The military history of Croatia encompasses wars, battles and all Croatian military action on the territory of modern Croatia and the military history of the Croat people and the nation's armed forces regardless of political geography in Southeast Europe. A series of armed conflicts and rebellions galvanized Croatian history and led to the creation of the Kingdom of Croatia in 925. Croatian soldiers served within the Military Frontier as it joined Hungary in a personal union in 1102. In 1527, amid the Hundred Years' War against the Ottomans, Croatia aligned with the Habsburg monarchy. Within Austria-Hungary, Croatian soldiers defended the Adriatic Sea through their naval forces and deterred the 1848 Hungarian Revolution under Ban Josip Jelačić.
During World War I and World War II, Croatian armed forces fought within the Austro-Hungarian military and the Royal Yugoslav Army, respectively. In the latter conflict, the Croatian Armed Forces (1945) supported the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) before Allied victory returned Croatian fighters to the Yugoslav People's Army (1945–1991). The Croatian War of Independence's Operation Flash and Operation Storm established the modern Croatian state and the Armed Forces of Croatia. These forces fought in a variety of regional Yugoslav Wars, namely the Bosnian War and Croat-Bosniak War. In the 21st century, Croatia ascended into the military alliance NATO and participates in peacekeeping missions. Croatian military operations in the 2000s and 2010s have focused on American and NATO-led missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Medieval Croatian states
Croatian principalities
The first mention of Croatian military actions dates from the time of the Croatian principalities in the 8th and 9th centuries. Vojnomir led a Croatian army in wars against the Avars at the end of the 8th century. He launched a joint counterattack with the help of Frankish troops under Charlemagne in 791. The offensive was successful and the Avars were driven out of what then became Lower Pannonia under Frankish overlords. In 819, his successor Duke Ljudevit Posavski raised a rebellion against the Franks. Ljudevit won many battles against the Franks, but in 822 his forces were defeated. Prince Borna of Croatia led the army of Dalmatian Croatia and had a primary role in crushing Ljudevit's rebellion. Borna reported his successes to the Frankish Emperor, stating that Ljudevit had lost over 3,000 soldiers and 300 horses during his campaign. Prince Trpimir I of Croatia battled successfully against his neighbours, the Byzantine coastal cities under the strategos of Zadar in 846–848. In 853 he repulsed an attack from an Army of the Bulgarian Khan Boris I and concluded a peace treaty with him, exchanging gifts. Prince Domagoj of Croatia is known in the history for his navy which helped the Franks to conquer Bari from the Arabs in 871. During Domagoj's reign piracy was a common practice, which earned him a title of The worst duke of Slavs (). One of the strongest Croatian princes was Branimir, whose naval fleet defeated the Venetian navy on 18 September 887.
Kingdom of Croatia First Croatian king Tomislav defeated the Magyar mounted invasions of the Arpads in battle and forced them across the Drava River. In 927 Tomislav's army heavily defeated the army of Bulgarian Emperor Simeon, under the command of general Alogobotur in the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands. One of Tomislav's admirals lead more than 5,000 sailors, soldiers and their families into Slavic quarter of Palermo, Sicily. At the peak of his reign, according to Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos' De Administrando Imperio, written around 950, Tomislav could raise a vast military force composed out of 100,000 infantrymen and 60,000 horsemen and a sizable fleet of 80 large ships and 100 smaller vessels. According to the palaeographic analysis of the original manuscript of De Administrando Imperio, the estimation of the number of inhabitants in medieval Croatia between 440 and 880 thousand people, and military numbers of Franks and Byzantines - the Croatian military force was most probably composed of 20,000-100,000 infantrymen, and 3,000-24,000 horsemen organized in 60 allagions. but these numbers are generally taken as a considerable exaggeration.John Van Antwerp Fine: The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, 1991, p. 262
King Dmitar Zvonimir of Croatia took the hard line against the Byzantine Empire and joined the Normans in wars against Byzantium. When Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, invaded the western Balkan provinces of the empire in 1084, Zvonimir sent troops to his aid. King Petar Snačić's troops maintained resistance against repelling Hungarian assaults at Mount Gvozd in the war for the succession of the Croatian throne. At the end, the last native Croatian king was defeated and killed by King Coloman of Hungary in the Battle of Gvozd Mountain (1097).
Notable wars and battles of early and high medieval times Notable wars and battles that included Croatian army: Siege of Trsat (799) Battle of Kupa (819) Battle of Drava River (925) Croatian-Bulgarian wars Battle of the Bosnian Highlands (926)
Battle of Gvozd Mountain (1097) Siege of Zadar (1202) – part of Fourth Crusade Fifth Crusade (1213–1221) Battle of Klis Fortress (1242) – part of Mongol invasion of Europe Battle of Grobnik field (1242) Zadar-Venice War (1311-1312) Battle of Bliska (1322) Louis I of Hungary's Dalmatian Campaign Siege of Belgrade (1440) Battle of Samobor (1441) Siege of Jajce (1463) Siege of Jajce (1464)
Croatian medieval military organization
Croatian medieval military organization was based on Hungarian banderial system. This kind of organization was mentioned for the first time in 1260. In the aftermath of 1491 Peace of Pressburg, Croatian feudal magnates such as Frankopans, or Counts of Krbava were permitted by the king to hold 400 strong banderium (with previous figure being 500 men), consisting out of 200 heavy cavalry and 200 light cavalry. In case of necessity, rest of the nobility had to equip and mobilize one soldier for each 20 serfs they owned, while ten members of lower nobility had to mobilize one horseman and place them under the banderium of their local county (županija).Klaić, IV, 222-223 The Ban of Croatia was obliged to have 1,000 strong banderium.
Croatian-Ottoman Wars (15th–18th centuries)
Early confrontations
Battle of Una (1483) Battle of Vrpile Gulch (1491)
Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War
Battle of Krbava field (1493) Battle of Dubica (1513) Siege of Klis (1524) Siege of Jajce (1524) Battle of Mohács (1526) Battle of Belaj (1528) Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528 Balkan campaign of 1529 Siege of Vienna (1529) Little War in Hungary (1530 – c.1552) Siege of Varaždin (1527) Siege of Güns (1532) Katzianer's Campaign (1537) Battle of Szigetvár (1566) Siege of Gvozdansko (1577–1578) Battle of Slunj (1584) Battle of Brest (1592) Battle of Sisak (1593)
Long War (1593–1606)
Siege of Petrinja (1594) Battle of Brest (1596)
Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664)
First Battle of Novi Zrin (1663) Battle at Jurjeve Stijene (1663) Second Battle of Novi Zrin (1663) Nikola Zrinski's Winter Campaign (1664) Battle of Krapina (1664) Third Battle of Novi Zrin (1664) Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664)
Great Turkish War (1683–1699)
Siege of Virovitica (1684) Osijek Campaign (1685) Siege of Buda (1686) Battle of Mohács (1687) Battle of Požega (1688) Lika Campaign (1688) Siege of Knin (1688) Siege of Udbina Castle (1689) Battle of Velika Monastery (1690) Battle of Osijek (1690) Battle of Slankamen (1691) Siege of Bihać (1697) Battle of Zenta (1697)
Images from Croatian-Ottoman Wars
Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718)
Siege of Sinj (1715)
Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) Battle of Petrovaradin (1716)
Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)
Liberation of Cetingrad (1790)
Other wars of early modern period
Siege of Sokolac (1493) First Revolt against Franjo Tahy Croatian-Slovene Peasant Revolt Battle of Krško Battle of Stubica
Battle of Saint Gotthard (1705)
Early modern period Croatian military organization
The supreme commander of Croatian Army was ban of Croatia. If necessary (due to his other duties), he had the option of appointing "Supreme captain of the Kingdom". Croatian Sabor assembling in Križevci in 1538, drafted a law regarding military service of the peasantry. The law required for every feudal landlord in the Kingdom to provide one horseman from 36 serf houses on his estate. This horseman had to be equipped with helmet, spear and shield and provided with salary throughout entire year. These horsemen made part of the Frontier army. Sabor also had the option of hiring mercenaries. In case of Ottoman raid on Croatian territory, alarm had to be raised by firing cannons or igniting bonfire.
In wake of Hasan Pasha's Great Offensive on Croatia in 1592, Croatian sabor drafted a law on General Insurrection. The law required for all nobles, landlords and magnates to respond to mobilization personally. Each feudal landlord had to provide one well armed horseman from 10 houses on his estate and two riflemen. Lower nobility had to go to arms personally. Women were required to stay home nad pray. Each monastery had to provide at least 4 horsemen. Royal free cities had to mobilize all citizens, except for barbers (medics). The supreme commander of insurrection army was Supreme captain of the Kingdom. All commoners caught selling weapons to Turks were to be summarily executed, while nobility members caught selling weapons to Turks were to be trialed against and all their weapons would be confiscated.Klaić, knjiga V, 472-473
Early modern period Croatian military evolution
Croatian historian Tadija Smičiklas refers to Konstantin Mihailović, a 14th century Serb soldier turned Janissary in claiming that in the mid 15th century, both Croatians and many European armies lagged behind Ottomans in the art of warfare, until in the mid 16th century Croats adopted Ottoman style of warfare. Both authors emphasized advantages of Ottoman light cavalry in comparison with European heavy knights due to their superior mobility and visibility. Contrary to European knights, Ottomans preferred killing enemy's horse in order to immobilize the knight. Croatians eventually also moved on from heavy medieval chivalry and accepted mobile Ottoman style of warfare which laid the foundation for Croatian light cavalry. Croatians also adopted raids into enemy territory as common element of warfare and started launching raids of their own against the Ottomans.644
Historic units and formations originating from the time of the Ottoman wars
Military Frontier Haramije Grenz infantry Uskoci Pandurs Croatian light cavalry
19th century At the beginning of the 19th century, many Croatian troops (as a part of the Austrian imperial army) fought in the Napoleonic Wars against the French Grande Armée. Following conquest and creation of the Napoleon's Illyrian Provinces in Croatia, the region was incorporated into France as an autonomous province made up a civilian and military subregion from 1809 to 1814. In 1812, a significant Croatian force (four regiments) fought for his Grande Armée during Napoleon's invasion of Russia.Napoleon's Foreign Infantry According to French general Auguste Marmont, during withdrawal from Russia, Napoleon told him that: "he never had more courageous and better soldiers in every sense".