Battle of Dalmatia
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
Date July - December, 1991 Location Dalmatia, Croatia Result Croatian victory
Combatants
Yugoslavia (JNA) Local Serb forces	Croatia (HV, police forces, HOS)
Commanders
Colonel Ratko Mladić (JNA)
Strength
JNA 9th Corps (Knin): 63 tanks 45 APCs Other units	6th Operational Zone (Several infantry brigades)

Map showing the location of Dalmatia, in present day Croatia

Battle of Dalmatia (Croatian: Bitka za Dalmaciju, Serbian: Битка за Далмацију) was a military engagement in Croatia for the coastal region of Dalmatia that took place in the later half of 1991. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and local Serb forces launched their attack with the aim of capturing the Croatian coastline and splitting Dalmatia from the rest of Croatia. The operation failed and the JNA was stopped before they could reach the sea. Combatants Croatian Army Paramilitary organisations Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Serb Krajina Army Yugoslav Peoples Army Paramilitary organisations Commanders Franjo TuÄ‘man (President of Croatia) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1992-1995) Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević (President... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Dalmatia, in present day Croatia highlighted Dalmatia (Croatian: Dalmacija, Italian: Dalmazia) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) in the southeast. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_SFR_Yugoslavia. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... The Yugoslav Peoples Army (Jugoslavenska/Jugoslovenska narodna armija, JNA, Slovene Jugoslovanska ljudska armada, JLA) was the army of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia prior to its dissolution. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia. ... HV or Hv may stand for: Home video the IATA code for Transavia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Croatian Defence Forces (Croatian Hrvatska obrambene snage or HOS) was one of the first armed forces assembled by the Croats during the Croatian Homeland War and the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... General Ratko Mladić during UN-mediated talks at Sarajevo airport in 1993. ... Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport infantry on the battlefield. ... Combatants Croatian Army Paramilitary organisations Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Serb Krajina Army Yugoslav Peoples Army Paramilitary organisations Commanders Franjo TuÄ‘man (President of Croatia) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1992-1995) Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević (President... The Plitvice Lakes incident of March 1991 (known in Croatian as Plitvice Bloody Easter, Krvavi Uskrs na Plitvicama / Plitvički Krvavi Uskrs) was a clash between security forces of the Republic of Croatia and armed Serb separatists. ... The Borovo Selo killings of 2 May 1991 (known in Croatia as the Borovo Selo massacre, Croatian:Pokolj u Borovom Selu and in Serbia as the Borovo Selo incident, Serbian: Инцидент у Боровом Селу) were one of the bloodiest incidents in the early stages of the breakup of Yugoslavia. ... Combatants Yugoslav Peoples Army, Serbian paramilitaries Croatian National Guard, Croatian police and militias Commanders Mladen Bratić Života Panić Blago Zadro Mile Dedaković Branko Borković Strength Up to 36,000, depending on the phase of the battle 2,000 Casualties Unofficial Serbian figures: 1,103 dead ~2,500 wounded 110... Ovčara memorial The Vukovar massacre was an incident that took place between November 18 and November 21, 1991 near the city of Vukovar, a mixed Croat/Serb community in northeastern Croatia. ... Combatants Croatian Army (HV) Yugoslav Army (JNA) Commanders Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Various local commanders Veljko Kadijević (Chief of Staff of Yugoslav Peoples Army) Various local commanders Strength  ?  ? Casualties At least 15 dead  ? At least: 250 tanks, 180 Armoured personnel carriers, 100 Self... Combatants Yugoslav Army (JNA), Montenegro Territorial Defence Forces Croatian Army (HV) Commanders Veljko Kadijević (Chief of Staff of Yugoslav Peoples Army) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (from 1992) Strength Between 7,500 and 20,000 men [1] Up to 2,000 soldiers... The Gospić massacre was an incident that took place between 16 October-18 October 1991 in the town of Gospić, a mixed Serb/Croat community in the district of Lika in Croatia. ... After the attacking forces of the 5th Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) corps (Banja Luka corps) had successfully crossed Sava river into Croatia captured Okučani in western Slavonia it was their primary objective to advance along Pakrac - GrubiÅ¡no Polje route and link up with th 28th partisan division... According to the census of 1991, Å kabrnja was inhabited by 1,953 people in 397 households, and the vast majority of them were Croats, there wasnt a single Serb resident. ... After successful completion of Operation Otkos 10, the first offensive operation of such scale by Croatian army in the homeland war, Croatian troops were in position to retake further territory and neutralize a number of serbian held military positions and fortifications. ... Voćin massacre was a massacre of between 45 and 55 Croatian civilians [1] in the village of Voćin, perpetuated by Serb paramilitary units in December 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. ... On June 21, 1992, the Croatian army attacked the Serbian Territorial Defense on the Miljevci Plateau near Drnis in front of the eyes of UN peacekeeping force (UNPROFOR). ... Operation Maslenica is an offensive Croatian Army conducted in Northwestern Dalmatia against Krajina forces in early 1993. ... Combatants Croatia Republic of Serbian Krajina Commanders Janko Bobetko, Petar Stipetić Mile Novaković Strength Over 2,500 soldiers, T-72 tanks, Large numbers of artillery  ? Casualties 10 Croats killed, 17 wounded 38 Serbs killed, 50+ wounded Operation Medak Pocket (Croatian: Medački džep) was a military operation undertaken by... Combatants Croatia Republic of Serbian Krajina Commanders Croatian Military Command Strength 7,200 soldiers 5000 soldiers Casualties 55 killed, 162 wounded 250 killed, 1,500 POW Operation Flash (Croatian: ) was a brief and successful offensive conducted in the beginning of May 1995 by the the Croatian Army, which removed Serb... The Zagreb rocket attack was a war crime conducted by Serb armed forces that fired ground-to-ground missiles on the Croatian capital of Zagreb. ... Combatants Croatia (HV, HVO) Republika Srpska (VRS) Commanders General Ante Gotovina (HV) Strength Two HV Guard Brigades (4th Motorized, 7th Mechanized) Two HVO Guard Brigades (1st, 3rd Motorized) Other units Units of the 2nd Krajina Corps of the VRS (3 motorized brigades, 5 infantry brigades, 5 light brigades and support... Combatants Croatia (HV) Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK) Republika Srpska (VRS) Commanders Zvonimir ÄŒervenko (HV) Atif Dudakovic (ABiH) Mile MrkÅ¡ić (VSK) Strength 150,000 soldiers, 350 tanks, 400 artillery pieces, 50 rocket launchers, 50 aircraft and helicopters 40,000 soldiers, 150 tanks, 350 artillery pieces... Croatia with Dalmatia highlighted. ... Croatia with Dalmatia highlighted. ... ... Map of Dalmatia, in present day Croatia highlighted Dalmatia (Croatian: Dalmacija, Italian: Dalmazia) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) in the southeast. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Yugoslav Peoples Army (YPA) (Serbian: Југословенска народна армија / Jugoslovenska narodna armija (JHA / JNA); Croatian: Jugoslavenska narodna armija (JNA); Slovene: Jugoslovanska ljudska armada (JLA); Macedonian: Jугословенската народна армија (JНA); Albanian: Armata Popullore e Jugosllavisë) was the military force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...

Background

Main article: Croatian War of Independence

As the Croatian War of Independence begun in 1991, the region of Dalmatia (primary Croatian-inhabitated) found itself on the borders of the (primary Serb-inhabitated) Krajina region where the local Serb population has started an armed revolt in 1990. The JNA forces begun supporting the Serb population in August 1991. In Dalmatia, this support came from the 9th Corps of the JNA (situated in Knin), which begun an armed offensive against Croat areas in July under the command of the newly arrived Colonel Ratko Mladić who later became infamous as the commander of the Bosnian Serb Army. Combatants Croatian Army Paramilitary organisations Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Serb Krajina Army Yugoslav Peoples Army Paramilitary organisations Commanders Franjo TuÄ‘man (President of Croatia) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1992-1995) Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević (President... Combatants Croatian Army Paramilitary organisations Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Serb Krajina Army Yugoslav Peoples Army Paramilitary organisations Commanders Franjo TuÄ‘man (President of Croatia) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1992-1995) Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević (President... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Krajina, meaning border, is a Slavic toponym which might mean: Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosanska Krajina, same, but around Banja Luka and encompassing a larger area Cazinska Krajina, borderland of Bosnia towards Croatia around the city of Cazin. ... Knin is a historical town in the Å ibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... General Ratko Mladić during UN-mediated talks at Sarajevo airport in 1993. ... Bosnian Serb Army, officially Army of the Republika Srpska (Serbian Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske, ВРС/VRS) is the military of the Bosnian Serb political entity of Republika Srpska. ...

Strategic situation and opposing forces

The major strategic problem of Croatia is that the country is very narrow at several places, making it vurnable to being fragmented. Several of such locations layed in Dalmatia, making them an attractive target for the attackers.

The situation was only worse because the areas under Serb control were situated along the majority of Croatia's eastern borders, making all those locations within reach.

The JNA 9th Corps in Knin was the only JNA's Corps subordinate to the JNA Navy command of the Naval District, rather then the land forces of the 5th Army District. It had under its command:

• • One armored battalion of some 60 tanks and APCs,
  • One motorized infantry brigade (with another 40 tanks and APCs),
  • A mixed artillery regiment (rocket launchers and heavy guns),
  • One mixed antitank artillery regiment,
  • An engineer regiment,
  • A Territorial Defence Brigade,
  • And support units.

In total, there were 108 armored vehicles attached to these forces. JNA also had strong garrisons in Šibenik, Zadar and Split over which fighting took place during the Battle of the barracks. An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, protected by armour and armed with weapons. ... For other uses, see Split (disambiguation). ... Combatants Croatian Army (HV) Yugoslav Army (JNA) Commanders Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Various local commanders Veljko Kadijević (Chief of Staff of Yugoslav Peoples Army) Various local commanders Strength  ?  ? Casualties At least 15 dead  ? At least: 250 tanks, 180 Armoured personnel carriers, 100 Self...

Opposite these, the Croatians had significant infantry, but these were mostly ill-equipped and without any heavy weapons. Until later in the year, some units were even lacking basic equipment like rifles and ammunition. Veterans tell stories of using Coca-Cola cans stuffed with explosives as hand granades. The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ...

On paper, the Croatian army had several infantry brigades under the 6th Operational Zone Command, including those recruited from population in Zadar (112th) and Šibenik (113th) which took the brunt of the fighting. Split's 4th Motorized Guard Brigade "Spiders" was the best equipped and trained Croat military unit in Dalmatia and was used as a mobile reserve, being redeployed to areas needing the greatest firepower. There are other articles with similar names; see Zadar (disambiguation). ... Å ibenik Å ibenik (German: Sibenning, Italian: Sebenico) is an historic town in Croatia, population 51,553 (2001). ...

The Battle

Inital operations

Eventually, JNA forces decided to attempt to cut Dalmatia by striking at three locations: at the vital bridge of Maslenica and the coastal cities of Zadar and Šibenik. This was dubbed Operation Coastline '91 (Operacija Obala '91). Maslenica is a port and village in Zadar County, Dalmatia, Croatia. ... There are other articles with similar names; see Zadar (disambiguation). ... Å ibenik Å ibenik (German: Sibenning, Italian: Sebenico) is an historic town in Croatia, population 51,553 (2001). ...

JNA and Serb forces used the first half of the year to consolidate their territory and ethniclly cleanse Croats from those areas, with the worst examples being the Škabrnja massacre and the heavy attack on Kijevo. Armenian civilians, being cleansed from their homeland during the Armenian Genocide. ... According to the census of 1991, Å kabrnja was inhabited by 1,953 people in 397 households, and the vast majority of them were Croats, there wasnt a single Serb resident. ... Kijevo is a small village in the Dalmatian hinterland, southeast of Knin in the Å ibenik-Knin county. ...

Following the takeover of Benkovac, JNA and Serb forces had an important forward base to strike at the coast. On July 15, 1991, Krajina TO forces started to advance from Benkovac towards Biograd, a costal town between Zadar and Šibenik. It held, and a Zadar-Šibenik line was maintained, but the line would remain thin until 1995. Benkovac on the map of Croatia Benkovac is a town and municipality in the interior of Zadar county, Croatia. ... Biograd na Moru is a city in Zadar County, Dalmatia, Croatia ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Maslenica and Zadar

At the same time, JNA forces advanced west from Obrovac, targeting Maslenica. On July 26, Croats deployed the 4th Guard brigade between the two cities, but it managed only to slow the advance. On September 11, the JNA/Serb forces reached the bridge, severing the land route of Croatia with Dalmatia. Traffic and supply had to be rerouted to the island of Pag via a ferry line to the island and another bridge further west, which led to Zadar. The bridge was destroyed on November 21, under unknown circumstances. This article needs translation. ... Pag (Latin Pagus, village, Italian Pago) is an island in northern Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Croatia. ... The ferryboat Dongan Hills, filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, ca. ...

Further southwest, an important airfield near Zadar (Zemunik) was captured and JNA forces advanced on the city. Zadar was heavily shelled from September 15, but JNA was thinly spread and could not spare troops for a major land attack. Electricity and water supplies were cut to the city for over 100 days and the city was shelled indiscriminatly. September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ...

Battles for Šibenik

Skradin north of Šibenik was captured in August and advanced on the major coastal city. On September 15, Croatian 113th Brigade captured the JNA barracks in the city and it came under heavy combined air, sea and land attack on September 16. The city Theatre, built in 1870 and the biggest in the country, was destroyed during the shelling. The attack lasted until September 22, when it was finally stopped on the northern bridge leading to the city, at its very outskirts. This became known as the September battle in Šibenik. ^[1] A total of 269 Croatian soldiers died defending Šibenik. Skradin (Latin, Italian Scardona) is a town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, population 3,986 (2001). ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ...

On September 21, a famous video tape was taken during the Šibenik battles of Croatian air defence shooting down two JNA Soko J-21 "Hawk" ground-attack aircraft. The first aircraft was shot down with an anti-aircraft gun, while the second was hit immediatly after the first with a SA-7 anti-aircraft missile. One of the defenders immortalized the tape with the words: "Oba su pala" ("Both have fallen"); which grew into one of the most prominent icons of the war in Croatia. [1] September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... The video cassette recorder (or VCR, less popularly video tape recorder) is a type of video tape recorder that uses removable cassettes containing magnetic tape to record audio and video from a television broadcast so it can be played back later. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... A soldier posing with a Strela launcher The 9K32 Strela-2 (Russian 9К32 стрела-2 - arrow, NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system similar to the US Army REDEYE, with...

Southern Dalmatia

Further south, JNA occupied Drniš on September 16 and advanced further south, capturing Vrlika and an important power source: Peruča dam. Further advances were stopped by military units from Dalmatia's center of Split and the 126th Brigade from Sinj and the line stabilized for the rest of the war. DrniÅ¡ is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia at halfway between Å ibenik and Knin. ... Vrlika on the map of Croatia Vrlika is a small town and a municipality in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Split (disambiguation). ... Sinj (latin Signum) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia county, Croatia, at 43°42′N 16°38′E. The town itself has a population of 11,468 (2001 census), while the population of the administrative municipality which includes surrounding villages is 25,373 (2001). ...

The JNA barracks in Split started to evacuate in October, supported by Yugoslav Navy which bombardmed the city. Involved in the bombardment was a military ship named Split: thus a unique case in history occured that a city was bombarded by a ship named after it.

Seperate fighting took place in the furtherest south of Dalmatia which became known as Siege of Dubrovnik. Combatants Yugoslav Army (JNA), Montenegro Territorial Defence Forces Croatian Army (HV) Commanders Veljko Kadijević (Chief of Staff of Yugoslav Peoples Army) Anton Tus (Chief of Staff of Croatian Army 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (from 1992) Strength Between 7,500 and 20,000 men [1] Up to 2,000 soldiers...

End of operations

Due to the inability of the JNA to capture any of its primary objectives, its artillery heavily shelled all cities, causing much civilian casualites.

On October 4, Mladić was promoted to Major-General, apparently for his successes, although except for Maslenica's capture, the operation was a failure. Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. ...

By December, the entire line had stabilized and major fighting stopped entirely. On January 3, 1992, the final ceasefire came into effect and war stopped. As part of the ceasefire, JNA withdraw from most of Croatia and UN peacekeepers came to patrol the lines between the two parties. In reality, the 9th Corps just passed its equipment down to local Serb units and dissolved. This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ...

Aftermath

Main article: Miljevci plateau incident

Main article: Operation Maslenica

Although the operation failed, Dalmatia now had severly reduced land links with the rest of Croatia. Dalmatia had trouble with electricity, water and food supply for much of the following years as a result. On June 21, 1992, the Croatian army attacked the Serbian Territorial Defense on the Miljevci Plateau near Drnis in front of the eyes of UN peacekeeping force (UNPROFOR). ... Operation Maslenica is an offensive Croatian Army conducted in Northwestern Dalmatia against Krajina forces in early 1993. ...

Consequently, the Croatian Army launched Operation Maslenica in 1993 to reinforce the link with the remainder of Croatia. It was successfully concluded, communications were normalized and Maslenica pass was reopened, even through the front lines remained dangeriously close to the bridge. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

The rest of the occupied Dalmatia would remain in Serb hands until Operation Storm in 1995 when Krajina was overrun. Combatants Croatia (HV) Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK) Republika Srpska (VRS) Commanders Zvonimir Červenko (HV) Atif Dudakovic (ABiH) Mile Mrkšić (VSK) Strength 150,000 soldiers, 350 tanks, 400 artillery pieces, 50 rocket launchers, 50 aircraft and helicopters 40,000 soldiers, 150 tanks, 350 artillery pieces... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Thomas & Mikulan: The Yugoslav Wars (1): Slovenia & Croatia 1991-95 (Elite, Nmr. 138), Osprey Publishing, 2006
• Basic data on operation Coastline '91
• JNA Order of battle for operation Coastline '91