View source for Croatian Armed Forces (Independent State of Croatia)

{{Short description|1944–1945 military in the Axis puppet state}}
{{Distinguish|text=the modern-day [[Armed Forces of Croatia]]}}
{{Infobox national military
| name = Croatian Armed Forces
| native_name = {{native name|hr|Hrvatske oružane snage}}
| image = War flag of Croatia (1941–1945).svg
| alt =
| caption = The war flag of the [[Independent State of Croatia]].
| image2 =
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| motto =
| founded = 1944
| current_form =
| disbanded = 1945
| branches =
| headquarters = [[Zagreb]]
| flying_hours =
| website = <!--{{URL|example.mil}}-->
<!-- Leadership -->
| commander-in-chief = [[Ante Pavelić]]
| commander-in-chief_title = [[Poglavnik]]
| chief minister =
| chief minister_title =
| minister = ''[[Government of the Independent State of Croatia#Government composition|see list]]''
| minister_title = Minister of Armed Forces
| commander =
| commander_title =
<!-- Manpower -->
| age = 18 years
| conscription =
| manpower_data =
| manpower_age =
| available =
| available_f =
| fit =
| fit_f =
| reaching =
| reaching_f =
| active = 170,000 (1945)
| ranked =
| reserve =
| deployed =
<!-- Financial -->
| amount =
| percent_GDP =
<!-- Industrial -->
| domestic_suppliers =
| foreign_suppliers = {{Flag|Nazi Germany}}
| imports =
| exports =
<!-- Related aricles -->
| history =
| ranks = [[Military ranks of the Independent State of Croatia]]
}}
The '''Croatian Armed Forces''' were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the [[Croatian Home Guard (World War II)|Croatian Home Guard]] and the [[Ustaše Militia]] in the [[Independent State of Croatia]] (NDH). It was established by the fascist [[Ustaše]] regime of [[Ante Pavelić]] in the NDH an Axis [[puppet state]] in [[Yugoslavia during World War II]].
The Croatian Armed Forces was reorganized in November 1944 to combine the units of the Ustaše and [[Home guard|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 [[Panzer III]]N and 15 [[Panzer IV]]F and H medium tanks.{{sfn|Zaloga|2013|p=44}} From early 1945, the Croatian divisions were allocated to various German corps and by March 1945 were holding the Southern Front.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|p=17}} Securing the rear areas were some 32,000 men of the Croatian [[Gendarmerie]], organised into 5 Police Volunteer Regiments plus 15 independent battalions, equipped with standard light infantry weapons, including mortars.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|p=30}}
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 [[Austria within Nazi Germany|Austrian part]] of [[Nazi Germany]], in order to surrender to the [[British Armed Forces|British forces]] advancing north from [[Italy]].{{sfn|Shaw|1973|p=101}}
== Croatian Home Guard ==
{{Main|Croatian Home Guard (World War II)}}
The Croatian Home Guard was formed in April 1941 a few days after the founding of the NDH itself. The task of the new Croatian armed forces was to defend the new state against both foreign and domestic enemies.{{Sfn|Tomasevich|2001|p=419}} By the end of 1941, the home guard forces consisted of 85,000 and the national police force of about 6,000.{{Sfn|Thomas|1995|p=13}}
During 1943, four [[Jäger (infantry)|Jäger]] Brigades were set up, each with four 500-man battalions in two regiments and an artillery group equipped for hilly terrain. The home guard reached its maximum size at the end of 1943, when it had 130,000 men. By 1944, the home guard had 90,000 men, though only 20,000 were front-line combat troops, organised in three mountain, four Jager and eight static garrison brigades, and the 1st Recruit Training Division.{{Sfn|Thomas|1995|p=15}}
== Ustaše Militia ==
{{Main|Ustaše militia}}The Ustaše militia was created on 11 April 1941 when Marshal [[Slavko Kvaternik]] appointed a separate staff to control the various volunteer groups that had risen throughout the NDH as the Yugoslav Army collapsed in the face of the [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|Axis invasion]]. On 18 March 1942, a law decree organised the armed forces into the Home Guard, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, and the Ustaše militia.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|p=420}} By September 1943, shortly after the [[Armistice of Cassibile|Italian surrender]], the Ustaše militia included 25 battalions, all of around 22,500 men with Pavelić's personal guard of about 6,000 men.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|p=423}} In late 1944, the militia consisted of about 76,000 officers and men. In March 1945, the [[Ustaša Defence Brigades]] were incorporated into the Croatian Armed Forces.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|p=460}}
== Croatian Gendarmerie ==
The Croatian [[Gendarmerie]] 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]]). 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]].{{sfn|Thomas|1995|p=20}} Twelve of the independent Police Volunteer Battalions formed the Croatian Gendarmerie Division in 1945.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=22}}
== History ==
=== Organization ===
==== Marching order at end of 1944 ====
*'''1. Poglavnik Bodyguard Division'''
*'''1. Croatian Assault Division'''
**Commander: General Ante Moškov
**Headquarters: [[Zagreb]]
*'''2. Croatian Infantry Division '''
**Commander: General Mirko Gregurić
**Headquarters: [[Zagreb]]
*'''3. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: General Stjepan Mifek
**Headquarters: [[Vinkovci]]
*'''4. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: General Antun Nardelli
**Headquarters: [[Dvor, Croatia|Dvor na Uni]]
*'''5. Croatian Assault Division '''
**Commander: General [[Rafael Boban]]
**Headquarters: [[Bjelovar]]
*'''6. Croatian Infantry Division '''
**Commander: General [[Vladimir Metikoš]]
**Headquarters: [[Banja Luka]]
*'''7. Croatian Mountain Division'''
**Commander: General Stjepan Perčić
**Headquarters: [[Nova Kapela]], [[Batrina]]
*'''8. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: General Roman Domanik
**Headquarters: [[Sarajevo]]
*'''9. Croatian Mountain Division'''
**Commander: General Božidar Zorn
**Headquarters: [[Mostar]]
*'''10. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: General [[Ivan Tomašević (soldier)|Ivan Tomašević]]
**Headquarters: [[Bihać]]
*'''11. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: Colonel Juraj Rukavina
**Headquarters: [[Gospić]]
*'''12. Croatian Infantry Division '''
**Commander: Colonel Slavko Cesarić
**Headquarters: [[Brčko (city)|Brčko]]
*'''13. Croatian Infantry Division '''
**Commander: General Tomislav Rolf
**Headquarters: [[Karlovac]]
*'''14. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: Colonel Jaroslav Šotola
**Headquarters: [[Brod na Savi]]
*'''15. Croatian Infantry Division'''
**Commander: General Zorko Čudina
**Headquarters: [[Doboj]]
*'''16. Croatian Replacement Division'''
**Commander: General Milivoj Durbešić
**Headquarters: [[Zagreb]]
*'''18. Croatian Infantry Division'''
==Fate of Commanders==
===Executed===
*[[Ante Moškov]]
*[[Mirko Gregurić]]
*[[Stjepan Mifek]]
*Antun Nardelli
*[[Vladimir Metikoš]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography of General Vladimir Metikoš (1899 – 1945), Croatia |url=https://generals.dk/general/Metiko%C5%A1/Vladimir/Croatia.html |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=generals.dk}}</ref>
*[[Roman Domanik]]
*[[Božidar Zorn]]
*[[Ivan Tomašević (soldier)|Ivan Tomašević]]{{sfn|Dizdar|Grčić|Ravlić|Stuparić|1997|p=399}}
*{{ill|Juraj Rukavina (Ustaše Militia)|lt=Juraj Rukavina|hr|Juraj Rukavina}}
*[[Zorko Čudina]]
*[[Mijo Škoro]]
===Unclear===
*[[Rafael Boban]]
*[[Jaroslav Šotola]]
*[[Milivoj Durbešić]]
===Emigrated===
*[[Stjepan Peričić]]
*[[Slavko Cesarić]]
===Committed suicide===
*[[Tomislav Rolf]]
==Ranks and insignia==
{{see also|Military ranks of the Independent State of Croatia}}
===Commissioned officer ranks===
The rank insignia of [[commissioned officer]]s.
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;"
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}}
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OF/Independent State of Croatia}}
|}
===Other ranks===
The rank insignia of [[non-commissioned officer]]s and [[Enlisted rank|enlisted personnel]].
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; text-align:center;"
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Blank}}
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Independent State of Croatia}}
|}
==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}
==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last1=Dizdar |first1=Zdravko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dm1mAAAAMAAJ |title=Tko je tko u NDH: Hrvatska 1941.-1945 |last2=Grčić |first2=Marko |last3=Ravlić |first3=Slaven |author-link3=Slaven Ravlić |last4=Stuparić |first4=Darko |publisher=Minerva |year=1997 |isbn=953-6377-03-9 |language=hr}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Les |title=Trial by slander; a background to the Independent State of Croatia, and an account of the Anti-Croatian Campaign in Australia |date=1973 |publisher=Harp Books |location=Canberra |isbn=0-909432-00-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Nigel |title=Partisan warfare 1941-45 |date=1983 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=0-85045-513-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Nigel |title=Axis forces in Yugoslavia, 1941-5 |date=1995 |publisher=Osprey |location=London |isbn=1-85532-473-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Tomasevich |first=Jozo |author-link=Jozo Tomasevich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC |title=War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8047-3615-4 |volume=2 |location=San Francisco}}
* {{cite book |last1=Zaloga |first1=Steve |title=Tanks of Hitler's eastern allies 1941-45 |date=2013 |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-78096-022-7}}
{{Yugoslav Axis collaborationism}}
{{Factions in the Yugoslav Front}}
{{Collaboration with Axis Powers}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Military of the Independent State of Croatia]]