Croatian special police order of battle in 1991–95
| Special police | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Founded | 17 August 1990 |
| Country | Croatia |
| Role | Special operations |
| Size | up to 3,100 troops (1991–95) |
| Part of | Ministry of the Interior |
| Engagements | Croatian War of Independence |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Mladen Markač |
The order of battle of the Croatian Special Police in 1991–95 included up to 30 individual special forces units subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior. The special police was created around the Ministry of the Interior's existing airborne special forces unit following an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs against the Government of Croatia in August 1990. It further developed with the increasing involvement of the Yugoslav People's Army in the conflict, supporting the Croatian Serbs. The conflict escalated into the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. The special police took part in the first clashes of the war in Pakrac and at the Plitvice Lakes. As Croatia had no army, the 3,000-strong special forces became the country's most effective fighting force.
Even though several special police units were transformed into the Croatian National Guard (later renamed the Croatian Army) in 1991, the special police continued to operate throughout the war as special forces units supporting virtually all army operations. The last large deployment of the special police in the war occurred in Operation Storm in August 1995, when the force contributed 3,100 troops to the offensive. During the war, the special police units lost 179 troops killed, 790 wounded and 14 missing.
In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the socialist government of Croatia by the Croatian Democratic Union representing a nationalist programme, ethnic tensions between Croats and Croatian Serbs worsened. The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslavenska narodna armija – JNA) believed Croatia would use the Croatian Territorial Defence Force's (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) equipment to build its own army and confront the JNA itself. In order to minimize the expected resistance, the JNA confiscated the TO weapons. On 17 August, the tensions escalated into an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs against the Croatian Government, centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas in Croatia—the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin, and various parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina and Slavonia regions. The JNA increasingly supported the Croatian Serb insurgents. The JNA stepped into the conflict, gradually increasing its support to the Croatian Serb insurgents.
...
Wikipedia