Battle of the Dalmatian Channels
Battle of the Dalmatian Channels | |||||||
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Part of the Hvar Korčula Chnl A location map of the central Dalmatia, and location of the area shown on the map of Croatia (inset, red) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Croatia | Yugoslavia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Sveto Letica |
Nikola Ercegović Ilija Brčič | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Croatian Navy | Yugoslav Navy | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Coastal artillery Naval commandos |
2 frigates 6-7 missile boats 2 torpedo boats 4 patrol boats 3 minesweepers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 killed |
22 killed 1 patrol boat captured 2 minesweepers sunk 1 minesweeper damaged 2 aircraft destroyed | ||||||
2 civilians killed 9 civilians wounded 2 civilian ferries damaged |
The Battle of the Dalmatian Channels was a three-day confrontation between three tactical groups of
The next day, a group of Yugoslav Navy vessels, organised into the Kaštela tactical group (TG), deployed to the Split Channel, and bombarded the city of
On 16 November, the combined Yugoslav force sailed through the Korčula Channel—a strait separating the islands of Hvar and Korčula—to reach safety at the Yugoslav Navy base at Vis. The warships were then engaged by Croatian coastal artillery deployed on Korčula and the Pelješac Peninsula, losing two minesweepers to the artillery fire in the process.
The battle marked the last deployment of the Yugoslav Navy into one of the Dalmatian channels, the loosening of the naval blockade of the Croatian coast imposed in September, and the largest Croatian Navy operation in the war. The Croatian Navy later towed the grounded Mukos to Šibenik, repaired the vessel and put her into service as OB-62 Šolta. During the battle, 22 Yugoslav Navy crewmen, two Croatian gunners and two civilian sailors in Split were killed. Thirty-three Yugoslav officers were charged in relation to the naval bombardment by Croatian authorities.
Background
In 1990, following the
After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and
In May 1991, the Croatian government responded by forming the Croatian National Guard (Zbor narodne garde – ZNG),[10] but its development was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo and the Yugoslav Navy's blockade of the Adriatic coast, both of which were introduced in September.[11][12] Following the Battle of the Barracks, the ZNG acquired a significant stock of weapons and ammunition,[13] including 34 Yugoslav Navy vessels moored in Šibenik.[14] Croatian forces using naval mines deployed in Kaštela Bay rendered the Yugoslav Navy base at Lora in Split inaccessible.[15] On 8 October, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia,[16] and a month later the Croatian National Guard was renamed the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV).[10] Late 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war; the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia culminated in the Siege of Dubrovnik[17] and the Battle of Vukovar.[18]
During the first days of November, the Yugoslav Navy stopped the Libertas convoy twice for inspection between the islands of Brač and Korčula as it enforced the blockade. The convoy of 40 small boats led by the ferry Slavija was on its way to resupply Dubrovnik and retrieve refugees from the besieged city.[19] On 11 November, the Maltese-flagged coaster Euroriver, manned by a Croatian crew, was sunk by gunfire off Šolta Island.[20]
Order of battle
Despite the capture of the Yugoslav Navy vessels in September, Croatia's coastal defences relied on captured coastal artillery on the mainland and
The Yugoslav Navy deployed three tactical groups (TGs) named Kaštela, Vis and Ploče off the coast of central Dalmatia from its bases on the islands of
Timeline
14 November
On 14 November at 5:34 p.m., the Croatian naval commandos attacked Mukos off Brač using a torpedo fired from the island.
15 November
On 15 November at 6:42 a.m., the Kaštela TG commenced a naval bombardment of targets in Split and on the islands of Brač and Šolta. The order was issued aboard VPBR-31 Split and the JNA Maritime Military Sector command and JNA bases in Split were advised of the attack. The JNA based in Split did not join the bombardment.
In response to the difficult position of the Yugoslav Navy vessels north of Šolta and Brač, the Vis TG led by Pula sailed north from the island of Vis to draw some of the artillery fire away from the Kaštela TG. As the ships approached the Split Entrance, they made a radar contact sailing away from Split towards open sea at a high speed. Pula, attempting to enforce the blockade imposed in September, requested the vessel by radio to stop for an inspection. The vessel failed to respond and Pula fired several shots in front of it before Brčić noticed that it was a hydrofoil carrying an ECMM team and flying the flag of Europe. He abandoned the pursuit and proceeded to Šolta.[25]
The Vis TG came under fire from the coastal artillery when it arrived within 7 to 8 nautical miles (13 to 15 kilometres; 8.1 to 9.2 miles) of Šolta. In response to the incoming fire, Pula fired her 76-millimetre (3.0 in) bow-mounted gun against targets on Brač and Šolta. Croatian sources said that approximately 800 rounds were fired indiscriminately, striking civilian targets, while Brčić said the TG under his command acted only against artillery located outside residential areas. Pula also fired four salvos of depth charges using her RBU-6000 rocket launcher while the land was outside its range to draw greater attention from the artillery gunners.[25]
The Kaštela TG started to withdraw east at approximately 8:00 a.m., fearing the shortest available route to Vis might be mined in the area of Split Entrance. It reached the eastern tip of Brač by 8:30 a.m. At 9:28 a.m., three
16 November
On 16 November at 11:00 a.m., the Kaštela and Ploče TGs started to assemble at the eastern end of the Korčula Channel, which separates the islands of Hvar and Korčula just north of Cape Lovište at the westernmost tip of the Pelješac Peninsula. The relatively slow minesweepers Iž and Olib, which belonged to the Ploče TG, were hit in the bow and the engine room respectively, by the 76-millimetre (3.0 in) guns at Lovište. To assist the minesweepers, Split turned around to engage the artillery at Cape Lovište while the minesweepers sailed north closer to the Hvar shore in increasingly thick fog.[22]
At 3:30 p.m., the Kaštela TG turned around once more to attack Cape Lovište, but were engaged by nearby coastal artillery located on Korčula. Blitvenica was damaged in the shooting and the entire naval force moved north-west towards Šćedro Island.[22] Iž sustained heavy damage and ran aground in Torac Bay off Hvar, and was abandoned. Olib sank between Pelješac and Hvar.[32] Her crew were rescued by the remaining vessels in the group. At 7:00 p.m., the fleet sailed south from Šćedro towards the western part of Korčula, seeking shelter as the Sirocco wind strengthened. As the ships approached Korčula, they were fired upon by coastal artillery at Črna Luka and Cape Privala, forcing them to turn west towards Vis.[22] The Vis TG did not engage Croatian positions on 16 November.[25]
Aftermath
The Yugoslav Navy was defeated[33] and its ships did not sail north of the Split Entrance again. The battle was the largest engagement of the Croatian Navy during the war.[22] Two Croatian anti-aircraft gunners were killed in action on the island of Brač.[30] According to Mladenić, the Yugoslav Navy lost 22 seamen—including three aboard Mukos—two minesweepers and a patrol craft. The Yugoslav Air Force lost two aircraft but the pilots were rescued by a helicopter that sortied from Vis and picked them up from the sea. Croatian Navy divers later raised Mukos and she was towed to Šibenik by a Brodospas-owned tug.[22] She was repaired and turned over to the Croatian Navy as OB-62 Šolta.[32] Two civilians were killed and nine were wounded in the naval bombardment of Split.[34] The bombardment damaged the Archaeological Museum, Split Municipality Building, Arena Gripe, Public Sanitation Institute, the Technical School, and the ferries Bartol Kašić and Vladimir Nazor, which were moored in the Port of Split.[25] The two civilian fatalities were crew members of Vladimir Nazor.[22]
Croatian authorities charged 33 JNA officers—including Brčić who was tried in absentia and convicted to 15 years in prison—for the bombardment of Split, Šolta and Brač. Brčić, who later became a high-ranking officer of the Montenegrin Navy, was arrested in Naples in late 2007 when he travelled to a NATO function. He was not extradited to Croatia.[35] Most of the other charged officers were also tried in absentia. As of 2013[update], fifteen officers—including Brčić—were convicted, one was acquitted and seventeen cases were ordered by the Supreme Court of Croatia to be retried because of irregularities during previous trials.[31]
In Croatia, the events of 14 and 15 November 1991 are referred to as the Battle of Split (Bitka za Split)[25] or the Battle of the Split Channel (Boj u Splitskom kanalu),[22] while the events of 16 November are referred to as the Battle of the Korčula Channel (Bitka u Korčulanskom kanalu). The events spanning all three days of the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels are also referred to as the Battle of the Adriatic (Bitka za Jadran).[36]
Footnotes
- ^ Hoare 2010, p. 117.
- ^ Hoare 2010, p. 118.
- ^ The New York Times & 19 August 1990.
- ^ ICTY & 12 June 2007.
- ^ Hoare 2010, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 384–385.
- ^ a b Hoare 2010, p. 119.
- ^ The New York Times & 3 March 1991.
- ^ The New York Times & 2 April 1991.
- ^ a b EECIS 1999, pp. 272–278.
- ^ Brigović 2011, p. 428.
- ^ The Independent & 10 October 1992.
- ^ CIA 2002, pp. 95–96.
- ^ a b Reljanović 2001.
- ^ Busuttil 1998, p. 43.
- ^ Narodne novine & 8 October 1991.
- ^ Bjelajac & Žunec 2009, pp. 249–250.
- ^ The New York Times & 18 November 1991.
- ^ Mesić 2004, pp. 389–390.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 203.
- ^ DoD 1997, sect. 8, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Slobodna Dalmacija & 15 November 2004.
- ^ Rizmaul 2012.
- ^ Bernadić 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Index.hr & 29 July 2008.
- ^ Urlić 2011.
- ^ CIA 2002b, p. 163.
- ^ Jane's 2005, p. 165.
- ^ Brigović 2011, p. 438.
- ^ a b Slobodna Dalmacija & 16 November 2011.
- ^ a b Slobodna Dalmacija & 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b Nacional & 8 July 2008.
- ^ Marijan 2012, p. 109.
- ^ Brigović 2011, p. 437.
- ^ Nacional & 24 July 2008.
- ^ Menges 2008.
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