in the upper left corner of the shield. Above the shield you can see the emblems of five historical Croatian regions - Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia).
The fighter is dressed in a jacket and pants of the Yugoslav armed forces, model 1975. On the hand is a handicraft bandage, hastily made in one of the Croatian sewing workshops (at an early stage of the conflict, some Croats did not use a bandage, but a paper token with national symbol). The fighter has no insignia, since at the beginning of 1991 the Croats did not put them on, trying to confuse the enemy. The Croatian fighter is armed with a Gorenje MGV-176 submachine gun, which was requisitioned from the nearest maintenance depot.
2. Policeman from the special forces unit, special forces unit "Rakitje", Plitvice, March 1991.
Like their "colleagues" from the Yugoslav police and the police of the Serbian Krajina, the Croatian police actively used "tiger camouflage". This fighter is wearing the American M82 winter uniform, which was distributed among the first 1800 Croatian National Conscription Policemen. On the left shoulder of the shooter you can see a green police chevron with the inscription in Croatian "POLICIJA". This new chevron replaces the old dark blue MILICIJA chevron, the Cyrillic version of which has been used by the personnel of the Yugoslav Federal Security Forces, as well as the militia units of Serbia, Montenegro and Vojvodina since 1978.
On the cap of the policeman you can see the emblem in the form of a chess shield with golden rays (sample of 90). In March 1991, the gilded emblem was replaced by a new version of the shield with silver rays and a golden wreath. The fighter has no insignia, which is typical for the initial period of the war. In the hands of a police officer, an SAR-80 assault rifle brought to Croatia under the guise of humanitarian aid.
3. Policeman Class I, Dubrovnik Police Department, November 1991.
This police officer is wearing a Croatian uniform of 1986 with epaulettes. In 1991, in all police stations in Dubrovnik, the red star was replaced with the national chess symbol. Since the number of the national Croatian police was rapidly increasing, there were not enough uniforms for all the fighters. To solve this problem, the Croatian military purchased several thousand sets of Slovenian uniforms for the police. The new police uniform consisted of a jacket with four pockets, pants with two side pockets and two Velcro pockets, a beret, a belt, and Yugoslav officer's boots.
On the left shoulder of the fighter was a gray chevron "MILICIJA" (white letters). Another patch in the form of a shield appeared in July 1991, under which there was an additional pocket.
The chess symbol on the beret was introduced in Croatian police units in the early summer of 1990. In August, the symbol was abandoned so as not to irritate the police from the Serbian Krajina. However, in the fall, the chessboard was again returned to the national police.
The policeman shown in the image wears a cockade of the 1991 model (golden wreath, silver rays) on his beret. Ordinary police officers tried not to wear insignia, but senior constables had unofficial epaulettes (two yellow chevrons on a blue background).
1. Officer of the 106th brigade, National Guard, Osijek, September 1991.
Many Zengovtsy wore JNA 77 uniforms, gray Slovenian police uniforms, or US Army 1982 camouflage patterns. In 1991, the Croatian Sewing Workshops began sewing their own uniforms, tailored according to the American pattern (tiger camouflage or protective "police colors" were used as camouflage). Since many Zenga units were commanded by professional police officers, the insignia of the Yugoslav militia (later, the Croatian police) could be seen on the uniforms of individual fighters. The rank and file did not have insignia from October 1991.
This officer is wearing a 1991 Zenga cap with a national Croatian cockade (some officers used police or Zenga cockades). On the right left shoulder of the officer, one can see the Zeng emblem in the form of crossed assault rifles. At the top of the emblem is the text ZNG RH (Zbor narodne garde Republike Hrvatske).
2. Voinik, 129th Brigade of the Croatian Army, Karlovac, December 1991.
During the heavy autumn battles of 1991, the Croats acquired several thousand sets of military equipment from the former warehouses of the GDR: helmets of the 56/76 model and the winter uniform of the 90 model in "rain camouflage". The Croats cut off shoulder straps from the German uniform and attached a shoulder emblem with a national chess field.
In the fall of 1991, only senior officers wore insignia. When the insignia appeared among the rank and file (this happened in the second half of 1992), the German uniform was no longer used. Instead, the Croats began to wear the British uniform of the 84 model and the West German uniform of the 90 model. As for helmets, American M1 helmets, Swiss M49 / 62 helmets (a variant of the British AT mk.II helmet), British AT mk.IV helmets, the Polish version of the Soviet SSH40, the Yugoslav model 59/85 helmet and even the Slovenian MPC- one.
3. Officer HOS, Vukovar, October 1991.
HOS fighters wore American camouflage pattern 82 (with winter and summer camouflage patterns), black berets or Croatian caps. In everyday conditions, the HOS-sheep preferred to use black American-style uniforms and red berets with the national symbol of the pre-war period (with a white upper left square). This symbol, which first appeared in the Middle Ages, was discredited by the Fascist regime of Pavelić and was not used after 1945.
On the left hand of the KhOS people was a stripe in the form of an old national emblem in a silver ring. At the top of the ring were the letters HOS, below them HSP. The inscription “Za dom spremni” (Ready to defend the Motherland) was embroidered at the bottom of the ring. KhOS members wore both Croatian and Ustashe insignia, whose history can be traced back to the Second World War.
In December 1991, the Croatian authorities demanded that the HOS members remove the Ustashe symbols and use the symbols of the Croatian Republic.
(c) Ilya Sadchikov, March 2015.
The design of the article used materials from Osprey - Elite 138 - Yugoslavian Wars 1.
This is how matters stood with Croatia's solution of foreign policy issues. In domestic policy, there were also significant changes associated with the creation of basic institutions independent state, including the armed forces. On April 16, 1941, immediately after his arrival from Italy, Pavelić formed the First Croatian State Government, in which he assumed the posts of Chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Pavelić's deputy, in case of his incapacity, was one of his closest associates, Slavko Kvaternik. At the same time, he received the post of army commander, with the rank of military commander, and the minister of the Croatian armed forces - Croatian Domobran (Hrvatsko Domobranstvo) .
The armed forces of the NGH were created on the basis of the Law on the Army and Navy of April 11, 1941 and consisted of the regular Croatian army (Domobran itself: ground forces, railway guard, Navy, Air Force, State Labor Service, border guards), Ustasha military formations, gendarmerie and spare parts .
From the very beginning of its existence, the Croatian armed forces lacked weapons (especially heavy ones) and equipment. Artillery battalions, for example, had only two batteries instead of the usual three or four. There were few armored units, however, they had no tanks at all, but only a few armored vehicles. Small arms, inherited for the most part from the Yugoslav royal army, met the requirements of the first world war rather than modern standards. There was no need to talk about aviation and warships. As if summing up this deplorable state of his armed forces, the commander Kvaternik said in a conversation with the Italian publicist Corrado Zoli: “I have nothing but people to form an army. Several dozen rifles, even fewer machine guns, a few machine guns and a few guns. There are no cars, no trucks, no tools. There are only six tanks, and even then they are light tanks of the old type, even tankers cannot be trained on them. Very few radio stations. There are only two factories in all of Croatia capable of producing small arms ammunition. There are no planes at all. You understand that under such conditions no serious formation is possible.
This conversation took place on September 5, 1941. Nevertheless, by winter, it was possible to create fully combat-ready armed forces, which, in combat and moral qualities, surpassed the armed forces of all Germany's allies.
It has already been said above that Italy claimed the main role in determining the entire policy of the new state. This also applied to the construction of its armed forces. At one of the meetings between Pavelic and Mussolini, the latter raised the question of the complete control of the Croatian army by Italy. The Croatian leader rejected these claims, as a result of which the Italian side refused him any assistance and even began to slow down the creation of Croatian military structures in its zone of occupation.
On the contrary, the government of the Third Reich provided great support to the NGH government in organizing both the authorities and the armed forces. With their help, the Nazis sought to facilitate their exploitation of a significant part of the Yugoslav natural resources, communications and manpower for warfare. So, already on April 14, 1941, the commander of the 2nd German Army, Field Marshal Maximilian Weichs, gave an order according to which all German authorities subordinate to him were to provide material and moral assistance to the NGH government in creating the armed forces. Over time, all these activities were supposed to free up German troops for a future campaign against the USSR, and also make it unnecessary to continue the presence of the Italian army on Croatian territory. This was also in line with the intentions of Pavelić, who hoped to gain more freedom of action with the help of the Wehrmacht than was possible in the presence of the Italian occupying forces. German authorized general in Croatia (Bevollmachtigen Generals in Agram), from April 15, 1941, who was in Zagreb, received a number of directives, the most important of which required him to contribute to the creation of the NGH army.
To create the Croatian armed forces, personnel, weapons, equipment, barracks, technical means former Yugoslav Royal Army. In connection with the popular uprising against the invaders that began in July 1941, the training of troops took place in a hurry. Great assistance in the creation of the armed forces was provided by 838 officers and generals who served in the Austro-Hungarian army and 2662 officers and generals of the former Yugoslav royal army, who in 1941 voluntarily joined the Domobran and the gendarmerie.
The most important posts were given to those generals and officers who at one time served in the Austro-Hungarian army and were supporters of the German military system. Through them and other pro-German and anti-Italian officers, the Nazis exercised their influence. It is no coincidence, therefore, that an Austrian, General of the Infantry Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, was appointed as an authorized general in the NGH. Officers of Austrian origin were also appointed to other posts in the German military administration, who among the officers of the Domobran met many former colleagues in the Austro-Hungarian army. Even Field Marshal Kvaternik himself once had the rank of colonel in this army. These old connections, along with other circumstances, contributed to the fact that the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) was always well aware of the state of the Croatian army and kept it under complete control.
Throughout its short existence ground forces (Kopnena Vojska) Domobrana went through three reorganizations. The first two of them were carried out on November 1, 1941 and May 1, 1943, respectively. All changes were reduced mainly to the creation of new and the disbandment of old units and formations and were due both to the influence of tactical and strategic conditions in the Balkans and to the internal situation in NGH. Finally, on November 20, 1944, Domobran and the Ustash war (Ustaska Vojnica) were merged into Croatian Armed Forces (Hrvatske Oruzane Snage). In general, this last reorganization had more moral than any other reasons: with its help, the Domobran command expected to raise the morale among its fighters by combining them with the Ustashe military formations.
The first stage of the existence of the Croatian ground forces can be divided into two periods. In the first of them (April - June 1941), they did not yet have a clear organization, since most of the units and formations were "hastily" created either from local militia formations or from the regiments of the Yugoslav Royal Army, staffed mainly Croats. In general, the organization of the Croatian ground forces at that time looked like this:
domobranskie parts, stationed in Zagreb and its environs
25th Domobran Infantry Regiment
35th Domobransky Infantry Regiment (former 35th Infantry Regiment of the Yugoslav Royal Army)
53rd Domobran Infantry Regiment
6th Cavalry Regiment
13th reconnaissance battalion
Parts of the "Bosnia-Herzegovina" region (commander - pukovnik Matiyya Kanich)
Croatian security battalion
Zagreb, Belovar and Sisak domobran companies
police company
reconnaissance company
gendarmerie platoon
cavalry platoon
detachment of local Bosnian soldiers
Ustash company
Separate parts
10th Domobran Infantry Regiment
Cavalry Regiment Virovitica (former 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Yugoslav Royal Army)
Infantry Regiment "Tuzla" (former 5th Infantry Regiment of the Yugoslav Royal Army).
During this period, the commander of the Croatian ground forces was General Slavko Shtanzer.
Starting in July 1941, many of these units were disbanded, and full-fledged infantry regiments and other units were created from their personnel, organized into five divisional districts (hereinafter, the location of the headquarters and the main units of the formation is indicated in brackets):
Divisional district "Sava" (headquarters in Zagreb; covered the regions of Northern Croatia; commander - pukovnik Emanuel von Baley)
1st Infantry Regiment - in Belovar
2nd Infantry Regiment - in Zagreb
3rd Infantry Regiment - in Karlovac
1st Artillery Battalion - in Varaždin
2nd Artillery Battalion - in Zagreb
Headquarters, Commandant's Company and 2nd Squadron of the Zagreb Cavalry Regiment - in Zagreb
Sapper Regiment - in Karlovac
1st Motorized Infantry Battalion - in Zagreb
mobile company "Sava" - in Zagreb
Divisional district "Osijek" (headquarters in Osijek; covered the regions of Slavonia; commander - General Mihailo Lyulich)
4th Infantry Regiment - in Osijek
5th Infantry Regiment - in Slavonska Pozega
6th Infantry Regiment - in Vinkovci
3rd Artillery Battalion - in Osijek
4th Artillery Battalion - in Petrovaradin
1st Squadron of the Zagreb Cavalry Regiment - in Virovitica
Engineer Battalion - in Osijek
3rd Motorized Infantry Company - in Osijek
Railway Guard Battalion - in Brodna-Sava
mobile company "Osijek" - in Osijek
Divisional district "Bosnia" (headquarters in Sarajevo; covered areas of central and southern Bosnia; commander - pukovnik Pero Blashkovic)
7th Infantry Regiment - in Sarajevo
8th Infantry Regiment - in Tuzla
9th Infantry Regiment - in Travnik
5th Artillery Battalion - in Sarajevo
6th Artillery Battalion - in Tuzla
separate cavalry battalion - in Kalinovik
2nd motorized infantry company - in Sarajevo
mobile company "Bosnia" - in Sarajevo
Divisional district "Vrbas" (headquarters in Banja Luka; covered areas of northern Bosnia and Lika; commander - General Dragutin Rumler)
10th Infantry Regiment - in Banja Luka
11th Infantry Regiment - in Sisak
12th Infantry Regiment - in Otočac
7th Artillery Battalion - in Banja Luka
8th Artillery Battalion - in Bihac
7th Motorized Infantry Company - in Banja Luka
mobile company "Vrbas" - in Banja Luka
Divisional district "Yadran" (headquarters in Mostar; covered the regions of Herzegovina and Dalmatia; commander - General Ivan Prpic)
13th Infantry Regiment - in Mostar
14th Infantry Regiment - in Trebinje
15th Infantry Regiment - in Knin
9th Artillery Battalion - in Mostar
10th Artillery Battalion - in Knin
7th Motorized Infantry Company - in Mostar
mobile company "Jadran" - in Mostar
During this period, the infantry regiment consisted of the following units:
two infantry battalions (three infantry and one machine gun company each),
commandant's company (observation, communications, sapper and auxiliary platoons),
companies of anti-tank guns (three platoons),
escort companies, a working half-platoon and regimental musicians.
The personnel of the regiment consisted of 1626 officers, non-commissioned officers and privates.
The artillery battalion consisted of three artillery batteries (two platoons each) and a commandant's battery (communications, guidance and auxiliary platoons). The personnel of the artillery battalion consisted of 421 officers, non-commissioned officers and privates. In total, the regiment was armed with 12 100 mm howitzers. The regiment moved on horseback, so it included 266 more horses.
In addition to these, there were a number of units that were outside the control of the commanders of the divisional districts and were intended exclusively to fight the partisans. So, in July 1941, the Liksky, Sansky and Kninsky anti-partisan detachments were created, as well as the battle groups of generals Klaich and Lukich.
In total, the Croatian ground forces numbered about 55 thousand people. During this period, Sub-Marshal August Marić was their commander.
In May 1941, the Croatian Domobran was sent to eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina to suppress the actions of the Serbs, who took up arms, driven to despair by the Ustasha terror. Nevertheless, despite the complete material and numerical superiority of the Croats, even the first battles showed that it was impossible to quickly deal with the uprising with such an organization of the army. As a result, these and other events forced the Croatian command to carry out the first reorganization of the ground forces. It began on November 1, 1941. In the course of the reorganization, the infantry regiments were consolidated into divisions, and those into three corps. For mobilization and rear service, three corps districts were also formed (with the same numbers and on the same territory as the corps):
1st Corps - Croatia proper and Northern Dalmatia (headquarters in Sisak; commander - pukovnik Vladimir Kalchak):
1st Infantry Division (1st, 2nd and 11th Infantry Regiments; 1st and 2nd Artillery Battalions) - HQ at Belovar
2nd Infantry Division (3rd, 12th and 15th Infantry Regiments; 8th and 10th Artillery Battalions) - headquarters in Bihac
Cavalry Regiment "Zagreb"
1st Bicycle Battalion
1st and 3rd Engineer Battalions
2nd Corps - Slavonia and Northern Bosnia (headquarters in Slavonsky Brod; commander - podpikovnik Dragutin Helbich):
3rd Infantry Division (4th and 6th Infantry Regiments; 3rd and 4th Artillery Battalions) - headquarters in Vinkovci, then in Tuzla
4th Infantry Division (5th, 8th and 10th Infantry Regiments; 6th and 7th Artillery Battalions) - headquarters in Doboj
brigade "Banja Luka"
Brigade "Srem"
3rd Corps - South Bosnia, Herzegovina (headquarters in Sarajevo; commander - pukovnik Ivan Klishanich):
5th Infantry Division (7th and 9th Infantry Regiments; 5th Artillery Battalion) - Headquarters in Sarajevo
6th Infantry Division (13th and 14th Infantry Regiments; 9th Artillery Battalion; 1st-4th Front Battalions) - Headquarters in Mostar
1st mountain division (1-4th mountain brigades; 1-18th railway guard battalions; 1-21st rural guard battalions).
If you follow the facts, the Croatian infantry division of the new model was in fact a brigade (the number of personnel was only 4,000 people).
During this period, the number of Domobran ground forces steadily increased: if at the end of 1941 it numbered 77 thousand people, then in the spring of 1942 it was already about 100 thousand. They were commanded by Lieutenant General Vladimir Laksa.
But even this reorganization could not completely solve all the problems. During the fighting, it became clear that conventional infantry divisions were not suitable for mountain warfare. Therefore, already in April 1942, four mountain brigades were formed, which were supposed to reinforce the units operating against the partisan detachments in Kordun, Bania and Western Bosnia:
1st Mountain Brigade - in Zagreb
2nd mountain brigade - in Belovar
3rd Mountain Brigade - in Pozhega
4th mountain brigade - in Daruvar.
Initially, each brigade had four battalions (1,000 men each), a mountain artillery battery, a sapper platoon, and various support services. In October 1942, all brigades were consolidated into the 1st mountain division (headquarters in Belovar). In parallel with external organizational changes, there were internal reorganizations in each brigade. In general, they were aimed at strengthening them, both from a moral and material point of view, which led to an increase in the personnel of the division to 17 thousand people. But even being already a single formation, the mountain division continued to be used separately: its 1st, 2nd and 4th brigades were subordinate to the headquarters of the 1st corps, and the 2nd - to the 3rd:
1st mountain brigade "Poglavnik Dr. Ante Pavelic" - in Belovar (1st and 5th mountain regiments, 3rd and 14th artillery battalions)
2nd mountain brigade "Voyskovoda Slavko Kvaternik" - in Konjice (2nd and 9th mountain regiments, 9th and 20th artillery battalions)
3rd mountain brigade - in Petrinja (3rd and 11th mountain regiments, 2nd and 13th artillery battalions)
4th Mountain Brigade - Daruvar, Pakrac and Lipik area (4th and 8th mountain regiments, 1st and 12th artillery battalions).
In parallel with the creation of the mountain troops, on May 1, 1943, the second reorganization of the Croatian ground forces was launched. Basically, it was completed in August 1943 and led to the following changes: all the infantry divisions that existed before were reorganized:
into four jaeger brigades, from two four-battalion regiments and one artillery battalion in each (brigade personnel - up to 2,000 thousand people).
in addition, each corps received a reserve brigade and 11 garrison brigades, the creation of which was completed by the summer of 1944 (garrison brigades usually consisted of four or five battalions and one or two artillery batteries).
each of the three corps also included a working regiment and three to five separate battalions.
Thus, the structure of the Croatian ground forces after all the innovations and the new reorganization looked like this:
1st Corps - headquarters in Zagreb (commander - General Ivan Brozovic):
1st mountain brigade (1st and 5th mountain regiments; 3rd and 6th artillery battalions) - headquarters in Belovar
3rd mountain brigade (3rd and 11th mountain regiments; 2nd artillery battalion) - headquarters in Bihac
4th mountain brigade (4th and 8th mountain regiments; 1st and 12th artillery battalions) - headquarters in Daruvar, later in Pakrac and Lipik
2nd Chasseur Brigade (1st and 10th Chasseur Regiments; 4th and 8th Artillery Battalions) - Headquarters in Donji Lapac
1st garrison brigade (1-4th battalions) - headquarters in Krizhevtsy
2nd Garrison Brigade (1-5th battalions) - headquarters in Karlovac
3rd Garrison Brigade (1st-3rd Battalions) - Headquarters in Gospic
4th Garrison Brigade (1st-3rd Battalions) - Headquarters in Sisak
Zagreb Garrison Brigade (1-3 Battalions)
1st reserve brigade (located in Pokupje, Kvarner, Velebit, Istria)
brigade "Zenica" (1st battalion of armored vehicles)
2nd Corps - headquarters in Slavonski Brod (commander - General Franjo Patsak):
1st Chasseur Brigade (4th Chasseur Regiment; 5th and 16th Artillery Battalions) - Headquarters in Doboj
3rd Jaeger Brigade (5th and 8th Jaeger Regiments; 7th and 18th Artillery Battalions) - headquarters in Tuzla
4th Jaeger Brigade (7th and 13th Jaeger Regiments; 11th and 12th Artillery Battalions) - headquarters in Ostrozhac
5th Garrison Brigade (1st-4th Battalions) - Headquarters in Nova Gradiska
6th Garrison Brigade (1-5th battalions) - HQ in Doboj
7th Garrison Brigade (1st-4th Battalions) - HQ in Sremska Mitrovica
2nd reserve brigade (Srem, Tuzla; 2nd battalion of armored vehicles) - headquarters in Vinkovci
3rd Corps - headquarters in Sarajevo (commander - General Ivan Markulya):
2nd mountain brigade (2nd, 6th and 9th mountain regiments; 13th and 20th artillery battalions) - headquarters in Sarajevo
8th Garrison Brigade (1-5th battalions) - headquarters in Sarajevo
9th Garrison Brigade (1-6th battalions) - headquarters in Dubrovnik
3rd reserve brigade (3rd battalion of armored vehicles)
Parts of non-corps subordination
mobile brigade (cavalry regiment "Zagreb", 1st and 2nd bicycle battalions) - headquarters in Brodna Sava
railway security (sectors A, B, C, D, E - 1-23rd battalions and 3 armored trains)
1-3rd working regiments (Belovar, Osijek, Sarajevo).
In the summer of 1943, the Croatian ground forces grew to 130 thousand people. However, by the end of 1944, their number was reduced to 70 thousand. The fact is that part of their personnel was transferred to the German-Croatian legionary divisions and to the Ustash war, which will be discussed below. Lieutenant-General Vladimir Laksa still remained in command.
By September 1944, the strategic situation for Germany and its allies had become catastrophic: Soviet troops withdrew Bulgaria from the war and entered the territory of Yugoslavia. And already in October, the Red Army and units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOAU) liberated Belgrade and came close to the borders of Croatia.
Under these conditions, on November 21, 1944, the last reorganization of the ground forces of the NGH took place. In order to create a more effective military organization, the ground forces and the Ustasha war were merged into a single Croatian armed forces. This was primarily due to heavy losses, which suffered Domobran. Another reason was the distrust that the leadership of the NGH began to experience for some time in their army. Therefore, in addition to the simple mechanical connection of these different branches of the military, many command positions in the ground forces were occupied by Ustash officers, and by December 1944 all Ustash and Domobran units were universally united into five corps.
What was the Ustash war? We can immediately say that its formations were an analogue of the SS troops in Germany and the Blackshirt detachments in Italy. Like these organizations, it went from the usual militant squads guarding party leaders to combat formations during the war.
The insurrectionary Croatian revolutionary organization, better known as the Ustaše (rebel) organization, emerged on January 7, 1929 as a response to the coup d'etat carried out by the central royal government in Belgrade. The ultimate goal that this organization set for itself was the separation of Croatia from Yugoslavia and the proclamation of the NDH. The head of the organization was one of the leaders of the Pure (Croatian) Party of Law, created at the end of the 19th century. and extreme nationalist, Zagreb lawyer Dr. Ante Pavelić. He assumed the title of "rebel leader" (“Poglavnik ustaski”) and the unlimited right to direct the activities of the entire organization and dispose of the lives of its members. However, soon after that, Pavelić had to go abroad.
In order to find moral and, most importantly, material support, Pavelić traveled to Sofia, and then to Rome, where he found complete understanding and financial assistance. Italy soon became the main base of the organization and the headquarters of its leadership. In 1930, the Ustaše managed to gather only a few dozen people in their camps in Italy. Then they drew attention to the Croatian emigration and by the mid-30s. their number has already reached about 500 people.
Initially, this organization was created as a military and terrorist organization with a system of brutal subordination of the lower echelons to the higher ones. Its activities were regulated by a statute drawn up in 1929 and finally formulated and signed by Pavelić in 1932. The entire organization was built on the "principle of the Fuhrer". Disobedience was punishable by death. Under the head was the Supreme Command of 12 people, which acted as an advisory body. The charter also provided for a strict hierarchy in local organizations: the lowest link was local organizations (camp), above them was the district organization (logor), even higher was the regional organization (storage). Main Ustash camp (Glavni Ustaski stan) headed by the head crowned the entire pyramid. However, it was not possible to create an organization in Croatia itself, despite an attempt in September 1932 to raise an uprising in the Lika region. Therefore, since 1931, the Ustashe began to create camps in Italy: near Brescia, in Borgotaro and smaller ones in Fontechia and San Demetrio. The main purpose of training in them is military-terrorist training.
Terrorist actions were directed from several bases: a camp in Janka-Pusta (Hungary) and a base in Zadar (Italy). Several groups of Ustaše were in Austria. The first terrorist act - the explosion of a train en route from Austria to Yugoslavia - occurred on June 30, 1930. The largest terrorist act carried out by the Ustaše with the help of German intelligence is the murder on October 7, 1934 in Marseille of the King of Yugoslavia Alexander I Karageorgievich and the Minister of Foreign Affairs France Louis Barthou.
However, it was clear that the Ustashe would not be able to come to power in Croatia on their own. They needed outside support, which came in the form of Germany and Italy when these states attacked Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. As mentioned above, on April 15, 1941, Pavelić arrived from Italy in Zagreb. About 340 Ustashe arrived with him, and some returned from exile on their own. All of them, as veterans of the movement, took responsible positions in the civil and military administration of the new state.
The main activities of the Ustashe in the initial period of being in power were:
Organization of public order and security;
Development and implementation of the national policy of the state;
Creation of reliable military formations.
By decree of May 17, 1941, the Minister of the Interior of the NGH, Andrie Artuković, established the Department of Public Order and Security, the leadership of which was entrusted to Yevgen "Dido" Kvaternik, the son of the military leader Kvaternik. In accordance with the instruction of Artukovych, Kvaternik began to create the Supervision Service (Ustaska Nadzorna Sluzba)- political police (analogous to the German Gestapo). It existed from 1941 to 1943, when it was abolished, and its employees merged into the Office of Public Order and Security. The first head of the supervision service was Vlado Singer. Organizationally, the supervision service consisted of the following sectors:
I-b, the nature of the activity of which is not known;
II-a - head security service;
II-b - fight against partisans;
From the activities of the last sector, the second direction of the Ustaše activity logically followed. Even at a meeting at the Berghof, Hitler advised Pavelić "to pursue a policy of national intolerance for 50 years." Naturally, after such a council, mobile field courts, executions of hostages and imprisonment in a concentration camp became the main instruments of national policy in the NGH. "It was they who determined the legislation in the NGH on this issue," wrote the Yugoslav researcher Branimir Stanojević.
In a short time, 24 concentration camps were created (the worst of them was in Jasenovac), and during the years of the Ustashe rule, 800 thousand people out of 6.3 million died in the NGH - every eighth. First of all, terror fell upon Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and Croats who disagreed with the regime.
The third direction of activity - the creation of reliable military units - was carried out through the formation Ustasha warrior (Ustaska Vojnica) - combat structures of the organization. In addition to those Ustashe who returned from emigration and became commanders of military units (first - companies, then - battalions), about 4 thousand more Ustashe were in the country and contributed to the proclamation of the NGH. It was they who made up the main core of the war, the beginning of the creation of which dates back to May 10, 1941.
The daily management of the war was carried out by the chief of its General Staff (Glavni Stozer Ustaske Vojnice), which did not depend on the headquarters of Domobran, although formally subordinate to his ministry. Pavelich was considered the supreme commander of the war.
The Ustash warrior had a number of privileges, and the commanders of its units and divisions enjoyed great independence. The Ustaše center in Zagreb assisted, through its emissaries, in the creation of local military units. Ustasha commanders thus rendered big influence to all authorities of the NGH, in fact, from the very beginning, the Domobran and the gendarmerie were subordinate to them.
At first, the warrior was replenished at the expense of volunteers, and then its General Staff switched to recruitment through mobilization.
Its original organization was as follows:
Elite Head Guard Battalion (Poglavnikova Tjelesna Bojna), which on May 10, 1942 became a brigade, having increased by June 1943 to two regiments. This unit included almost all Croatian armored formations, concentrating them in its armored battalion. In addition, it included the following battalions: guards, cavalry and mobile. He commanded a battalion, and then a brigade, Colonel Ante Moshkov. Already from the very name of the unit it is clear that its units carried the guards of the residence of the chief, and also accompanied his person everywhere. In addition, they guarded the government house, parliament, and as a guard of honor participated in the reception of foreign guests.
Security battalion under the command of the pukovnik Vekoslav Luburich - formed during 1941 to guard the concentration camps. In January 1942, he rose to the 1st Ustash Security Brigade (another name is the Camp Security Brigade). In general, the number of security units steadily increased, which made it possible already in 1942 to form the 2nd security brigade. As a result, by 1944 the number of their personnel numbered 10 thousand, and in 1945 - already 13 thousand people
39 operational battalions (Ustaske Djelatne Bojne)- the basis of the military organization of the Ustashe (on average, the number of each battalion ranged from 400 to 1000 people). Battalions from the 1st to the 12th were formed during 1941, from the 13th to the 39th - in 1942.
27 Ustasha preparatory battalions (Ustaske Pripremne Bojne)- security units in which reservists of non-conscription age served, and even young volunteers underwent pre-conscription training before being enrolled in the Ustash formations
Garrison Brigade "Zagreb" (reserve and training units)
Parts of the railway guard (organized in October 1941, in 1942 grew to 8 battalions)
In addition to these units, another one operated during this period - the 1st Ustash regiment, known as the "Black Legion" (Crna legija) whose history is worth dwelling on separately. It was formed in September 1941 in Sarajevo. The initiators of the creation of the regiment were the local Ustasha head of the pukovnik Juraj Frantsetich and his deputy boinik Rafael Boban. Initially, the personnel of the regiment consisted of 800 people. However, its numbers grew very quickly, and by September 1942, 1,500 people were already serving in its four battalions.
The Yugoslav historian Branimir Stanojevic wrote: “It was an elite Ustash regiment… where the ‘knightly spirit of the crusaders’ and bestial hatred of the Gentiles were cultivated. His hallmark there was cruelty against the civilian population ... Ustash propaganda raised Frantsetich to the rank of "the greatest national hero" and glorified his exploits. His death in battles with the partisans in December 1942 was commemorated by order of Archbishop Alois Stepinac with a special funeral service in the Zagreb Cathedral.
It was the most combat-ready Ustash unit. And, at the same time, the most odious in the Croatian armed forces (and some researchers believe that the most cruel in the entire history of the Second World War). The legion operated in Eastern Bosnia (Foca and Gorazde region) until September 1942, when it was disbanded. Most of its members became part of the 5th Ustash operational brigade as a separate battalion, which was called the "Boban battalion" - Bobanova Bojna(named after his second commander).
During this period, the commander of all Ustasha formations was the pukovnik Tomislav Sertich.
By the end of 1941, the number of the Ustash war was about 15 thousand people, but by the end of 1942, the Ustash combat formations already had about 25 thousand people, making up a rather large force that began to require reorganization. It began on June 1, 1943, when brigades for various purposes were created by combining all operational battalions and other units on a territorial basis. The number of personnel of each of these brigades ranged from 3 to 3.5 thousand people:
head guard brigade (Poglavnikov Tjelesni Sdrug)- 1-2 operational regiments, cavalry, mobile, artillery, security, engineering and two spare battalions
1st operational brigade (Sarjevo district, Sokolac, Ustiprach) - 2nd, 3rd, 14th, 21st, 28th operational battalions
2nd operational brigade (in Srem and Tuzla region) - 4th, 6th, 8th, 15th, 18th, 36th operational battalions, 1st railway guard battalion, 2nd mountain battalion
3rd Operational Brigade (Karlovac, Ogulin, Otočac and Gospic area) - 5th, 10th, 30th, 33rd, 35th, 37th operational battalions
4th operational brigade (Glina and Bihac area) - 9th, 17th, 19th, 31st, 34th operational battalions, 4th mountain battalion
5th operational brigade (Travnik area, Bugoino, Glamoch); 6th (Imonski, Vrgorac, Makarska) - 1st, 7th, 20th, 24th operational battalions, engineering company, 1st mountain battalion
1st (Zagreb) and 2nd (Sarajevo) railway guard brigades ensured the security of communication lines (four battalions each)
The 1st and 2nd security brigades in Jasenovac and Nova Gradiska guarded the concentration camps
During this period, the pukovnik Sertich still remained the commander of all Ustash units.
In the autumn of 1943, the Ustash war increased to 32 thousand people. In proportion to the numbers, the duties of the Ustashe also increased compared to Domobran, so a new reorganization was required, which began on January 1, 1944. Its main point was to form new operational brigades - from the 7th to the 18th - due to new operational battalions. The composition of the 1-7th brigades, which were redeployed to the Drnis, Benkovac area, was also slightly changed:
head guard brigade - 1-2 operational regiments, cavalry, mobile, armored, artillery, security, engineering and two spare battalions (in October 1944, Colonel Vekoslav Servatsi became the brigade commander)
1st operational brigade - 2nd, 24th, 29th operational battalions
2nd operational brigade - 6th, 15th, 18th operational and reserve battalions
3rd operational brigade - 5th, 10th, 13th, 30th, 33rd operational and reserve battalions
4th operational brigade - 9th, 19th, 20th, 31st, 34th operational and security battalion "Otochats"
5th operational brigade - 1st, 7th, 20th, 35th operational battalions
6th operational brigade - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th operational battalions
7th operational brigade - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th operational battalions
8th operational brigade (Petrinya district, Dubica) - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th operational battalions
9th operational brigade (Ostrozhac area, Mostar, Gibela) - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th operational battalions
10th operational brigade (Banja Luka region, Turopolye) - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th operational battalions
11th operational brigade (Doboj district, Sarajevo) - 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th operational battalions
12th operational brigade (Tuzla area) - 14th, 23rd, 25th, 29th operational battalions
13th operational brigade (Vinkovtsi district, Ilok) - 6th, 16th operational battalions
14th Operational Brigade (Nova Gradiska District) - 1st Railway Guard Battalion, "Moslavac" Railway Guard Battalion, Reserve Battalion
15th operational brigade (Zabok area, Krapina) - 5th, 6th, 7th operational battalions
16th operational brigade (Bosanski Brod area, Derventa) - garrison battalions "Brodna-Save" and "Derventa", 2nd railway guard battalion
17th operational brigade (Karlovac district, Ogulin) - garrison battalions "Ogulin", "Vrbovsko", "Sushak", "Riechitsa", "Ozalya" and "Karlovac"
18th Operational Brigade (Otočac District) - garrison brigades "Otočac", "Brinje", "Senja" and "Lovinac"
garrison brigade "Zagreb" (1-4th garrison battalions)
security brigade (1-4 security, mobile and artillery battalions).
In addition, Ustasha garrison commandant's offices were created in Zagreb and Sarajevo (about 1,300 people) and 27 training battalions (about 10,500 people).
The total number of the Ustash war during this period was about 45 thousand people. Pukovnik Ivan Gerenchich became her new chief of staff.
I must say that in addition to the regular Ustashe units organized according to a single plan, many Ustashe who returned from emigration and the leaders of local organizations created armed groups that were called "wild Ustashe" or "Ustashe militia" (Ustaska Milicija).
The number of these groups, the creation of which began in May and June 1941, steadily increased, especially in Lika, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This "warrior" behaved especially unbridled: "wild Ustashe" broke into Serbian villages, robbed and killed peasants. In their atrocities, carried out under the pretext of "protecting the Croats and Muslims from the Chetniks", they knew no bounds. Even Pavelić himself was forced on August 9, 1941 to issue a special order disbanding the "wild Ustashe", who by that time, according to the Ministry of Domobran, numbered 25-30 thousand people. The detachments of the "wild Ustashe" were also disbanded because the German command considered them the main reason for the armed uprising in the Serbian regions. By the end of 1941, most of the "wild Ustashe" joined the formations of the Ustasha warrior and various security units, and the rest were disarmed. However, in some areas, the "Ustash militia" lasted until the end of the war.
After the reorganization, the structure of the Ustasha war did not remain unchanged for long: until November 20, 1944, when, through the last transformations, the Ustashe and Domobran brigades were merged into a single Croatian armed forces.
As a result of all the reorganizations, the order of battle of the Croatian armed forces looked like this:
1st Corps - Head Guard Corps (Poglavnikov Tjelesni Collection):
Head Guard Division (Poglavnikova Tjelesna Division) - 1-2nd security regiments; reserve regiment; artillery, cavalry, mobile, engineer and other battalions
1st shock division (1sa Udarna division)(20-22nd infantry regiments; 20-21st artillery battalions; mobile battalion) - the best formation of the Croatian armed forces (located in the Belovar region, Zagreb)
5th division (5th Ustash brigade; 11th infantry brigade; two artillery batteries; 5th infantry strike regiment; mobile brigade) - Koprivnica, Belovar
2nd building:
2nd division (15th and 20th Ustash brigades; 20th infantry brigade; 3rd engineering reserve brigade) - Zagreb, Velika Gorica
12th division (3rd mountain brigade; 12th Ustash brigade; 2nd engineer reserve battalion; three artillery batteries) - Brcko
14th Division (14th Ustasha Brigade; 19th Infantry Brigade) - Slavonski Brod, Novoka
17th Division (under formation)
18th shock division (like the previous division, was in the process of formation)
3rd building:
3rd Division (1st Jaeger Brigade; 2nd and 13th Ustash Brigades; 7th and 18th Artillery Battalions) - Vinkovci, Chadzhyavitsa
7th mountain division (1st and 14th mountain brigades; 1st and 6th artillery battalions) - Nova Kopela, Slavonska Pozega, Pakrac
8th division (1st and 11th Ustash brigades; 18th infantry brigade; one artillery battery) - Sarajevo, Kalinovik, Pracha
9th Mountain Division (2nd Mountain Brigade; 9th Ustash Brigade; three artillery batteries) - Mostar, Shiroki Brieg
4th Corps:
4th Division (7th Jaeger Brigade; 8th and 19th Ustash Brigades; 14th Infantry Brigade; 12th Artillery Battalion) - Sisak, Sunya, Dvor-on-Une
6th division (10th Ustasha brigade; 15th infantry brigade; two artillery batteries) - Banja Luka, Kotor Varosh
15th Division (16th Ustash Brigade; 16th Infantry Brigade) - Doboi, Zavidovichi
5th Corps:
10th Division (10th Chasseur Brigade; 7th Ustasha Brigade; 8th Artillery Battalion and two batteries) - Bosanski Novi, Bihac, Donji Lapac
11th division (4th and 18th Ustaše brigades; 13th infantry brigade; one artillery battery) - Gospic, Sep, Rijeka
13th division (3rd and 17th Ustasha brigades; 12th infantry brigade; one artillery battalion; separate battalion "Rekke") - Karlovac, Duga-Resa, Kamensko
16th Reserve Division (21st and 23rd Reserve Brigades; 21st Ustash Reserve Brigade; four spare batteries)
16th Ustash training reserve division (Ustash reserve brigade; Ustash reserve engineering battalion; Ustash student detachment)
1st Ustash security brigade (1-4th infantry battalions; mobile battalion; artillery battalion; garrison battalion; three recruiting battalions; 1st Ustash reserve regiment) - in April 1945 became known as the 30th Ustash shock regiment
Ustasha reserve corps (shelves "Lamb", "Vuka" and "Posavye")
General Đuro Đurić was placed in command of these combined armed forces, answering directly to Pavelić, who became the supreme commander.
By the end of April 1945, German troops were finally withdrawn from Yugoslavia. The command of the Croatian armed forces acted similarly, which, in order not to be captured by the NOAU, retreated to Austria, where, between May 15 and 17, 1945, they surrendered to the British. Below is their latest order of battle, consisting, as before, of five corps. It should be noted that although the corps from the 2nd to the 5th were called Ustasha, not all of their fighters were Ustasha:
1st Corps - Guard Corps of the Head Guard (commander - General Ante Moskov):
Head Guard Division
1st Assault Division
2nd Infantry Division
5th Infantry Division
16th Ustash training and reserve division
2nd Ustasha Corps (commander - General Vekoslav Luburic):
12th Infantry Division
14th Infantry Division
18th Infantry Division
3rd Ustasha Corps (commander - General Josip Metzger):
3rd Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division
9th Infantry Division
4th Ustasha Corps (commander unknown):
4th Infantry Division
6th Infantry Division
15th Infantry Division
5th Ustasha Corps (commander - General Ivan Gerenchich):
10th Infantry Division
11th Infantry Division
13th Infantry Division
It is difficult to judge the final size of the Croatian armed forces at the time of the surrender, since the civilian population retreated along with the army. In general, according to the estimates of Croatian historians, in May 1945, 200 thousand soldiers and the same number of civilians crossed the Austrian border.
The least developed in comparison with the ground forces and the Ustash war were the naval and air forces of the NGH.
Immediately after the adoption of the law on the army and navy in the NDH, the Italian government, whose troops occupied the Adriatic coast of Croatia, banned the latter from using ships with a displacement of more than 50 tons in its navy. Therefore Croatian Navy (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica) were originally organized as a customs guard and a coast guard service. With only small armored boats and armed fishing boats, the Croatian fleet was based in Dubrovnik during this period. Another area of activity of the naval command during this period was the selection and training of the necessary number of personnel to create a combat-ready navy in the future. So, by the end of 1941, 1798 members of the former Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav Royal Navy voluntarily joined their ranks, of which: 5 admirals, 3 rear admirals, 131 senior officers, 235 junior officers, 1331 non-commissioned officers and 93 military officials .
The main governing body, which carried out the command of the Navy and was subordinate to the Ministry of the Croatian Domobran, was the High Command of the Navy (Zapovjednistvo Ratne Mornarice). It was founded in April 1941 and was located in Zagreb. Organizationally, the High Command included three commands: naval units, coastal service and sea routes and rivers and river routes messages. Each of them was responsible for their area of work.
Unlike the ground forces, the Croatian Navy did not undergo any reorganization until September 1943. The surrender of Italy lifted the ban on the tonnage of warships, and allowed Croatia to capture several convenient harbors on the Adriatic coast. This significantly influenced the structure of the Navy, which after 1943 looked like this:
Command of Naval Units, Coastal Service and Maritime Communications:
The main naval commandant's office "Northern Jadran" (headquarters in Crikvenica, since 1943 in Sushak) - the commandant's offices in Kralevice (bases in Bakar and St. Jacob) and Senya (bases in St. Juraj, Jablanets, Karlobag, Obrovac) were subordinate to it and Page)
The main naval commandant's office "Middle Jadran" (headquarters in Makarska, since 1943 in Split) - the commandant's offices in Omis (base in Krilo), Supetar (bases in Milan, Suvitan, Postira, Bol, Povlima and Sumartin) were subordinate to it), Makarska (bases in Baska Voda, Podgora, Igran, Zaostrog and Graz), Metković (bases in Opuzen and Neum) and Hvar (bases in Starigrad, Jelsa, Vrbosko and Sučurje)
The main naval commandant's office "South Jadran" (headquarters in Dubrovnik) - the commandant's offices in Trpanje (base in Draga), Orebic (base in Trstenik) and Dubrovnik (bases in Ston, Slano, Sipan, Lopud and Zaton), as well as subcommandatory in Cavtat
In addition to the main naval commandant's offices, the following naval bases were also subordinate to the High Command of the Navy: 1st class (Crkvenica, Senja, Makarska, Hvar and Dubrovnik), 2nd class (Karlobag and Sipan) and 3rd class (Kraljevica, Obrovac, Suchurje, Omis and Cavtat)
Command of rivers and river routes:
Commandant's offices in Sisak, Brodna Sava, Hrvatsk Mitrovica, Zemun, Petrovaradin, Vukovar and Osijek
river flotilla with a base in Zemun - it included 2 river monitors, 5 patrol boats, 2 river boats, 2 auxiliary minesweepers and 1 auxiliary boat. All these vessels were engaged in patrolling on the Danube and Sava
marine battalion - the 1st company of the marines was stationed in Osijek, then transferred to Zemun), the 2nd and 3rd companies of the marines were stationed in Zemun.
In 1944, the Croatian Navy numbered about 1,300 people and had several large floating assets that were part of the German 11th security naval division. The headquarters of the river flotilla was transferred to Slavonski Brod and was now subordinate to the naval headquarters in Zagreb. During this period, the flotilla consisted of 2 river monitors and several military boats patrolling on the Sava and Vrbas.
The commanders of the Croatian Navy were in succession: Rear Admiral Djuro Dzhakchin (April 1941 - late 1943), captain of the boynog ford Edgar Angeli (late 1943 - January 1944) and Rear Admiral Nikola Steinfl (January 1944 - May 1945).
Croatian Air Force (Hrvatsko Zrakoplovtvo / Hrvatske Zracne Snage) were created on April 12, and finally formed on April 21, 1941. Like the ground forces and the Navy, they were subordinate to the Domobran Ministry, which led air force via Air Force Command (Zapovjednistvo Zracnih Snaga). In turn, this command was subordinate to the air bases from which Croatian pilots operated, and air defense units.
Initially, two air bases were created, on which, by December 1941, the following air formations were located:
1st bomber air group as part of the 1st bomber squadron
4th Fighter Air Group as part of the 10th and 11th Fighter Squadrons
5th bomber air group as part of the 12th and 13th bomber squadrons (it should be said that two recent groups were listed as part of the Croatian Air Force only formally - these were parts of the so-called Croatian Aviation Legion, which served as part of the German Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front - we will talk about it in more detail below)
3rd bomber air group consisting of the 7th, 8th and 9th bomber squadrons
In the autumn of 1943, another air base was created, which received the fifth serial number. As a result, on November 1, 1943, the battle formation of the Croatian Air Force looked like this:
2nd air group as part of the 1st fighter and 3rd bomber squadrons, as well as the 19th communications squadron
4th Fighter and 5th Bomber Air Groups (continued to be part of the Croatian Air Force, but were still on the Eastern Front)
2nd Air Base "Sarajevo - Railovac":
2nd air group as part of the 4th communications squadron, 5th and 6th bomber squadrons
3rd air group as part of the 7th and 8th bomber squadrons
5th air base "Banja Luka":
6th Aviation Group as part of the 13th bomber squadron and the 18th communications squadron
Finally, at the end of 1943, the last Air Force air base was created. She received the third serial number. The Croatian command planned to create another air base - the 4th in Zemun - but these plans remained on paper. Thus, the battle order of the Croatian air formations remained unchanged after the last reorganization until the very end of the war and looked like this (data as of October 1, 1944):
1st Air Base "Zagreb - Borongay":
2nd air group as part of the 1st mixed, 2nd fighter, 3rd bomber squadrons and the 19th communications squadron
11th air group consisting of the 21st, 22nd and 23rd fighter squadrons
2nd air base "Sarajevo - Railovac":
2nd air group consisting of the 4th, 5th, 6th reconnaissance and 20th squadrons
3rd Air Base "Mostar":
3rd air group as part of the 7th bomber squadron
5th air base "Banja Luka":
6th air group consisting of the 13th and 15th bomber and 14th fighter squadrons.
The main problem of Croatian aviation throughout its existence remained technical equipment and personnel. Croatian pilots operated mainly on obsolete aircraft, many of which were trophies. So, already in June 1941, the German command transferred 60 aircraft of the former Yugoslav Royal Air Force to its new ally. By the end of 1941, the combat power of Croatian aviation increased somewhat: the Germans handed over to them a number of their obsolete combat vehicles, as well as some captured English and French ones. As a result, the strength of the NGH Air Force during this period amounted to 95 aircraft, but only 60% of them were fit for combat operations. In 1942, Italy became the main supplier of aircraft for the Croatian Air Force. In total, during the year, she handed over 98 aircraft to the NGH, which made it possible to create new air connections and increase the total number of combat vehicles to 160. Italian-German deliveries continued further: by September 1943, the Croatian Air Force had 228 aircraft, although only 177 of them were fit for combat. From the middle of the summer of 1944, mass desertion began from the Croatian Air Force: entire crews flew over to the side of Tito's partisans. All this, combined with growing losses (more than 60 aircraft were lost in 1943 alone), led to the fact that by the end of April 1945 only 30 combat vehicles remained at the Zagreb airfield.
For the most part, Croatian aircraft operated as support for the German Air Force in anti-partisan operations. However, at the end of the war, they had to face the bombers and fighters of the Anglo-American allies in the sky over the Croatian cities.
Much better than with combat vehicles, the situation was with trained personnel in the Croatian Air Force. So, after the surrender of Yugoslavia, a significant number of its former pilots joined the armed forces of the new state. At the same time, intensive training of new personnel began (usually with the help of the Germans). All this led to the fact that at the end of 1941 there were more than 2,600 people in the NGH Air Force: 200 pilot officers, 50 pilot non-commissioned officers and 2,400 technical and support personnel. And in 1943, the total number of personnel of the Croatian aviation reached almost 10 thousand people.
The Air Force headquarters also subordinated the command of anti-aircraft artillery ( Zapovjednistvo Protueroplanske Obrane), which included two anti-aircraft districts:
1st Air Defense District "Zagreb" as part of the 1st and 2nd Air Defense Battalions and
2nd air defense district "Sarajevo" as part of the 3rd and 4th air defense battalions
Another unit that was subordinate to the Air Force Command was the 1st Croatian parachute company. (1sa Hrvatska padobranska lovacka satnija), which was formed in late 1941 - early 1942. Until the end of August 1943, the personnel of the company were trained, and already in September they were thrown into their first battle against communist partisans east of Zagreb. In November 1943, during the battle for Koprivnica (where the company was deployed), the Croatian paratroopers were almost completely defeated: in total, their losses amounted to 20 people killed and missing. After that, the company was assigned to Zagreb for rest, where it was temporarily disbanded. Soon, however, the unit was again restored. Due to the new volunteers, it was possible to form not one, but four companies, which in July 1944 were deployed to the 1st Croatian parachute battalion, which received the honorary name "Croatian Eagles" (1sa Hrvatska padobranska lovacka bojna “Hrvatski Orlovi”). Zagreb was chosen as the location of the new battalion, and the commander of the 1st air base was chosen as its immediate superior. From the autumn of 1944 to the spring of 1945, the battalion took part in numerous anti-partisan operations. The last day of the existence of this unit - May 14, 1945, when it, along with the rest of the Croatian troops, surrendered to the British.
Until the end of September 1944, the Croatian paratroopers were commanded by the striker Dragutin Dolanski, then he was replaced by the striker Ljudevit Agich - both former officers of the parachute units of the Yugoslav Royal Army.
All the Croatian Air Forces were consistently commanded by: General Vladimir Kren (April 16, 1941 - September 14, 1943), the pukovnik Adalbert Rogulya (September 14, 1943 - June 4, 1944) and again Vladimir Kren (June 4, 1944 - May 1945).
The command of the Croatian armed forces paid considerable attention to the training of officers and non-commissioned officers. Beginning in May 1941, with active German assistance, a whole network of military and military special educational institutions .
The main training of officers was carried out at the Domobran Military Academy (Domobranska Vojna Akademija). It was opened in Zagreb in May 1941, and organizationally consisted of four companies, in which officer training was carried out. The first graduation of students took place on June 13, 1941: a total of 189 people were trained (127 for infantry, 30 for artillery, 15 for engineering troops, 12 for the Air Force, 3 for transport troops and one each for cavalry and signal troops). The last graduation took place in 1944 in Stockerau (Austria), where the academy was transferred in 1943. In general, it is not known how many officers this educational institution has trained. Accurate data are available only for 1941, in June-December of which 878 people received officer ranks.
From May 1941 to September 1942, the head of the Domobran Military Academy was the pukovnik Viktor Pavichich (he was later replaced by the pukovnik Miliva Durbesic), and his deputy was the pukovnik Victor Prebeg. The command of the training companies of the academy was respectively carried out by the striker Milan Ugarkovich, the rider Drago Pecic, the shooter Antun Girichek and the rider Josip Bako.
In addition to the main courses in Zagreb, the Preparatory Courses of the Domobran Military Academy operated in Sarajevo. (Pripremni tecaj Domobranske Akademije). In 1941, they prepared 231 people, who then entered the academy. The head of the courses was the pukovnik Gashchich.
In parallel with the officer academy in Croatia, a number of schools also operated, in which special non-commissioned officers were trained. In total, from 1941 to 1945, six of them were created:
Combined-arms non-commissioned officer school - located in Zagreb
Artillery non-commissioned officer school - located in Petrovaradin
Cavalry non-commissioned officer school - located in Varazdin
Sapper non-commissioned officer school - located in Karlovac
Railway non-commissioned officer school - located in Brod na Sava
Non-commissioned officer school for the training of riders and drivers - located in Varazdin
In addition to the ground forces, the Air Force also had its own network of educational institutions. In general, from 1941 to 1945, four of them were created:
Parachute Academy - located in Koprivnica (later - in Zagreb)
Air Force Training Regiment - located in Petrovaradin
Air Force Glider Training School - located in Sveta Nedelya (near Zagreb)
Air Force Pilot Training School - located in Borovo (near Vukovar)
From May 1941, General Karlo Klajic was the head of all military educational institutions in Croatia.
State Honorary Labor Service (Drzavna Casna Radna Sluzba), was founded on April 16 and finally organized on July 30, 1941. Like a number of previous parts of the Domobran, this service was a complete copy of the German Imperial labor service. Its functions were similar: all physically fit young men from 19 to 25 years old served in the ranks of this service for a year of labor service before joining the regular army. Parallel to pre-conscription training members of this organization were also involved in the construction of fortifications on the front line or in the rear, for restoration work after air raids, or as assistants to the sapper units of the Domobran. In addition, the central management of the labor service kept a record of all the technical personnel that were available in Croatia at that time.
Starting from the day of its foundation, the number of personnel of the labor service has steadily increased, and by the summer of 1942 its personnel numbered more than 90 thousand people. However, already in September 1943, only 6 thousand people remained in its ranks (the youngest or not suitable for service in the regular army). The rest were sent as replacements for Domobran units. In January 1945, all the remaining members of the labor service by that time were sent to the ranks of the 18th shock division of the Croatian armed forces, and this organization itself was disbanded.
The chiefs of the labor service were successively: Pukovnik Ferdinand Halla (July 30, 1941 - May 1942) and General Dusan Palcic (May 1942 - January 1945).
Border guard. On May 9, 1941, the Croatian border with Montenegro and Serbia was closed. Initially, control over it was carried out by local gendarmerie units. Later, by the end of May, the Eastern Frontier Command was established in Sarajevo. (Zapovjednistvo istocnog podrucja), which took over all duties related to the protection of the border. In early June, the command created two border battalions (three companies each), and later another one. Used separately, all these battalions, however, were parts of the Border Rifle Brigade. (Brigada pogranicnih lovaca).
In June 1941, the Croatian border guard completed its organization: in less than two months, it grew both qualitatively and quantitatively. Now its governing body has become known as the Command of the Military Krayina ( Zapovjednistvo Vojne krajine). Its headquarters still remained in Sarajevo. And in addition to the existing three border battalions, two more were formed. Now the order of battle of the border guards looked like this:
1st Border Battalion - guarded the border in the Gorazde area
2nd Border Battalion - carried out border guards in the Zvornik area
3-5th border battalions - guarded the border in the region of Trebinje, Bilech, Gacko, Foca and Bielina.
In general, such an organization of the Domobran border guards remained unchanged until May 2, 1942, when the commander Kvaternik ordered it to be disbanded. The headquarters of the border guard was reorganized into a military engineering organization, which was supposed to carry out the construction of fortifications along the border river Drina. The personnel of the border battalions were transferred to the 2nd (5th battalion) and 3rd (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th battalions) Domobran Corps.
The gendarmerie pukovnik Stjepan Yakovlevich commanded the border guards.
On April 16, 1941, the Domobran command issued an order according to which all members of the former Yugoslav Royal Gendarmerie were to remain in their places and continue to serve in accordance with the previous instructions until new orders. They had to wait until April 30, 1941, when it was finally formed Croatian Gendarmerie (Hrvatsko Oruznistvo).
The main governing body of the new organization was the Command of the Croatian Gendarmerie, created in April 1941 ( Zapovjednistvo Hrvatskog Oruznistva), which consisted of four departments: organizational, personnel records, economic and protection of communications. The headquarters of the command was in Zagreb.
The structure of units and divisions of the gendarmerie was also reorganized. As a result, by August 1942, it included five gendarmerie regiments, divided into 27 gendarmerie companies, which carried out security service in the following areas:
1st Gendarmerie Regiment - the headquarters of the regiment was located in Zagreb, and its companies were stationed in the following settlements: Ogulin, Gospic, Petrinja, Belovar, Varazdin, Brodna-Save, Osijek and Vinkovci (the last three were part of the regiment only until August 1941 .)
2nd Gendarme Regiment - the headquarters of the regiment was located in Split (then in Knin), and its companies were stationed in the following settlements: Knin, Omiš, Makarska, Dubrovnik, Mostar and Travnik
3rd Gendarmerie Regiment - the headquarters of the regiment was located in Banja Luka, and its companies were deployed in the following settlements: Banja Luka, Doboj, Bosanski Petrovac and Bihac
4th Gendarmerie Regiment - the headquarters of the regiment was located in Sarajevo, and its companies were deployed in the following settlements: Sarajevo, Tuzla, Gorazde and Bilecha
5th Gendarmerie Regiment - the headquarters of the regiment was located in Osijek, and its companies were deployed in the following settlements: Osijek, Vinkovci, Zemun, Brodna Sava and Nova Gradishka.
By 1943, the number of gendarmerie regiments was increased to seven. As a result, they were distributed among the following settlements: 1st (Zagreb), 2nd (Split), 3rd (Banja Luka), 4th (Sarajevo), 5th (Mostar), 6th (Knin) and 7th (Zemun). However, the number of gendarmerie companies was reduced to 23.
The lowest link of the gendarmerie was the post, of which there were from 600 to 700 during the entire period of the existence of the NGH. They were scattered throughout the territory of Croatia, carrying out security service, in general, in 1600 settlements. In addition, in some areas of Herzegovina and Eastern Bosnia, the heads of the gendarmerie units had at their disposal small groups of armed inhabitants from Croats and Muslims (the so-called "militia"), who were given weapons to fight against the partisans, Chetniks and the Serbian population.
In addition to these units, the gendarme training battalion, the shock gendarme battalion "Lika" and three special battalions united in the so-called "Petrigna Brigade" were also subordinate to the headquarters of the gendarmerie. (“Petrinja Brigade”). The last military formation was created in January 1942, and was used for anti-partisan purposes in Slavonia.
The training of personnel for the Croatian gendarmerie was carried out by the Central Gendarmerie School, which was established on November 1, 1942 in Belovar.
As in all other types of the Croatian armed forces, the number of gendarmerie has steadily increased: if by the end of 1941 its personnel numbered about 8 thousand people, then in 1943 it had already grown to 18 thousand fighters. However, by the end of the war, the number of gendarmerie decreased somewhat: the 6th and 7th gendarme regiments were disbanded, as a result of which, 10 thousand officers, non-commissioned officers and privates served in its remaining units.
The gendarmerie was successively commanded by General Milan Mezler and then by General Quintilian Tartaglia (until August 1942). In August 1942, the gendarmerie was transferred from the Domobran to the Ustash war, and now Ustash officers began to command it: pukovnik Vilko Pechnikar (August 1942 - April 1945) and pukovnik Slavko Skoliber (April - May 1945).
The gendarmerie was responsible for the security service mainly in rural areas. In cities, similar functions were performed by police (Redarstvena Straza). It was founded in April 1941 by reorganizing the former Yugoslav police. The entire period of its existence, the police were considered part of the Domobran, and only from June 1942 to January 1943, its leadership was subordinate to the General Staff of the Ustash war. In total, the personnel of the Croatian police consisted of 5 thousand people who served in 142 settlements. The pukovnik Franjo Lukács commanded the police.
The last category of the Croatian armed forces proper were the so-called backup connections. Of these, mention should be made of such as the Ustash Reserve Corps (Pucko Ustaski Collection) also called the People's Ustash Corps. It was formed in the summer of 1944 and was under the command of General Josip Metzger. This unit consisted mainly of older ground forces reservists, commanded by non-commissioned officers and officers from the Ustash war. Like many other parts of the Croatian armed forces, this corps was a complete copy of the German Volkssturm. The corps consisted of four regiments, formed according to the territorial principle in Vuk, Baranya, Posaviya and Livac-Zapolya. In December 1944, the regiment from Livats-Zapolya was attached to the Ustasha security brigade of Vekoslav Luburich as the 1st People's Ustashe Regiment. The remaining three regiments became part of the 5th Army Corps, where they remained until their disbandment in March 1945.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 1941 to 1944, there was a Volunteer Militia (Domobranska dobrovoljacka vojnica / “Domdo”), which consisted of 21 battalions and was under the control of Domobran, being his reserve in the area. Since the personnel of these battalions consisted mainly of local Muslims, they were sometimes also called the Muslim Militia. (Muslimanska vojnica). In September 1943, about 7,500 people served in these units. At the beginning of 1944, these battalions were disbanded, and most of their members were included in the Domobran garrison brigades, or transferred to reinforce the 13th Mountain Jaeger Division of the SS Handshar, which will be discussed below.
Another very interesting page in the history of the NGH armed forces is the service of non-Croats in their ranks. These foreign parts were not some kind of separate branch of the troops, however, it is worth dwelling on their history in more detail. As mentioned above, Croatia, after all the territorial acquisitions, has become a multinational state. Formally, all its citizens, except for the deprived Serbs and Jews, were subject to conscription to the Domobran or could join the Ustash war. However, in reality, it turned out that only Croats and Bosnian Muslims served in the armed forces (they were considered Muslim Croats). The same national minorities living in the NGH, like the Germans and Ukrainians, got the opportunity to form their own ethnic parts.
The German national minority in Croatia was the most significant and, at the same time, the most loyal towards the new authorities. Among other things, this loyalty was based on that special attitude towards him, which was confirmed by a number of agreements between Germany and the NGH. According to these agreements, all Volksdeutsche(ethnic Germans living outside the Third Reich) received the status of a "special racial group" in Croatia (Deutsche Mannschaft), which could enjoy the rights of broad autonomy. And one of these rights was the creation of their own military units, which were supposed to play the role of self-defense.
In August 1941, the Headquarters was created in Osijek operational detachments of the German national group (Einsatzstaffel der Deutsche Mannschaft) and began the recruitment of volunteers in these units. All Croatian Germans between the ages of 18 and 28 could join them. As a result, by April 1943 - the official date of the disbandment of the headquarters - the following formations were organized under its auspices:
Operational Battalion "Prince Eugen" (Verfugungs-bataillon “Prinz Eugen”), composed of six companies
1st Preparatory Battalion "Ludwig von Baden" (Bereitschaft-bataillon “Ludwig von Baden”), composed of four companies
2nd Preparatory Battalion "General Loudon" (Bereitschaft-bataillon “General Laudon”), composed of five companies
3rd Preparatory Battalion "Maximilian Emmanuel of Bavaria" (Bereitschaft-bataillon “Maximilian Emanuele von Bayern”), composed of three companies
reserve battalion (Ersatzbataillon)
volunteer companies "May" and "Zikmund" ( Freiwilligen-Kompanie “May” and “Zikmund”)
special purpose motorcyclist platoon (Kradschutzenzug z.b.V.)
The general command of these units was carried out by Oberstleutnant Jakob Lichtenberger, who also had the rank of Ustashe dopukovnik, since he was operationally subordinate to the Main Headquarters of the Ustasha War. However, these Germans swore allegiance to both Hitler and Pavelić at the same time.
In April 1943, all these units were disbanded, and a significant part of their personnel was transferred to reinforce the 7th Volunteer Mountain Jaeger Division "Prince Eugen", which was formed from Germans living in the Balkan states. Another, smaller part, members of the operational detachments, was used as a regular personnel of the Croatian-German police, the creation of which began in the summer of 1943 (more on it will be discussed below).
The total number of ethnic Germans who served in various units of the Croatian ground forces can be seen from the following table:
In the summer of 1941, the Orthodox priest Vasily Strilchyk wrote a letter to the German authorized general in Croatia, Edmund Gleise von Horstenau, in which he suggested that he form a national legion from Ukrainian youth, in order to then send him to Eastern front. Turning to the Germans, the priest pursued certain goals. In his opinion, such a legion would enable young Ukrainians to survive the civil war that began in Yugoslavia. Soon his initiative became known in Ukrainian circles in Zagreb. Local Ukrainian leaders decided to rush this matter and turned to the Domobran command. Soon the commander Kvaternik gave his consent to the creation of the Ukrainian Legion.
In the autumn of 1941, the recruitment of volunteers into the ranks of the legion began on the ground. In less than a month, about 1,500 people were recruited, who were gathered in Varazdin. Here the legion was to be finally organized and prepared for combat operations. It should be said here that it was not so much Domobran officers who trained him, but former officers of the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1920), many of whom settled in Yugoslavia.
The process of preparing the legion continued until the spring of 1942, when, having received the official name 1st company of Ukrainian legionnaires (1sa satnija Ukrajinska Legionara) , was thrown into battle. In the summer of 1942, the Ukrainian legion arrived in the area Prinyavor - Derventa - Kozara. And here his fighters suffered the first disappointment. Instead of sending them to the Eastern Front, the Germans and Croats decided to use them to fight the Serbian Chetniks. Moreover, Ukrainians from the Domobran were transferred to the Ustash warrior. As a result, mass desertion of personnel began: within a year, the number of the legion was reduced to 150 people. Nevertheless, the Ukrainians did not enjoy such notoriety as their Ustashe counterparts: both officers and privates behaved quite correctly against the local Serb population. Besides, it was the best way to avoid repression by the Chetniks, which they could subject the families of Ukrainian volunteers.
Until the spring of 1943, the legion managed to avoid serious losses in its ranks. They appeared only when he was thrown against the communist partisans in the Bihac region. And these losses were so significant that by the end of 1943 the number of personnel of the Ukrainian formation was reduced to 50 people (the total losses of the legion for the entire war are estimated at 120 people). A new mobilization was announced, but it also did not bring the desired result: the Chetniks did not allow Ukrainian youth to enter the recruiting stations.
In the spring of 1945, the remnants of the Ukrainian Legion began to retreat to the Austrian border, along with German and Croatian troops. However, they could not surrender to the British: somewhere in Slovenia, the Ukrainian legionnaires were intercepted by partisans of Josip Broz Tito. Their further fate is unknown, but there is every reason to believe that all the fighters of the legion were simply shot on the spot. The same legionnaires who deserted from their formation and returned home were subsequently subjected to repression by the authorities of communist Yugoslavia as "Ukrainian fascists".
From the spring of 1942 to the spring of 1943, the legion was commanded by a former officer in the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, whose name remained unknown. He was replaced by engineer Vladimir Pankiv, who remained in this post until the very end of the war, and after the surrender of Germany committed suicide.
From what has been said, it is clear that, despite the relatively short period of its existence, the Croatian armed forces went through several stages in their history and met the end of the war as a very branched military organization. The table below gives a general idea of the number of main branches and types of troops of the NGH armed forces in different periods of their existence:
Notes:
Müller N. The Wehrmacht and the Occupation (1941–1944). - M., 1974. - S. 45.
Butorovic R. Susak i Rijeka u NOB. - Rijeka, 1975. - S. 42.
This military official was, in fact, the head of the German military infrastructure on the territory of Croatia, and commanded the Wehrmacht troops stationed here. Vertically, he was subordinate to the commander of the German occupation administration and Wehrmacht troops in the "Southeast" (Yugoslavia and Greece). Since 1942, this position has become known as "Commander of the German Forces in Croatia" (Befehlshaber der Deutschen Truppen in Kroatien). Agram - German title Zagreb.
According to the calculations of the Croatian historian Ivan. Kossutych, these were: 515 lieutenants, 417 senior lieutenants, 1005 captains, 254 majors, 228 lieutenant colonels, 212 colonels and 31 generals. In May 1941, the Yugoslav royal government (in London) stripped 559 officers from this group of military ranks.
West R. Josip Broz Tito. The power of strength. - Smolensk, 1997. - S. 104.
Colic M. Op. cit. - S. 224–226.
Colic M. Op. cit. - S. 284–294.
Vrancic V. Postrojenje i Brojcano Stanje Hrvatskih Oruzanih Snaga u Godinama 1941–1945 // Godisnjak hrvatsko domobrana. - Buenos Aires, 1953. - S. 27–29.
Strugar V. Decree. op. - S. 30–31.
Hory L., Broszat M. Op. cit. - S. 146.
Colic M. Op. cit. - S. 292–294.
Broszat M. Waffendienst der Volksdeutschen in Kroatien // Gutachten des Institut fur Zeitgeschichte. - Munchen, 1966. - Bd. 2. - S. 225–231.
Littlejohn D. The German Struggle Against Tito's Partisans // Military Illustrated. - 1993. - No. 67. - P. 37.
Vasilisha M. The Ukrainian Legion in Yugoslavia // News of the brotherhood of numerous warriors of the 1st Ukrainian division of the Ukrainian National Army. - 1955. - Veresen - Zhovten. - S. 2–3.
Even before the outbreak of World War II, the separatist Croatian group Ustasha ("Rebel", "Rebel") operated in Yugoslavia. The group sought the independence of Croatia. Financial assistance from Italy and Hungary, however, did not help the group achieve significant results.
In April 1941, the German army invaded Yugoslavia, the army of this country fought only thanks to Serb soldiers - Croats and Bosnians fled dozens of units. At this time, the separatists decided to take advantage of the situation and declared independence. A new state appeared on the map - Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska. Ante Pavelic became the head of state, and Slavko Kvaternik became the commander-in-chief. On April 11, 1941, a decree was signed on the beginning of the formation of Hrvatsko Domobranstvo (Croatian troops). It was supposed to create ground forces, a fleet, an air force, a gendarmerie, railway troops, and a labor service.
The new army did not have enough uniforms and weapons. Armored troops were armed only with old wedges and armored vehicles. The number of artillery pieces made it possible to create only 2 batteries in divisions. The recruitment of the army was carried out at the expense of conscripts, whose combat abilities were insignificant. In addition, a significant part of experienced officers entered the service of the German and Italian armies and the Ustasha Vojnica party armed formation.
After the Reich's attack on the USSR, Croatia also sent some of its units to the Eastern Front. The 369th Infantry Regiment and insignificant fleet forces were sent to Russia. A larger number of Croats served in the East in the uniform of the Wehrmacht and the Italian army.
For my short story the army went through several reorganizations: November 1, 1941 and May 1, 1943. In addition, in April 1942, 1 mountain division was formed (about 17,000 people). On November 20, 1944, military units and Vojnica were merged into the Croatian Armed Forces - Hrvatske Oruzane Snage. This was done to raise morale and strengthen the army units by party fanatics. By this time, the 1st shock division becomes the strongest formation of the army.
In the spring of 1945, units of the Red Army break into the territory of Croatia. Hrvatske Oruzane Snage units retreat with the Germans. In May 1945, a significant part of the Croatian divisions surrendered to the Allies in Austria near the city of Bleiburg. After a short break, the Allies hand over the prisoners to the Yugoslav government. Here, many Croatian soldiers were executed.
The Croatian army showed itself as a weak force at the front. But to a large extent, the Croats "distinguished themselves" in the fight against the partisans, when the "brave warriors" identified entire Serbian villages.
Initially, the regiments were structurally part of the military districts. Status as of October 1941:
Sava Divisional Region (district headquarters in Zagreb):
1 Infantry Regiment - Bjeloi (location)
2 Infantry Regiment - Zagreb
3rd Infantry Regiment - Karlovac
Osijek Divisional Region (district headquarters in Osijek):
4 Infantry Regiment - Osijek
5th Infantry Regiment - Pozega
6 Infantry Regiment - Vinkovci
Bosnian Divisional Region (district headquarters in Sarajevo):
7th Infantry Regiment - Sarajevo
8 Infantry Regiment - Tuzla
9 Infantry Regiment - Travnik
Vrbas Divisional Region (district headquarters in Banja Luka):
10th Infantry Regiment - Banja Luka
11th Infantry Regiment - Sisak
12th Infantry Regiment - Otocac
Jadran Divisional Region (district headquarters in Mostar):
13th Infantry Regiment - Mostar
14th Infantry Regiment - Trebinje
15th Infantry Regiment - Knin
Units outside the command of the district:
Cavalry Regiment "Zagreb" - Zagreb and Virovitica
Separate cavalry battalion - Sarajevo
1 Motorized Battalion - Zagreb
2 Motorized Battalion - Sarajevo
The first reorganization of the army in November 194th leads to the creation of corps:
I Corps (headquarters at Sisak):
1 Infantry division (1, 2, 11 infantry regiments; 1, 2 artillery battalions)
2 Infantry Division (3, 12, 15 infantry regiments; 8, 10 artillery battalions)
Cavalry Regiment "Zagreb"
1 motorcycle battalion
1, 3 Sapper battalions
II Corps - Slovenia and Northern Bosnia (headquarters at Slavonski Brod):
3 Infantry Division (4, 6 infantry regiments; 3, 4 artillery battalions)
4th Infantry Division (5th, 8th, 10th Infantry Regiments; 6th, 7th Artillery Battalions)
2 Brigades
III Corps - Southern Bosnia and Herzegovina (headquarters in Sarajevo):
5th Infantry Division (7th, 9th Infantry Regiments; 5th Artillery Battalions)
6 Infantry divisions (13, 14 infantry regiments; 9 artillery regiments; 1-4 battalions)
1 Mountain Division (1-4 mountain brigades; 1-18 railway battalions; 21 Village Militia Bns.)
The organization changed after May 1, 1943. formed 3 corps from brigades. Garion brigades have been added.
On November 20, 1944, the Croatian Armed Forces were created. Organized 5 corps of 13 infantry, 2 mountain, 2 shock divisions, security divisions (+ Replacient Division):
By April 1945, Ustaha units formed the backbone of the army. Guard Corps "Poglavnik" (commander - General Ante Moskov)Security division "Poglavnik"
1 strike division
2nd Infantry Division
5 Infantry Division
16th Reserve Division
Mobile brigade
II Ustashe Corps (commander - General Max Luburic):
12 Infantry Division
14 Infantry Division
18 Infantry Division
III Ustashe Corps (commander - General Metzger):
3rd Infantry Division
7 Infantry Division
8 Infantry Division
9 Infantry Division
IV Ustashe Corps
4 Infantry Division
6 Infantry Division
15 Infantry Division
V Ustashe Corps (commander General Herencic):
10 Infantry Division
11th Infantry Division
13 Infantry Division
The fleet was armed mainly with torpedo boats, which constituted the customs and coast guard. All ships were divided into three groups: Northern, Central, Southern. On the Danube and the Sava there was a flotilla, which included a battalion of marines. After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, almost all Croatian ships were captured by this country.
The Air Force was armed with old Yugoslav aircraft, as well as captured French ones. The Air Force had three districts (in the region of Zagreb and Sarajevo). Aircraft were mainly used to fight Allied bombers.
The gendarmerie was created as a rural police, but it also performed the functions of fighting partisans. By the end of the war, there were about 18,000 people.
The Labor Service Service was established in August 1941 following the German example. All men before the draft on military service had to serve 12 months in this organization. By the summer of 1942 there were about 90,000 people here.
In addition, rural police battalions, security battalions, Muslim battalions, minor party formations, etc. were created.
The Croatian army has a typical three-component structure: ground forces, air force and navy. The last type of aircraft is the smallest. Croatia has one minesweeper and three Coast Guard ships. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
The basis of the Croatian Air Force is still Soviet aircraft. The only combat fighter is the MiG-21. Zagreb has 12 cars: seven of them have been modernized in Romania and Ukraine, five more units were bought from Kyiv. / Flickr / Dennis Jarvis
The Croatian army was formed during the war for secession from Yugoslavia. About 20 thousand people became victims of the clashes in 1991-1995. The conflict was accompanied by mutual ethnic cleansing. / Flickr / 7th Army Training Command Follow
Croatian militias received combat experience that was used in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zagreb helped the Catholic population of the confederation. Initially, the Croats did not support the Muslims, but later allied with them against the Serbs. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
With independence, Croatia set a course for integration into Western structures. On May 25, 2000, the country joined the NATO Partnership for Peace program and within nine years became a full member of the alliance. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
The weakest link in the Croatian Armed Forces is the air defense system. Air defense units are armed with one of the first modifications of the S-300P air defense system, the Strela-1 mobile system, as well as the Strela-3 and Igla-1 MANPADS. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
In the 2000s, Croatia carried out a major military reform associated with joining NATO. Zagreb sought to optimize the structure and control system of the aircraft. The Croatian Ministry of Defense has reduced the number of military equipment and the number of troops. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
Croatia got a large arsenal of Yugoslav and Soviet military equipment. Suffice it to say that in the city of Slavonski Brod, on the border with Bosnia, there was a plant named after. Juro Jakovic. Until 1991, the company produced M-84 tanks. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
In 2008, compulsory military service was abolished in Croatia. Today, the strength of the Armed Forces is 21.5 thousand people with 102 thousand reservists. Defense spending is estimated at about $1 billion (nearly 2% of GDP). / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
The Croatian ground forces are armed with 72 M-84 tanks, 574 armored vehicles (some of them are of European and American production), 21 self-propelled unit, 70 towed howitzers. 92 multiple launch rocket systems. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
On the territory of Croatia there are two air bases: 91st (Pleso) and 93rd (Zemunik). Attack aviation is represented by six American AT-802AF attack aircraft. The photo shows the MiG-21 and F-16 fighters. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
Croatia in the coming years should radically update the park fighter aviation. Zagreb is awaiting delivery of 14 Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft. Machines of the fourth generation will replace the MiG-21. / Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
