The 2nd Guards Brigade ( hr, 2. gardijska brigada), also known by their nickname Thunders (''Gromovi''), was one of the original

Croatian National Guard The Croatian National Guard ( hr, Zbor narodne garde or ZNG) was an armed force established by Croatia in April and May 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although it was established within the framework of the Ministry of the Interi ...

(ZNG) brigades formed in 1991 and one of the most elite

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

units in the

Croatian Ground Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

(HV) during its existence, during which it saw action in a number of engagements during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

(1991–1995). As part of the large reorganization of the Croatian Armed Forces in the late 2000s the brigade was officially disbanded in March 2008, reduced to a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

-sized unit stationed in

Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 , causing ...

and incorporated into the Motorized Guard Brigade. The present-day battalion still uses the original brigade's nickname and emblem.

History

The brigade was formed on 15 May 1991 at the Trstenik barracks near

Dugo Selo Dugo Selo is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. Geography Dugo Selo (lit. ''Long Village'') is a 20 km drive from Zagreb city centre. The town covers an area of 51 km² and it consists of numerous settlements. The summit of the hill M ...

, where the brigade command was established and the brigade's 1st infantry battalion was formed. The brigade was initially composed of members who joined from the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

's special operations units based at

Lučko Lučko is a settlement in the Novi Zagreb - zapad district of the City of Zagreb, located south of the Sava and southwest of the city center. Lučko is located near the Lučko interchange that connects the A1 motorway, the Zagreb bypass and the ...

Rakitje Rakitje is a village in central Croatia located west of Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, nort ...

Kumrovec Kumrovec () is a village in the northern part Croatia, part of Krapina-Zagorje County. It sits on the Sutla River, along the Croatian-Slovenian border. The Kumrovec municipality has 1,413 residents (2021), but the village itself has only 267 peopl ...

, Vinica,

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...

and

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

in northern Croatia, as it was originally formed within the Interior Ministry's framework as part of the ZNG, which later evolved into the

. The 2nd battalion was formed on 3 June 1991 in Sisak, and the 3rd battalion was formed on 21 June 1991 in

Duga Resa Duga Resa is a town in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is located about 65 km southwest of Zagreb and 100 km east of Rijeka. Name The earliest reference to Duga Resa is from the year 1380. There are several theories on how the then-villag ...

. The Thunders' first engagement was in early June 1991 on the Mladost Bridge in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

when they stopped the advance of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

(JNA) tanks in the initial stages of the

Battle of the Barracks The Battle of the Barracks ( hr, Bitka za vojarne) was a series of engagements that occurred in mid-to-late 1991 between the Croatian National Guard (ZNG, later renamed the Croatian Army) and the Croatian police on one side and the Yugoslav Pe ...

. Over the course of the

elements of the brigade saw action in

Central Croatia Croatia proper ( hr, Hrvatska) is one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Croatia, together with Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia. It is located between Slavonia in the east, the Adriatic Sea in the west, and Dalmatia to the south ...

and Banovina regions. The brigade also took part in the

Siege of Dubrovnik The siege of Dubrovnik ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, opsada Dubrovnika, опсада Дубровника) was a military engagement fought between the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Croatian forces defending the city of Dubrovnik and its surroundings dur ...

(Operation Tiger) and in operations in the

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from t ...

region in northern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. They were also actively involved in

Operation Maslenica Operation Maslenica was a Croatian Army offensive launched in January 1993 to retake territory in northern Dalmatia and Lika from Krajina Serb forces, with the stated military objective of pushing the Serbs back from approaches to Zadar, Maslen ...

Operation Flash Operation Flash ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Operacija Bljesak, Операција Бљесак) was a brief Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted against the forces of the self-declared proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) from 1&nda ...

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...

and

Operation Una Operation Una ( hr, Operacija Una) was a military offensive conducted by the Croatian Army (''Hrvatska vojska'' – HV) against the Army of Republika Srpska (''Vojska Republike Srpske'' – VRS) in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18–19 Sept ...

. During the war, 203 members of the brigade were killed in action, and 5 were missing as of 2013. On 1 May 1996 the 81st Guards Battalion based in

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...

was incorporated into the brigade and in 2003 the 2nd Guards Brigade was merged with the 7th "Pumas" Brigade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Guards Brigade (Croatia) Military units and formations established in 1991 Military units and formations disestablished in 2008 Brigades of Croatia Military units and formations of the Croatian War of Independence Order of Duke Domagoj recipients Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski recipients 1991 establishments in Croatia