Croatian Defence Forces

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The Croatian Defence Forces (Template:Langx or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS organised several early companies and participated in Croatia's defence. At the peak of the war in Croatia, the HOS was several battalions in size. The first HOS units were headed by Ante Paradžik, an HSP member who was killed by Croatian police in September 1991. After the November 1991 general mobilisation in Croatia and the January 1992 cease-fire, the HOS was absorbed by the Croatian Army.

The HOS units in Bosnia and Herzegovina consisted of Croats, Bosnian Muslims and foreign volunteers led by Blaž Kraljević.[1] On 9 August 1992, Kraljević and eight staff members were assassinated by Croatian Defence Council (HVO) soldiers under the command of Mladen Naletilić.Template:Sfn The HOS was disbanded shortly afterwards, with its remaining military assets absorbed by the HVO and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the Croat-Bosniak War.[1] The last HOS unit was dissolved on 5 April 1993 in central Bosnia.Template:Sfn

History

Croatia

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The Croatian Party of Rights was reestablished in Croatia on 26 February 1990, with Dobroslav Paraga president and Ante Paradžik vice-president.[2] The Croatian civilian population began arming itself, and on 21 December 1990 the Serbs of Croatia rose; soon, the Yugoslav People's Army combined with the insurgent Serbs and the Croatian Party of Rights considered forming its military wing.

Although the first HOS squad was established in January, the HOS was officially founded on 25 June 1991 by Dobroslav Paraga, Ante Paradžik, Alija Šiljak and other leaders of the HSP.[3] Soon after establishing the HOS general staff, Paradžik became its chief.[4]

The HSP received donations from the Croatian diaspora and HSP branches in Australia and Canada, enabling it to buy weapons and increase its membership. However, not every HSP member supported a military wing, and secretary Krešimir Pavelić left the party in protest. Many HOS recruits came from the diaspora, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and overseas. In addition, HOS attracted trained soldiers from abroad.

The HOS used the roman salute and wore black uniforms; its headquarters featured portraits of Ustaše leaders and its units were named after Ustaša generals.[5] Their outward association with WWII-era fascists prompted worries to the Croatian government who feared their image would damage Croatia's international reputation. By early 1992 they were disbanded and recruited into the regular Croatian Army.[5]

Battles

At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS comprised about 6,000 soldiers. Although they were members of the Croatian National Guard (ZNG), they obeyed orders from HOS officers.[6] Because of an unwritten rule that HOS members could only be members of the HSP, the HOS was considered a party paramilitary organisation. The HOS and the ZNG were involved in the Battle of the Barracks and other minor battles in Croatia. The HOS increased in popularity within the HSP, and soon the HOS were in nearly every town where the HSP was active.[7] On 10 September 1991, Paraga and Paradžik organised a demonstration of a HOS company for 10,000 spectators in Jelačić Square. Shortly after the demonstration, the company was involved in the Battle of Vukovar under Robert Šilić.[8][9]

At this time, HOS units were founded in Dalmatia. Until May 1991, Dalmatian HOS units were company-sized. In an agreement between Paraga and the Slovene Minister of Defence Janez Janša, the units were sent to Slovenia for training.[4] By October 1991 the unit had grown to battalion size; it was called the 9th Battalion and was commanded by Jozo Radanović, president of the HSP branch in Split.[10]

Paradžik was shot at a police checkpoint near Zagreb on 21 September 1991, in what was described by the authorities as an accident. They justified the killing because the police "received an anonymous tip that the Martić's family were in the car."[11]

Following the fall of Vukovar in November 1991, the Croatian government began a general mobilisation, and most HOS militiamen joined Croatian Army units. Paraga refused to merge his units with the forces controlled by the Croatian government, and armed HOS units took over a building in Zagreb, using it as their headquarters.[4] Paraga and party vice-president Anto Đapić who took over the position following Paradžik's killing, were charged with treason and planning a coup d’état but the charges were dropped.[4] Shortly after the cease-fire in January 1992, the HOS ceased operations in Croatia.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Large group of smiling soldiers, with arms raised
HOS soldiers in Čapljina Template:Circa

The Croatian Defence Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina had its headquarters in Ljubuški and mostly operated in the southern area of the country. Their commander was Blaž Kraljević. At the beginning of the Bosnian War, they fought against the Serb forces together with the HVO and ARBiH.Template:Sfn The strength of HOS forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated at up to 5000 members armed with infantry weapons.Template:Sfn They included many Bosnian Muslims in their ranks and advocated a confederation between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,Template:Sfn frequently using the slogan "Croatia to the Drina, Bosnia to the Adriatic".Template:Sfn The HOS participated in breaking the JNA-VRS siege of Mostar in June 1992, when the HV and HVO forces pushed the Serb forces towards eastern Herzegovina.Template:Sfn

Relations between the HVO and HOS eventually worsened, though HOS did not function integrally throughout the country. In the area of Novi Travnik it was closer to the HVO, while in the Mostar area, there were increasingly tense relations between the HOS and the HVO.Template:Sfn On 9 August Kraljević was killed in unclear circumstances at a police checkpoint in the village of Kruševo,Template:Sfn along with eight of his staff members by HVO soldiers under the command of Mladen Naletilić.Template:Sfn On 23 August 1992 HVO and HOS leaders in Herzegovina agreed to incorporate the HOS into the HVO. The remaining HOS forces were later recognised by the Sarajevo government as part of the ARBiH. The HOS forces in central Bosnia merged with the HVO in April 1993.Template:Sfn Most of the Bosniaks that were members of the HOS joined the Muslim Armed Forces (MOS).Template:Sfn

Symbols

The HOS had a black flag with its emblem in the centre: a circle of triple wattle containing a chequered shield (with white first square) over a four-sided blue-and-white triple-wattle symbol; above, the inscription "HOS"; below, "HSP, Za dom spremni", which was the Ustaše salute during WW2 in the Independent State of Croatia.[12] HOS symbols have become a contentious issue in recent years as the popularity of its flag with the Za Dom Spremni slogan has grown with right-wing fans at sporting events and HOS veterans continue to use HOS and Ustaše insignia at public events.[5]

Units

Name Symbol Headquarters Commander
1st Battalion Ivan Vitez Brdar
(1. bojna Ivan Vitez Brdar) 		File:Patch of 1st battalion Ivan the knight Brdar.svg Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mate Šukan
2nd Battalion Stojan Vujnović "The Serb"
(2. bojna Stojan Vujnović Srbin) 		File:Patch of the 2nd Battalion Stojan Vujnovic Srbin.svg Domaljevac, Bosnia and Herzegovina Stojan Vujnović
4th HOS Battalion
(4. bojna HOS-a)
6th Battalion Marijan Baotić
(6. bojna Marijan Baotić) 		Vinkovci, Croatia Ivica Zupković

Ivan Zoraja

9th Battalion Rafael Vitez Boban
(9. bojna Rafael vitez Boban) 		File:Patch of Ninth battalion Rafael the knight Boban.svg Split, Croatia Jozo Radanović

Marko Skejo

1st Company Ante Paradžik
(1. satnija Ante Paradžik) 		Jasenovac, Croatia Miroslav Martinovski
Vukovar HOS Company
(Vukovarska satnija HOS-a) 		File:Flag of the Vukovar Company.png Vukovar, Croatia Robert Šilić
13th Battalion Jure Vitez Francetić
(13. bojna Jure vitez Francetić) 		File:Patch of 13th battalion Jure the knight Francetić.svg Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Mamić
The Knights
(Vitezovi) 		File:Patch of Vitezovi.svg Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina Darko Kraljevic
101st Battalion To Drina
(101. bojna Do Drine) 		Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mate Matasin
19th Battalion Vitez Jure Francetić
(19. bojna Vitez Jure Francetić) 		Gospić, Croatia Valentin Rajković
Black Wolves
(Crni vukovi) 		Kalesija, Bosnia and Herzegovina Refik Fiko Brđanović
Marked Ones
(Žigosani) 		File:Patch of Zigosani.svg Novi Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hunter Company
(Satnija Lovci) 		File:Patch of Lovac.svg Ljubuški, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Independent Security Company
(Samostalna satnija osiguranja) 		Zagreb, Croatia
Mostar HOS Battalion
(Mostarska bojna HOS-a) 		Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ljubuški HOS Company
(Ljubuška satnija HOS-a) 		Ljubuški, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zenica HOS Company
(Zenička satnija HOS-a) 		Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tuzla HOS Company
(Tuzlanska satnija HOS-a) 		Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Čapljina HOS Company
(Čapljinska satnija HOS-a) 		Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Gallery

See also

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Footnotes

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References

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Template:Refend

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Croatian Party of Rights History, HOS Party Headquarters.
  4. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Irvine 1996, p. 7–8
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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