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1st Guard Brigade (Croatia)
Encyclopedia
Croatia
's First Mechanized Guard Brigade - named "The Tigers" - was the most elite and best equipped military brigade of the Croatian Army
. It served with distinction during the Croatian War of Independence
as one of the most recognizable military units in former Yugoslavia.
Its military base and HQ was in the Croatian capital of Zagreb
, origin of most of the brigade's personnel. In 2008, the brigade was disbanded as such and reformed as a batallion of the Motorized Guard Brigade
.
. It was formed from volunteers and elements of the Croatian Police (which was to form the basis for the new Croatian army). Initially, lack of equipment forced the unit to be a wholly Infantry brigade, but this was soon corrected and the unit became a Motorized Infantry brigade by September 1991, when major military operations in the war begun.
It was the part of the Croatian National Guard
, the predecessor of the Croatian Army, and was initially referred to as the 1st "A" Brigade.
, an area of Croatia which was under heaviest attack. The battle of Vukovar
, pivotal battle of the first phase of the war, was where elements of brigade first saw combat service. As the city was under heavy attack by a large number of tank and mechanized units of the Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA), it was soon surrounded and besieged. Small elements of the 1st Guard Brigade remained inside the city, but the majority of the brigade was outside and continued to hold the front against overwhelming enemy strength. The city would eventually fall, but some of the entrapped defenders managed a breakout.
As the Battle of the Barracks
came to an end in late September, and Croats captured number of heavy equipment from JNA barracks, the 1st Guard Brigade was equipped with tanks (gaining the first 12 tanks in September after the fall of the Varaždin
barracks) and armoured personnel carrier
s (APCs) and the first tank battalion was formed. By the end of 1992, the Brigade was redesignated 1st Mechanized Guard Brigade.
. The result was that the furthest south region of Croatia completely liberated by the end of the year.
Elements of the brigade were involved in Operation Maslenica
during 1993.
During 1994, Croatian army was mostly inactive and the period was spent in training and refitting.
strategy in which weaker units would hold lines and Guard brigades - like the Tigers - would be used as line breakers to penetrate defenses, then isolate and destroy enemy formations. This tactics was used with great success during 1995.
In May 1995, during Operation Flash
, 1st Guard brigade led one of two main attacks that fragmented and destroyed Serb forces in Western Slavonia.
The brigade participated in Operation Summer 1995 in Bosnia and was instrumental in capturing mountainous terrain east of rebel Republic of Serbian Krajina
which was to be pivotal for the following operation.
For Operation Storm
, the brigade was deployed along the west sector (north of Gospić
) and was the main strike element responsible with reaching the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina
on that line. The brigade captured Plitvice
(where the first casualties of the war fell in 1991's Plitvice Lakes incident
) and reached the border, linking up with the elements of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(ABiH) - one of the aims of the operation was the deblocking of the Bihać
pocket where ABiH's Fifth Corps was besieged. Upon reaching the border, the brigade - with ABiH forces - advanced north.
After Storm, Croatian and Bosnian forces were on a general counteroffensive and the 1st Brigade was one of the units send to Bosnia for the purpose, where it successfully participated in liberating western Bosnia, occupied by rebel Serb forces since 1992. The combination of successful counteroffensive and NATO bombardment (Operation Deliberate Force) forced rebel Serbs to agree to peace negotiations.
During the entire war, 364 members of the brigade were killed on duty, 1711 were wounded, and 8 are still missing in action
.
, Croatia scaled down its military forces to reflect the end of the war. Despite this, and due to the brigades elite status and treatment, it remained the status of one of the most effective elements of the Croatian armed forces.
It was the first Croatian brigade to be reorganized and adopted to NATO standards.
following the 2001 war in Afghanistan
as part of NATO's efforts there. The Croatian units in Afghanistan included mainly Military Police
units (elements of 1st and 2nd Guard Brigades) as part of the mission to train Afghanistan's new armed forces. Some parts of the Croatian military mission there may be dispatched to more dangerous areas of the country.
as 1st Mechanized Battalion Tigers.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
's First Mechanized Guard Brigade - named "The Tigers" - was the most elite and best equipped military brigade of the Croatian Army
Croatian ground army
The Croatian Army is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national interests of the Republic of Croatia and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.Basic tasks of the Croatian Army...
. It served with distinction during the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
as one of the most recognizable military units in former Yugoslavia.
Its military base and HQ was in the Croatian capital of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, origin of most of the brigade's personnel. In 2008, the brigade was disbanded as such and reformed as a batallion of the Motorized Guard Brigade
Motorized Guard Brigade (Croatia)
The Motorized Guards Brigade is one of the two main tactical components of the Croatian Army. The brigade is based in southern Croatia with main head quarters in Knin.-Main role:...
.
Formation
It was initially formed on November 5, 1990 at the military base in RakitjeRakitje
Rakitje is a village in central Croatia located west of Zagreb. County road Ž3064 connects it to the D1 highway....
. It was formed from volunteers and elements of the Croatian Police (which was to form the basis for the new Croatian army). Initially, lack of equipment forced the unit to be a wholly Infantry brigade, but this was soon corrected and the unit became a Motorized Infantry brigade by September 1991, when major military operations in the war begun.
It was the part of the Croatian National Guard
Croatian National Guard
The Croatian National Guard was the name of the first modern Croatian military force. Croatian president Franjo Tuđman signed to law the Decree of Formation of the Croatian National Guard on April 20, 1991 which became the first professional armed forces with defence and training duties.These...
, the predecessor of the Croatian Army, and was initially referred to as the 1st "A" Brigade.
Vukovar
When the war begun, the 1st Brigade was directed to eastern SlavoniaSlavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
, an area of Croatia which was under heaviest attack. The battle of Vukovar
Battle of Vukovar
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army , supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats,...
, pivotal battle of the first phase of the war, was where elements of brigade first saw combat service. As the city was under heavy attack by a large number of tank and mechanized units of the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA), it was soon surrounded and besieged. Small elements of the 1st Guard Brigade remained inside the city, but the majority of the brigade was outside and continued to hold the front against overwhelming enemy strength. The city would eventually fall, but some of the entrapped defenders managed a breakout.
As the Battle of the Barracks
Battle of the Barracks
Battle of the barracks - sometimes also called War for the barracks - is a term given to a series of engagements that took place throughout Croatia as part of the Croatian War of Independence during 1991, with the most important fighting in September...
came to an end in late September, and Croats captured number of heavy equipment from JNA barracks, the 1st Guard Brigade was equipped with tanks (gaining the first 12 tanks in September after the fall of the Varaždin
Varaždin
Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...
barracks) and armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s (APCs) and the first tank battalion was formed. By the end of 1992, the Brigade was redesignated 1st Mechanized Guard Brigade.
1992-1994
In mid-1992, the brigade was directed to deblockade the besieged city of DubrovnikDubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
. The result was that the furthest south region of Croatia completely liberated by the end of the year.
Elements of the brigade were involved in Operation Maslenica
Operation Maslenica
In early September, 1991, during the opening stages of the Croatian War of Independence, Serb-dominated units of the Knin Corps of the Yugoslav People's Army , under the command of Colonel Ratko Mladić and supported by the ethnic Serb Krajina militia, conducted offensive operations against areas...
during 1993.
During 1994, Croatian army was mostly inactive and the period was spent in training and refitting.
Final operations
Status and equipment of the brigade meant that it was always used in the worst fighting. Once the Croatian Army went from defensive to offensive strategy in 1993, the army doctrine was based on a variation of blitzkriegBlitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
strategy in which weaker units would hold lines and Guard brigades - like the Tigers - would be used as line breakers to penetrate defenses, then isolate and destroy enemy formations. This tactics was used with great success during 1995.
In May 1995, during Operation Flash
Operation Flash
The Serbs in western Slavonia took part in the organized rebellion against the government of the Republic of Croatia that had just proclaimed independence in June 1991, by proclaiming the Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia in August 1991...
, 1st Guard brigade led one of two main attacks that fragmented and destroyed Serb forces in Western Slavonia.
The brigade participated in Operation Summer 1995 in Bosnia and was instrumental in capturing mountainous terrain east of rebel Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
which was to be pivotal for the following operation.
For Operation Storm
Operation Storm
Operation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to gain back control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, since early...
, the brigade was deployed along the west sector (north of Gospić
Gospic
Gospić is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj county. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field....
) and was the main strike element responsible with reaching the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
on that line. The brigade captured Plitvice
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina...
(where the first casualties of the war fell in 1991's Plitvice Lakes incident
Plitvice Lakes incident
The Plitvice Lakes incident of late March/early April 1991 was an incident at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence...
) and reached the border, linking up with the elements of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina established by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 following the outbreak of the Bosnian War...
(ABiH) - one of the aims of the operation was the deblocking of the Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
pocket where ABiH's Fifth Corps was besieged. Upon reaching the border, the brigade - with ABiH forces - advanced north.
After Storm, Croatian and Bosnian forces were on a general counteroffensive and the 1st Brigade was one of the units send to Bosnia for the purpose, where it successfully participated in liberating western Bosnia, occupied by rebel Serb forces since 1992. The combination of successful counteroffensive and NATO bombardment (Operation Deliberate Force) forced rebel Serbs to agree to peace negotiations.
During the entire war, 364 members of the brigade were killed on duty, 1711 were wounded, and 8 are still missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
.
Post-war
Following the Dayton AgreementDayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
, Croatia scaled down its military forces to reflect the end of the war. Despite this, and due to the brigades elite status and treatment, it remained the status of one of the most effective elements of the Croatian armed forces.
It was the first Croatian brigade to be reorganized and adopted to NATO standards.
Engagement in Afghanistan
Elements of the brigade were sent to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
following the 2001 war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
as part of NATO's efforts there. The Croatian units in Afghanistan included mainly Military Police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
units (elements of 1st and 2nd Guard Brigades) as part of the mission to train Afghanistan's new armed forces. Some parts of the Croatian military mission there may be dispatched to more dangerous areas of the country.
2007 Armed forces reform
During the reform of Croatian Armed Forces in 2007-2008, the brigade was reorganized to battalion level and incorporated in new Motorized Guard BrigadeMotorized Guard Brigade (Croatia)
The Motorized Guards Brigade is one of the two main tactical components of the Croatian Army. The brigade is based in southern Croatia with main head quarters in Knin.-Main role:...
as 1st Mechanized Battalion Tigers.