The 1st Croatian Guards Corps ( hr, 1. hrvatski gardijski zbor) was a special

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the Croatian Army (''Hrvatska vojska'' – HV) directly subordinated to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

rather than the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () is the general staff of the Armed Forces of Croatia, a joint body organized within the Ministry of Defence. It is responsible for development, organization, and equipping, trainin ...

and reporting directly to the

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the ...

. The corps was established in 1994 by the amalgamation of various HV

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. The 2,500-strong unit was organised into the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade (''1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug'' – HGZ), a multi-purpose special forces combat unit, and four battalions tasked with ensuring the security of the President of Croatia and carrying out ceremonial duties. The HGZ took part in a number of military operations during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

and the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. It was disbanded in 2000, when its components were amalgamated with other HV units to form the

Special Operations Battalion The Special Operations Battalion ( hr, Bojna za specijalna djelovanja), or popularly BSD was founded on 8 September 2000 when the Special Combat Skills Center from Šepurine and the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade ( hr, 1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug, a ...

, the 350th Military Intelligence Battalion, and the Honour Guard Battalion.

Establishment

Croatian detachment Bastille Day 2013 Paris t105017

On 25 February 1994, the

of the Croatian Army (''Hrvatska vojska'' – HV) were reorganised when all HV's special forces units were combined to form the 1st Croatian Guards Corps (''1. hrvatski gardijski zbor''). In April, personnel of the 8th

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

Light Assault Brigade (itself only established in September 1993) were also transferred to the corps, ultimately making the corps 2,500-strong. In addition to special forces operations, the corps was also tasked with providing security for the

. The corps was organised into four specialised battalions and the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade (''1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug'' – HGZ), a multi-purpose special forces combat unit. The HGZ was considered the elite unit of the HV. The entire corps was directly subordinated to the

rather than the

, and reported directly to the president. It was commanded by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Mile Ćuk. Ćuk and his deputy were based in the Presidential Palace, while the bulk of the corps was based in nearby

Tuškanac Tuškanac is a neighborhood located in Gornji Grad - Medveščak city district of Zagreb, Croatia. It has a population of 2,455 (2011). It is best known for its parks and the Tuškanac cinema. Apparently, its name derives from the name of Tuscan ...

barracks. The HGZ was capable of fielding up to 300 troops in combat. It was commanded by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

(later Major General) Miljenko Filipović, who had previously commanded the Zrinski Battalion—one of the special forces units amalgamated into the corps.

Combat service

The HGZ took part in several battles of the

and the

. In late November and December 1994, it participated in Operation Winter '94, the joint offensive of the HV and the Croatian Defence Council (''Hrvatsko vijeće obrane'' – HVO) which pushed the Army of Republika Srpska (''Vojska Republike Srpske'' – VRS) from the western parts of the

Livanjsko field Livanjsko polje (), located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the largest ''polje'' (karstic field) in the world. A typical example of karst polje encircled by tall peaks and mountain ranges, the field is characterized by many unique natural phenome ...

in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Elements of the HGZ also saw action along the

Novska Novska is a town in the Sisak-Moslavina County of Croatia. It is located in western part of the historic region of Slavonia, between Kutina and Nova Gradiška, linear distance southeast of the capital, Zagreb. Demographics Novska has a total pop ...

–

Okučani Okučani is a village and municipal centre in western Slavonia, Croatia. It is located 19 km southeast of Novska and 17 km west of Nova Gradiška.Operation Flash offensive that took place in western

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

in early May 1995. By this time, the HGZ also commanded its own artillery and Mil Mi-24

helicopter gunships An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

, in addition to

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...

transport helicopter A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to maintaining supply l ...

s. The HGZ redeployed west of Livno once again in early June to take part in

Operation Leap 2 Operation Winter '94 ( sh, Operacija Zima '94, Операција Зима '94) was a joint military offensive of the Croatian Army (HV) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) fought in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina between 29 November ...

, extending the salient that had been created in late 1994 west towards Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoč. The unit participated in the capture of those towns in late July 1995 during Operation Summer '95. In preparation for Operation Storm, the HV 4th Guards and 7th Guards Brigades were pulled back from positions facing the VRS that had been established during Operation Summer '95, and were reoriented south towards the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina (ARSK). The ARSK was protecting the northern approaches to Knin − the capital of the unrecognised

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

− which Croatia claimed as part of its own territory. As the two brigades turned over the positions north and west of Bosansko Grahovo to the HV 81st Guards Battalion, the HGZ was deployed to the rear of the battalion, tasked with intervening in case of any VRS attack towards Bosansko Grahovo. On the second day of the operation, 6 August, after Knin was captured by the HV, the HGZ was airlifted from the Livanjsko field to the village of Rovanjska north of

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

. They then linked up with the 2nd Battalion of the 9th Guards Brigade and advanced east to capture the villages of Muškovac and Kaštel Žegarski. On 8 August, the HGZ participated in an operation against the last significant ARSK pocket in the area of Donji Lapac and

Srb SRB or Srb may refer to: Places * Serbia (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code SRB), a country in Central/Southeastern Europe * Srb, a village in Croatia Organizations * State Research Bureau (organisation), former Ugandan intelligence agency * Sin ...

, alongside the three guards brigades and

special police forces Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consiste ...

. In September 1995, the HGZ took part in

Operation Mistral 2 Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, which extended HV and HVO control in western Bosnia and Herzegovina and captured the towns of

Jajce Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...

, Šipovo and

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2013 census registered the municipality as having a population of 7,036. It is situated in western Bos ...

, moving the confrontation line north towards the Bosnian Serb capital of

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. In October, the HGZ also participated in

Operation Southern Move Operation Southern Move ( hr, Operacija Južni potez) was the final Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defence Council (HVO) offensive of the Bosnian War. It took place in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 8–11 October 1995. Its goal was to help ...

, which captured the town of Mrkonjić Grad, and reached the southern slopes of Mount

Manjača Manjača ( sr-cyrl, Мањача) is a name of a mountain located 22 km south of the city Banja Luka, in northern part of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its highest peak is high peak ''Velika Manjača''. History The region was a ...

, south of Banja Luka.

Reorganisation

The corps was disbanded in 2000 and its constituents reorganised. A part of the HGZ was amalgamated with the Special Combat Skills Centre Šepurine to form the

. The remainder of the brigade was amalgamated with the Reconnaissance-Sabotage Company based in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

, the 350th Sabotage Detachment, the 280th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platoon, and the 275th Electronic Warfare Company to form the 350th Military Intelligence Battalion. The elements of the corps which were tasked with security of the President of Croatia and ceremonial duties were reformed and the Honour Guard Battalion was established in their place.

Footnotes

References

;Books * * * ;Scientific journal articles * ;News reports * * * * ;Other sources * *

Establishment

Combat service

Reorganisation

Footnotes

References

Further reading