Battle of Zadar

Coordinates: 44°07′N 15°14′E / 44.12°N 15.23°E / 44.12; 15.23
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This article is about the battle of Zadar (Croatia) in 1991. For other uses, see Siege of Zadar (disambiguation).
Battle of Zadar
Part of the Croatian War of Independence

Zadar on the map of Croatia (JNA-held area in late December 1991 highlighted in red)
Date16 September – 5 October 1991
Location
Northern Dalmatia, Croatia
Result

Ceasefire
Tactical Croatian victory

  • Croatia defended the city of Zadar

Strategic

Yugoslav
victory

Territorial
changes		 SAO Krajina expanded territory under its control
Belligerents
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
SAO Krajina		  Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vladimir Vuković
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ratko Mladić
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Trpko Zdravkovski		 Croatia Anton Tus
Croatia Josip Tuličić
Units involved

Yugoslav People's Army

Krajina Territorial Defense

Croatian National Guard

Croatian Police
Strength
3,000
(180th Brigade alone)		 4,500
(JNA estimate)
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
34 civilians killed in artillery bombardment of Zadar

The Battle of Zadar (

Croatian Police. The battle was fought north and east of the city of Zadar, Croatia, in the second half of September and early October 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although the JNA's initial orders were to lift the Croatian siege of the JNA's barracks in the city and isolate the region of Dalmatia from the rest of Croatia, the orders were amended during the battle to include capturing the Port of Zadar in the city centre. The JNA's advance was supported by the Yugoslav Air Force and Navy
.

Fighting stopped on 5 October, when a cease-fire agreement was reached by the belligerents after the JNA reached the outskirts of Zadar and blocked all land routes to the city. Subsequent negotiations resulted in a partial withdrawal of the JNA, restoring road access to Zadar via the Adriatic Highway and the evacuation of JNA facilities in the city. The JNA achieved a portion of its stated objectives; while it blocked the Maslenica Bridge (the last overland route between the Croatian capital of Zagreb and Zadar), a road via Pag Island (relying on a ferry) remained open. The JNA Zadar garrison was evacuated as a result of negotiations, but the ZNG captured several relatively small JNA posts in the city. The port was never captured by the JNA, although it was blockaded by the Yugoslav Navy.

The September–October fighting caused 34 civilian deaths in Zadar from the artillery bombardment. Croatia later charged 19 JNA officers involved in the offensive with war crimes against the civilian population; they were tried, convicted in absentia and sentenced to prison.

Background

After the 1990

Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana, or TO) weapons to minimize resistance.[1] On 17 August an open revolt broke out among the Croatian Serbs,[2] centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland near Knin[3] and parts of Lika, Kordun, Banovina and Slavonia.[4]

After two unsuccessful attempts by

Yugoslav Presidency's approval for a JNA operation to disarm Croatian security forces in January 1991[5] and a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and Croatian special police in March,[6] the JNA (supported by Serbia and its allies) asked the federal Presidency to give it wartime powers and declare a state of emergency. The request was denied on 15 March, and the JNA was brought under the control of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević. Milošević, preferring the expansion of Serbia to the preservation of Yugoslavia, threatened to replace the JNA with a Serbian army and declared that he no longer recognized the authority of the federal Presidency. The threat caused the JNA to gradually replace plans to preserve Yugoslavia with Serbian expansion.[7] By the end of March, the conflict escalated after the first fatalities during an incident at Plitvice Lakes.[8] The JNA stepped in, supporting the insurgents and preventing the Croatian police from intervening.[7] In early April, leaders of the Serb revolt in Croatia declared their intention to integrate the area under their control with Serbia; this was seen by the Government of Croatia as an intention to secede from Croatia.[9]

At the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army; to bolster its defence, the country doubled its police personnel to about 20,000. The most effective portion of the force was the

small arms, a portion of the force was unarmed.[10] In May the Croatian government responded by forming the Croatian National Guard (Zbor narodne garde, or ZNG),[11] but its development was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo introduced in September.[12]

Prelude

In April and early May, ethnic tensions in Zadar and northern Dalmatia escalated after increased sabotage activities targeting communications, the

riots in Zadar that day, with crowds marching through the city centre demanding weapons to confront the Croatian Serbs and smashing the windows of shops owned by Serbian companies and Serbs living in the city.[14] Croat-owned businesses in Knin were destroyed in retaliation during the night of 7–8 May.[15] The JNA took an active role in events in nearby Benkovac on 19 May, distributing a leaflet with the names of 41 Croats targeted for immediate execution[16] and providing weapons to SAO Krajina forces in the area.[17] In late May, the conflict gradually escalated to exchanges of mortar fire.[18]

From late June through July, northern Dalmatia saw daily armed skirmishes but no actual combat; nonetheless, the conflict's increasing intensity in the region (and elsewhere in Croatia) caused residents of Zadar to build

attacked the village of Kijevo, advancing with SAO Krajina forces to expel all Croats from the village.[24] Another regional setback for Croatia was the 11 September JNA capture of the Maslenica Bridge, cutting the last overland road link between Dalmatia and the rest of Croatia.[25]

On 14 September the ZNG and Croatian police blockaded and cut

utilities to all accessible JNA facilities, beginning the Battle of the Barracks.[26] The move affected 33 large JNA garrisons in Croatia[27] and a number of smaller facilities (including border posts and weapons- and ammunition-storage depots),[26] forcing the JNA to change its plans for the Croatian campaign.[28]

Timeline

class=notpageimage|
Map of the Zadar area

September

The planned JNA campaign included an advance in the Zadar area by the 9th (Knin) Corps. The corps began its operations against the ZNG on 16 September; fully mobilised and prepared for deployment, it was tasked with isolating Dalmatia from the rest of Croatia.

Stankovci and Škabrnja battalions of the ZNG and the police.[33][34][35] Although the JNA estimated Croatian troop strength at approximately 4,500,[36] the Croatian units were poorly armed.[37] The city's defence was commanded by Colonel Josip Tuličić, head of the Zadar Sector of the 6th (Split) Operational Zone.[38]

The offensive began at 16:00 on 16 September; by the second day, JNA 9th (Knin) Corps commanding officer

Vice Admiral Mile Kandić.[40] The Yugoslav Navy began a blockade of the Croatian Adriatic coast on 17 September,[30] further isolating Zadar, and the city's electricity supply was cut on the first day of the JNA attack.[33] The ZNG was driven out of Polača, towards Škabrnja, on 18 September.[41] Croatian forces captured seven JNA facilities in Zadar,[33] the most significant the Turske kuće barracks and depot. The captures provided the ZNG with about 2,500 rifles, 100 M-53 machine guns[41] and ammunition, although the Yugoslav Air Force bombed the barracks on 22 September in an unsuccessful attempt to hinder removal of the weapons. The captured weapons bolstered the Croatian defence, but JNA attacks north of the city resulted in a stalemate; Croatian forces were spread too thin to defend the city and capture the remaining barracks, and the besieged JNA garrisons were too weak to break out.[30]

After this there was a lull in fighting in the Zadar area until the end of the month, with only sporadic small-arms fire and minor skirmishes.[42] During that period, the JNA's efforts were concentrated on the Battle of Šibenik and an advance towards Sinj. Although the ZNG defended Šibenik and Sinj it lost Drniš, abandoning it before the JNA's arrival on 23 September. During the last week of September the JNA returned its focus to Zadar, stepping up its artillery bombardment of the city and ending its naval blockade on 23 September.[30] On 29 September the JNA edged towards Zadar, capturing the villages of Bulić, Lišane Ostrovičke and Vukšić[41] and announcing its intention to evacuate its Zadar barracks (which was affected by desertions).[43]

October

The fighting picked up again on 2 October,[44] when a JNA tank-and-infantry attack on Nadin—the northernmost point of ZNG resistance in the Zadar area—was repelled.[45] On 3 October, the Yugoslav Navy reinstated its Adriatic blockade.[46] That day, the JNA 9th (Knin) Corps ordered a new push towards Zadar to relieve the city's JNA barracks, destroy the ZNG (or drive it from the city) and capture the Port of Zadar in the city centre. The attacking force was augmented by the 1st Battalion of the 592nd Mechanised Brigade.[47] The offensive began at 13:00 on 4 October, supported by artillery, naval and air forces.[30] The besieged JNA garrisons in the city, except for the Šepurine barracks garrison, also provided mortar and sniper support. The 271st Light Artillery Regiment and the 60th Medium Self-Propelled Missile Regiment of the Yugoslav Air Defence, based in Šepurine, broke through the Croatian siege and joined the advancing JNA force. Although the ZNG and the police held the city and inflicted many casualties, by the night of 4–5 October Zadar was besieged by the JNA; this forced the Croatian authorities to request a cease-fire and negotiations.[48]

The cease-fire was agreed at 16:00 on 5 October, and scheduled to begin two hours later; negotiations were set for 09:00 the following day. However, the fighting continued; negotiations did not take place as originally planned, with the JNA citing the Croatian general mobilization as the reason for their cancellation. Two days of negotiations then began at

SFR Yugoslavia.[51]

Aftermath

Military map
Northern Dalmatia, January 1992

The JNA 9th (Knin) Corps had completed a significant part of its assigned task before the overall offensive against Croatian forces began in the second half of September by capturing the Maslenica Bridge, which blocked the

road. The JNA remained on the outskirts of the city, threatening the ZNG defences.[53] Although the ZNG and the police could not withstand the JNA forces (supported by artillery and armour),[52] they held Zadar;[48] the city celebrates its defence on 6 October each year.[54]

The cease-fire agreement also provided for the evacuation of the JNA Zadar garrison. The evacuation, encompassing six barracks and 3,750 people,[55] began on 11 October and took 15 days to complete. The JNA removed 2,190–2,250 truckloads of weapons and equipment and the personal effects of JNA personnel and their families. Evacuated personnel and equipment were required to be removed from Croatian soil; the JNA complied, except for its artillery (which was primarily left for the SAO Krajina TO).[56] The JNA also transferred 20 truckloads of weapons to the SAO Krajina TO in the area.[57] On 18 October, the ZNG Independent Benkovac–Stankovci Battalion merged with the 1st Battalion of the 112th Brigade to create the 134th Infantry Brigade.[34]

The exact number of casualties sustained by the ZNG, the police or the JNA has never been reported; in Zadar, 34 civilians were killed and 120 structures damaged by artillery fire during September and October 1991. A group of 19 JNA officers, including Perišić and Mladić, were tried in absentia and convicted by a Croatian court for war crimes against the civilian population.[58][59]

Renewed fighting

After the JNA completed its evacuation of the Zadar garrison, its force north of the city regrouped and launched a new offensive on 18 November with infantry and armoured units (supported by artillery bombardment and close air support). The attack targeted the villages of Škabrnja, Gorica, Nadin and Zemunik Donji. Škabrnja was captured on the first day[60] after an air assault by a battalion of the JNA 63rd Parachute Brigade,[32] and Nadin fell on 19 November.[60] During and immediately after the attack on Škabrnja, the JNA and the supporting SAO Krajina TO forces killed 39 civilians and 14 ZNG soldiers in what became known as the Škabrnja massacre. Some of those killed were buried in a mass grave in the village; twenty-seven victims were exhumed in 1995, after the end of the war. Another seven civilians were killed in Nadin.[61]

On 21 November the JNA and the SAO Krajina TO destroyed the Maslenica Bridge

Special Envoy Cyrus Vance, went into effect.[67]

In early 1992, the Independent Škabrnja Battalion became the 1st Battalion of the 159th Infantry Brigade.[35] Control of the battlefield changed slightly during the night of 22–23 May 1992, when Croatian forces captured Križ Hill (near Bibinje, southeast of Zadar); this improved security along the Adriatic Highway.[68] Another change took place in January–February 1993, when Croatian troops recaptured part of the Zadar hinterland in Operation Maslenica.[69] The rest of the region was recaptured by Croatia during Operation Storm in August 1995.[70]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 117.
  2. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 118.
  3. ^ The New York Times & 19 August 1990.
  4. ^ Woodward 1995, p. 170.
  5. ^ Hoare 2010, pp. 118–119.
  6. ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 384–385.
  7. ^ a b Hoare 2010, p. 119.
  8. ^ The New York Times & 3 March 1991.
  9. ^ The New York Times & 2 April 1991.
  10. ^ CIA 2002, p. 86.
  11. ^ EECIS 1999, pp. 272–278.
  12. ^ The Independent & 10 October 1992.
  13. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 409.
  14. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 410.
  15. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 412.
  16. ^ Ružić 2011, pp. 412–413.
  17. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 414.
  18. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 413.
  19. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 416.
  20. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 418.
  21. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 420.
  22. ^ Ružić 2011, p. 421.
  23. ^ The New York Times & 20 August 1991.
  24. ^ Silber & Little 1996, pp. 171–173.
  25. ^ CIA 2002, p. 93.
  26. ^ a b CIA 2002, p. 95.
  27. ^ Ramet 2006, p. 401.
  28. ^ CIA 2002, p. 96.
  29. ^ CIA 2002, p. 99.
  30. ^ a b c d e Brigović 2011, p. 428.
  31. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & September 2010.
  32. ^ a b Brigović & Radoš 2011, p. 9.
  33. ^ a b c Zadarski list & 23 September 2011.
  34. ^ a b Čerina 2008, p. 422.
  35. ^ a b 057info & 28 August 2011.
  36. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & October 2010d.
  37. ^ Čerina 2008, p. 420.
  38. ^ tportal.hr & 18 November 2011.
  39. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & October 2010a.
  40. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & October 2010b.
  41. ^ a b c Čerina 2008, p. 421.
  42. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & October 2010c.
  43. ^ Los Angeles Times & 29 September 1991.
  44. ^ 057info & 20 November 2011.
  45. ^ Brigović & Radoš 2011, p. 11.
  46. ^ a b Brigović 2011, pp. 428–429.
  47. ^ Hrvatski vojnik & November 2010.
  48. ^ a b Brigović 2011, p. 429.
  49. ^ Brigović 2011, pp. 429–430.
  50. ^ Brigović 2011, p. 430.
  51. ^ Brigović & Radoš 2011, p. 5.
  52. ^ a b CIA 2002, p. 103.
  53. ^ Brigović 2011, p. 432.
  54. ^ Nacional & 6 October 2007.
  55. ^ Brigović 2011, p. 431.
  56. ^ Brigović 2011, p. 433.
  57. ^ Brigović 2011, pp. 431–432.
  58. ^ Novi list & 1 March 2013.
  59. ^ DORH & 14 March 2007.
  60. ^ a b c d Brigović & Radoš 2011, p. 10.
  61. ^ Brigović & Radoš 2011, p. 14.
  62. ^ Thomas & Mikulan 2006, p. 53.
  63. ^ Brigović 2011, p. 450.
  64. ^ Zadarski list & 3 January 2013.
  65. ^ Zadarski list & 21 November 2011.
  66. ^ ICTY & 12 June 2007, p. 147.
  67. ^ Armatta 2010, pp. 194–196.
  68. ^ 057info & 16 April 2009.
  69. ^ CIA 2002, pp. 267–268.
  70. ^ CIA 2002, pp. 367–377.

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Scientific journal articles
News reports
Other sources

44°07′N 15°14′E / 44.12°N 15.23°E / 44.12; 15.23

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