The Croatian Armed Forces were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard (''Domobrani'') and the

Ustaše militia The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

in the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

. It was established by the fascist regime of Ante Pavelić in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), an Axis puppet state in Yugoslavia during World War II. The Croatian Armed Forces ( hr, Hrvatske oružane snage, HOS) was reorganized in November 1944 to combine the units of the Ustaše and Domobrani into eighteen divisions, comprising 13 infantry, two mountain, two assault and one replacement Croatian divisions, each with its own organic artillery and other support units. There were also several armoured units, equipped in late 1944 with 20 Pz IIIN and 15

Pz IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panze ...

F and H medium tanks. From early 1945, the Croatian divisions were allocated to various German corps and by March 1945 were holding the Southern Front. Securing the rear areas were some 32,000 men of the Croatian Gendarmerie (''Hrvatsko Oružništvo''), organised into 5 Police Volunteer Regiments plus 15 independent battalions, equipped with standard light infantry weapons, including mortars. By the end of March, 1945, it was obvious to the Army command that, although the front remained intact, they would eventually be defeated by sheer lack of ammunition. For this reason, the decision was made to retreat across the border into the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

part of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, in order to surrender to the British forces advancing north from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Croatian Home Guard

Ustaše Militia

Croatian Gendarmerie

The Croatian Gendarmerie (''Hrvatsko Oružništvo'') was formed on 30 April 1941 as rural police under Major-General Milan Miesler. By September 1943, there were 18,000 men in seven regional regiments. These were divided into 23 companies (one per county plus one for

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

). The companies were subdivided into 142 district platoons, each with several posts. In early 1942, a three-battalion Combined Gendarmie Regiment, in July redesignated ''Petrinja Brigade'', was established for anti-Partisan operations in

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-Baran ...

.Twelve of the independent Police Volunteer Battalions formed the ''Croatian Gendarmerie Division'' in 1945.

History

Organization

Marching order at end of 1944

*1. Poglavnik Bodyguard Division *1. Croatian Assault Division **Commander: General Ante Moškov **Headquarters:

*2. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Mirko Gregurić **Headquarters:

*3. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Stjepan Mifek **Headquarters:

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

*4. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Antun Nardelli **Headquarters: Dvor na Uni *5. Croatian Assault Division **Commander: General

Rafael Boban Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ' ...

**Headquarters:

Bjelovar Bjelovar ( hu, Belovár, german: Bellowar, Kajkavian: ''Belovar'') is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats. Histor ...

*6. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General

Vladimir Metikoš Vladimir Metikoš (7 July 1899 – 24 September 1945) was a Croatian general in the then Independent State of Croatia (NDH).''Tko je tko u NDH'', Zagreb, 1997, p. 268; Biography Born in Banja Luka, he was posted during World War I to the I ...

**Headquarters:

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 ...

*7. Croatian Mountain Division **Commander: General Stjepan Perčić **Headquarters:

Nova Kapela Nova Kapela is a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. There are 4,227 inhabitants in the following settlements: * Batrina, population 1,005 * Bili Brig, population 272 * Donji Lipovac, population 248 * Dragovci, population 362 * Gorn ...

Batrina Batrina is a village in Slavonia region of Croatia. The settlement is administered as a part of Nova Kapela municipality, Brod-Posavina County Brod-Posavina County ( hr, Brodsko-posavska županija) is the southern Slavonian county in Croat ...

*8. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Roman Domanik **Headquarters:

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

*9. Croatian Mountain Division **Commander: General Božidar Zorn **Headquarters:

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

*10. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Ivan Tomašević **Headquarters:

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

*11. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: Colonel Juraj Rukavina **Headquarters:

Gospić Gospić () is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is the ...

*12. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: Colonel Slavko Cesarić **Headquarters:

Brčko Brčko ( sr-cyrl, Брчко, ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, ...

*13. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Tomislav Rolf **Headquarters: Karlovac *14. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: Colonel Jaroslav Šotola **Headquarters:

Brod na Savi Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

*15. Croatian Infantry Division **Commander: General Zorko Čudina **Headquarters:

Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...

*16. Croatian Replacement Division **Commander: General Milivoj Durbešić **Headquarters:

*18. Croatian Infantry Division

Fate of Commanders

Executed

* Ante Moškov * Mirko Gregurić * Stjepan Mifek *Antun Nardelli *

Roman Domanik Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

* Božidar Zorn * Ivan Tomašević * Juraj Rukavina * Zorko Čudina * Mijo Škoro

Unclear

* Jaroslav Šotola * Milivoj Durbešić

Emigrated

Stjepan Peričić Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen, used by ijekavian speakers. In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1969. Notable people with the name include: * S ...

* Slavko Cesarić

Committed suicide

* Tomislav Rolf

Ranks and insignia

General pukovnik.gif, General pukovnik ( Colonel General) General poručnik.gif, General poručnik (

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

) General2.gif, General (

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

) Pukovnik2.gif, Pukovnik (

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 o ...

) Podpukovnik2.gif, Podpukovnik ( Lieutenant Colonel) Bojnik2.png, Bojnik ( Major) Nadsatnik2.gif, Nadsatnik (

Senior Captain Senior captain is a rank which is used in some countries' armed forces, navies, merchant marines, civil aviation and in the airline industry. Army In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a majo ...

) Satnik2.gif, Satnik ( Captain) Nadporučnik2.gif, Natporučnik (

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

) Poručnik2.gif, Poručnik ( Second Lieutenant) Zastavnik2.gif, Zastavnik (

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

) Častnički namjestnik2.gif, Časnički namjesnik (

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

) Stožerni stražnik.gif, Stožerni stražnik ( Staff Sergeant) Stražnik.gif, Stražnik ( Sergeant) Vodnik2.gif, Vodnik ( Lance Sergeant) Rojnik.gif, Rojnik (

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

) Dorojnik.png, Dorojnik (

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

) Strielac.gif, Strielac ( Private first class) Domobran2.png, Vojnik ( Private)

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Military of the Independent State of Croatia The Holocaust in Yugoslavia Collaboration during World War II Collaboration with the Axis Powers