Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Croatian Home Guard (World War II)
The Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Hrvatsko domobranstvo) was the land army part of the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which existed during World War II.
The Croatian Home Guard was founded in April 1941, a few days after the founding of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) itself, following the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was done with the authorisation of German occupation authorities. The task of the new Croatian armed forces was to defend the new state against both foreign and domestic enemies.
Its name was taken from the old Royal Croatian Home Guard – the Croatian section of the Royal Hungarian Landwehr component of the Austro-Hungarian Army.
The Croatian Home Guard was originally limited to 16 infantry battalions and two cavalry squadrons – 16,000 men in total. The original 16 battalions were soon enlarged to 15 infantry regiments of two battalions each between May and June 1941, organised into five divisional commands, some 55,000 men. Support units included 35 former Yugoslav light tanks returned by Italy, four engineer battalions, 10 artillery battalions (equipped with captured Royal Yugoslav Army 105mm weapons of Czech origin), a cavalry regiment in Zagreb and an independent cavalry battalion at Sarajevo. Two independent motorized infantry battalions were based at Zagreb and Sarajevo respectively.
The fledgling Army crushed the revolt by Serbs in eastern Herzegovina in June, and fought in July in eastern and western Bosnia. They fought in eastern Herzegovina again, when Croatian-Dalmatian and Slavonian battalions reinforced local units. By the end of 1941, the NDH military forces consisted of 85,000 home guard and the national police force of about 6,000.
In January 1942, it forced the Partisans in eastern Bosnia back into Montenegro, but could not prevent their subsequent advance into western Bosnia. Clearly conventional infantry divisions were too cumbersome, and so, in September 1942, four specially designed mountain brigades (1st to 4th) were formed; each had two regiments totalling four 1,000-man battalions, mounted and machine gun companies, a two-gun artillery group, 16 light and 16 heavy machine guns, and six mortars. Two volunteer regiments, and a mobile Gendarmerie Brigade were also established; but, by November 1942, the partisans had occupied northern Bosnia, and the Army could only hold main towns and communications routes, abandoning the countryside.
During 1943, four Jäger Brigades (5th to 8th) 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 Croatian Army 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.
Hub AI
Croatian Home Guard (World War II) AI simulator
(@Croatian Home Guard (World War II)_simulator)
Croatian Home Guard (World War II)
The Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Hrvatsko domobranstvo) was the land army part of the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which existed during World War II.
The Croatian Home Guard was founded in April 1941, a few days after the founding of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) itself, following the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was done with the authorisation of German occupation authorities. The task of the new Croatian armed forces was to defend the new state against both foreign and domestic enemies.
Its name was taken from the old Royal Croatian Home Guard – the Croatian section of the Royal Hungarian Landwehr component of the Austro-Hungarian Army.
The Croatian Home Guard was originally limited to 16 infantry battalions and two cavalry squadrons – 16,000 men in total. The original 16 battalions were soon enlarged to 15 infantry regiments of two battalions each between May and June 1941, organised into five divisional commands, some 55,000 men. Support units included 35 former Yugoslav light tanks returned by Italy, four engineer battalions, 10 artillery battalions (equipped with captured Royal Yugoslav Army 105mm weapons of Czech origin), a cavalry regiment in Zagreb and an independent cavalry battalion at Sarajevo. Two independent motorized infantry battalions were based at Zagreb and Sarajevo respectively.
The fledgling Army crushed the revolt by Serbs in eastern Herzegovina in June, and fought in July in eastern and western Bosnia. They fought in eastern Herzegovina again, when Croatian-Dalmatian and Slavonian battalions reinforced local units. By the end of 1941, the NDH military forces consisted of 85,000 home guard and the national police force of about 6,000.
In January 1942, it forced the Partisans in eastern Bosnia back into Montenegro, but could not prevent their subsequent advance into western Bosnia. Clearly conventional infantry divisions were too cumbersome, and so, in September 1942, four specially designed mountain brigades (1st to 4th) were formed; each had two regiments totalling four 1,000-man battalions, mounted and machine gun companies, a two-gun artillery group, 16 light and 16 heavy machine guns, and six mortars. Two volunteer regiments, and a mobile Gendarmerie Brigade were also established; but, by November 1942, the partisans had occupied northern Bosnia, and the Army could only hold main towns and communications routes, abandoning the countryside.
During 1943, four Jäger Brigades (5th to 8th) 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 Croatian Army 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.