Croatian Defense Council

Croatian Defence Council
Hrvatsko vijeće obrane
Emblem of Croatian Defence Council
Founded	8 April 1992
Disbanded	1 December 2005
Headquarters	Mostar
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Milivoj Petković
Minister of Defense	Bruno Stojić (1992 - 1993) Vladimir Šoljić (1993 - 1996)
Manpower
Active personnel	50,000 (1995)
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Croatia
Related articles
History	Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia Bosnian War Croat-Bosniak War Operation Storm

The Croatian Defence Council (Croatian: Hrvatsko vijeće obrane, HVO) was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1994 during the Bosnian War. The HVO was the main military force of Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the initial stage of the Bosnian War, the HVO fought alongside the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) against the Bosnian Serbs, but in the latter stage of the conflict clashed against its former ally, particularly in the Mostar area.

HVO was incorporated into the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (VFBiH) in December 1995 by following agreement made after signing the Dayton Accords. In December 2005 HVO was reorganized as 1st Infantry (Guard) Regiment of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after VFBiH and Army of Republika Srpska were united into a single armed force.

The HVO (Croatian Defence Council) was established on April 8, 1992 in Grude by the political leadership of Croats, mainly members of Croatian Democratic Union (Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica) as a military formation of Herzeg-Bosnia.

HVO was located in Mostar and was divided into four corps-status operational zones: 1OZ/South-Eastern (Herzegovina) and 2OZ/North-Western Herzegovina, 3OZ/Central Bosnia and 4OZ/Posavina. While first three zones were grouped more or less together, Posavina was completely isolated in northern Bosnia on right bank of Sava river around Orašje and was entirely dependent on support from Croatia. There was also an HCO headquarters in the Bihac enclave which liaised with the ABiH 5th corps. Each OZ controlled 8-14 infantry brigades, a military police battalion and an MP "Light Assault Battalion."