Croatian War of Indepence - Guards Brigades (C)

1st Croatian Guards Brigade

On 25 February 1994, the President of the Republic of Croatia Franjo Tuđman authorized the decision establishing an elite unit of the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces – the 1stCroatian Guards Brigade. The establishment of this new unit was driven by the “Zrinski” Battalion, the Ministry of Defence Special Unit, and the General Staff of the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces Special Unit. It was established as a special forces combat unit tasked with special and the most complex combat operations. It was to be commanded by Brigadier Miljenko Filipović. In addition to infantry, it gathered a parachute battalion, an armoured battalion, an artillery battalion and a squadron of transport and light combat helicopters.

The 1st Croatian Guards Brigade played an important role in operations Cincar, Winter ‘94, Flash, Leap 2, Summer ‘95, Storm, Mistral and Southern Move, some of which were performed under extremely difficult weather conditions. The members of the Brigade successfully performed all offensive actions. When the Croatian War of Independence came to an end, the unit continued to conduct specialist training in accordance with the highest NATO standards, relying on the experience accumulated during the War as a source of additional knowledge. Many of the Western armed forces commanders visited this training and they were impressed with what they saw. After a change in Croatian leadership, the Brigade was unexpectedly disbanded in March 2000.

The war path of the 1stCroatian Guards Brigade and its contribution to the victory of the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces in the Croatian War of Independence make it one of the select units that have brought the glory of Croatian arms and Croatian military skill to the highest possible level. During the Croatian War of Independence, 75 members of the Brigade and the units it legally succeeded lost their lives. For its outstanding contribution to the Croatian War of Independence, the Brigade was awarded the Order of Duke Domagoj with a neckband, and it received a commendation for the successful performance of Operation Summer ’95 from the commander-in-chief. In March 2008, the “1stCroatian Guards Brigade” Veterans’ Association was founded with the aim of preserving the memory of the Brigade and its traditions, as well as promoting the values of the Croatian War of Independence.

Tomislav Sabljo
Secretary of the “1st Croatian
Guards Brigade” Veterans’ Association

2nd Guards Brigade “Thunders”

The Croatian War of Independence, in which the members of the 2ndGuards Brigade of the Croatian Armed Forces took part, defended and liberated the Republic of Croatia. The formation of the Croatian Armed Forces represented a reaction to the aggression of rebel Serbs and the Yugoslav People’s Army, and its aim was to defend the citizens and territory of the Republic of Croatia. The 2ndGuards Brigade “Thunders” was formed in mid-May 1991 in Trstenik Nartski near Zagreb. The first infantry battalion and its command comprised members of the Ministry of the Interior special operations units based at Kumrovec, Rakitje and Vinica. The Brigade was officially dubbed the 2nd“A” Brigade of the Croatian National Guard. Its first public parade took place on 28 May 1991 at the stadium in Kranjčevićeva Street in Zagreb, which was followed by the formation of infantry battalions in Sisak on 3 June 1991 and Duga Resa on 21 June 1991, which were immediately commanded to join the battlefields in Banija and Kordun. During the first year of their existence, the “Thunders” were tasked with defending the operational-strategic area in the Zagreb-Sisak-Karlovac triangle. In October 1991, the aggressor’s force started to wear off and Croatian forces led by the 2ndGuards Brigade took the initiative. The members of this Brigade took part in the defence of Karlovac, Duga Resa and Topusko, as well as in the defence of Petrinja, Sisak, Sunja and Komarevo and the liberation of the right bank of the River Kupa.

Some members, that is tactical groups, took part in operations in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they also defended the locals against the aggressor. In Operation Tiger on the southern front, they liberated Ivanica, thus unblocking Dubrovnik. They took part in operations on the River Una and in Maslenica, as well as in Operation Flash and the final military-police Operation Storm, during which they took part in the Petrinja-Maja-Dvor offensive.

The Brigade never acted collectively, but individual units were placed throughout Croatia. More than 9,700 members passed through the Brigade during the War. More than 1,400 of them were wounded or injured and 25 of them are Croatian military war invalids. Three of them are still missing, and 205 members of the Brigade lost their lives, making them an eternal part of the creation of the modern Croatian state. “Once a Thunder – always a Thunder!”

Ivan Krupec, mag. ing. agr.
Retired Colonel of the Republic of Croatia
Armed Forces

3rd Guards Brigade “Martens”

Following the order given by the Minister of Defence, the decision establishing the 3rd“A” Brigade of the Croatian National Guard stationed in Slavonia and Baranja was adopted on 29 April 1991. The infantry battalions were partially formed from Ministry of the Interior police units, which had already been formed in that region. The 1stinfantry battalion had already been established in Osijek, with the 2ndinfantry battalion in Vinkovci, the 3rdinfantry battalion in Slavonski Brod and the 4thinfantry battalion in Vukovar. Once the Brigade was formed and equipped, it operated across all Slavonian battlefields, extinguishing an armed revolt against the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia. In the first half of 1991, the units of the 1stinfantry battalion actively participated in actions in Borovo Selo, Bijelo Brdo, Mirkovci, Tenja, Sarvaš, Dalj, Erdut, Aljmaš and Laslovo. The 3rd infantry battalion was also active in Šodolovci, Karadžićevo and Koprivna, as well as in the Nova Gradiška battlefield, where it took part in the defence of Donji Bogićevci, Okučani and Gornji Bogićevci. In the Vinkovci area, the 2ndinfantry battalion forces bore the brunt of the aggression aimed at Nuštar, Cerić, Marinci, Bogdanovci, Đeletovci and Jarmina. The contribution of the 4thinfantry battalion to the heroic defence of Vukovar cannot be put into words.

With the arrival of the UNPROFOR in early 1992, the 3rdGuards Brigade left to defend Posavina, where it remained for the rest of the year. As the combat actions in Posavina came to an end in February 1993, the Brigade moved to the hinterland of Zadar, where it took part in Operation Maslenica and continued to act as the main driving force behind all the combat actions in the Zadar hinterland until late 1993. Upon returning to its home barracks in Slavonia in 1994, the Brigade continued working on its constant task of gathering and training forces for the forthcoming operations aimed at liberating the remaining territory of the Republic of Croatia.

The long-awaited command ordering the liberation of all state territories arrived on 1 May 1995. During the military-police Operation Flash, the 3rdGuards Brigade drove the main line of the Novska-Okučani offensive and it performed the liberation successfully in two days. The units that did not take part in Operation Flash were deployed along the defence line, protecting Osijek, Tvrđavica and Kopački Rit as part of Operation Wall. In August of the same year, the national leadership decided to extinguish the revolt in the occupied parts of central and southern Croatia and, on 4 August 1995, Operation Storm commenced, bringing almost the entire occupied area back under Croatian control in no more than two days. During the Storm, the 3rdGuards Brigade took part in Operation Phoenix, defending eastern Slavonia against potential attacks by Serbian forces, especially those focused on the cities of Osijek and Vinkovci. The successful peaceful re-integration of eastern Slavonia through the Erdut Agreement marked the beginning of peacetime operations for the 3rdGuards Brigade.

During the Croatian War of Independence, 368 members of the Brigade died in combat, 1,088 were wounded and 11 members are still considered missing. The Brigade has been awarded the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, as well as the Order of Duke Domagoj with a neckband as the highest military medal, due to its members’ heroic actions in the Croatian War of Independence, which led to the creation of the Croatian state.

Miljenko Kolobarić
Retired Major of the Republic of Croatia
Armed Forces

4th Guards Brigade “Spiders”

The first unit to be established in southern Croatia through a decision by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia, comprising volunteers from not only all over Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the world, was the 4thGuards Brigade of the Croatian National Guard, which later came to be known as the 4thGuards Brigade “Spiders”. It was formed in Split on 28 April 1991 and (Major General) Ivo Jelić was made its first commander. The Brigade was established as an infantry brigade comprising five infantry battalions, military command, logistics and an Air Defence platoon. Three months later, in mid-July, the Brigade consisted of 817 people. On 25 July 1991, around one thousand volunteers were ready for their first combat task: defending Dalmatia along the line covering the area from Kruševo, Kijevo, Polača, Zadar, Vrlika, Sinj, Drniš, Šibenik and Vodice all the way to Dubrovnik and its hinterland.

Under the motto In hoc signo vinces. (Lat. “In this sign you will conquer.”), the war path of the 4thGuards Brigade included a series of victories in 1992: Scorched Land, June Dawns (Jackal), Tiger, Liberated Land and Vlaštica, which liberated the far south of Croatia all the way to Prevlaka. As early as January 1993, these were followed by the military-police Operation Maslenica aimed at liberating the Zadar hinterland. During 1994 and 1995, the Brigade took part in operations Winter ‘94, Leap 1, Leap 2 and Summer ‘95, which liberated 2,325 km2 of Croatian territory. The royal city of Knin was liberated through the military-police Operation Storm – the most celebrated of all the operations in the Croatian War of Independence – which was executed by the 4thand 7thGuards Brigades. The raising of the flag at the Knin Fortress became a symbol of liberty. The Brigade demonstrated its maturity, war experience and professionalism during the final military-police operations Mistral and Southern Move, during which it defeated the Bosnian Serbs’ Army.

On the long and wearing road to Croatian statehood, 193 members of the 4thGuards Brigade lost their lives, four are still considered missing, while more than 1,600 were wounded. During the War, 7,378 people passed through the Brigade. All of them deserve credit for the valour and heroism they demonstrated during the war and all of them are to be thanked for the fact that the Brigade received the Order of Duke Domagoj and the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, as well as the Republic of Croatia Charter. Nowadays, the Brigade’s red beret and emblem are proudly worn by members of the 3rdArmoured Guards Brigade “Spiders”, which is the Guard Armoured Mechanized Brigade of the Croatian Army.

Prof. Nela Klanac
Retired Major of the Republic of Croatia
Armed Forces