2017Croatian War of Independence - Puma the 7th Guards Brigade - Sheetlets

The stamps have been issued in 6-stamp sheetlets with one label, and there is also the First Day Cover (FDC) issued by Croatian Post. This edition was realised in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and the City of Varaždin. The celebrated motorised 7th Guards Brigade, also known as Puma, was founded on December 23rd, 1992 pursuant to the decision made by Dr. Franjo Tuđman, the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. The brigade was seated in Varaždin and its first commander was Colonel Ivan Korade. The 7th Guards Brigade began its warpath in February of 1993 by leaving for the Karlovac battlefield. At the same time, the second part of the brigade participated in the defence of the Zadar-Šibenik hinterland. During 1994 and 1995 the Brigade participated in operations entitled Winter '94, Leap 1 and Summer '95. The Operation Storm commenced in the morning hours of August 5th, 1995 when members of the 7th Guards Brigade freed and entered the royal Croatian City of Knin and placed the Croatian flag on the Knin Fortress. Upon the completion of the Operation Storm, the Brigade participated in the final operations entitled Maestral and Southern Move. After spending nearly 840 days that included field battles on the terrain of the Split operational zone – with 35 days spent in offensive actions freeing 748 square kilometres of the territory of the Republic of Croatia, the Brigade triumphantly returned to its home base named Ivan V. Drašković in Varaždin on October 17th, 1995. It continued with performing peacetime assignments and training, and in September of 1997 it performed a tactical demonstration entitled Puma's Leap. Since its inception, around 4,550 veterans and volunteers from all parts of the Republic of Croatia have been a part of the Brigade. Participation in the most difficult and most demanding operations in the Croatian War of Independence took the lives of 91 men from the Brigade with one still missing, while more than 500 were wounded or injured. The 7th Guards Brigade received a medal of the Order of Duke Domagoj and a Charter of the Republic of Croatia for its extraordinary military achievements The glorious and victorious warpath of the Puma, 7th Guards Brigade formally ended with the handover of the war flag at a line-up ceremony that took place on July 7th, 2003 in Varaždin. The tradition of the unit is carried on by the Puma 2nd Mechanised Battalion as a part of the Armoured Mechanised Guard Brigade. In November of 2005 the Puma 7th Guards Brigade Veterans' Association was founded keeping the memory of the unit alive. The Republic of Croatia is proud of its Pumas who used their bravery, patriotism and sacrifice to join the north and the south of Croatia in the final military victory under harsh wartime conditions on the cliffs of the Dinara Mountain.