Operation Otkos 10
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Operation Swath-10 ( hr, Operacija Otkos-10) was a military offensive undertaken by the
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...
(''Hrvatska vojska'', or HV) against the
SAO Western Slavonia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Zapadna Slavonija, Српска аутономна област Западна Славонија) was a Serbian self-proclaimed autonomous region (oblast) ...
Territorial Defense Forces on
Bilogora Bilogora (Bilo-gora, or ''Bilogorje'', ''Bilo-gorje'') is a low mountainous range in Central Croatia. It consists of a series of hills and small plains some 80 kilometres in length stretching in the direction northwest-southeast, along the southwest ...
Mountain in western
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-Baranja ...
. Occurring from 31 October to 4 November 1991, during the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
, the operation was a Croatian victory and its success set the stage for follow-up advances by Croatian forces on Papuk Mountain in Operation Papuk-91 in late November and December. By the end of the year the HV gained control of Papuk, securing transport routes between eastern Slavonia and the rest of
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
. The offensives were accompanied by the displacement of most of the
Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
population of the area captured by the HV. The refugees initially fled to
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, but the majority were soon settled in the JNA-held Baranja region of eastern Croatia. The offensive provoked accusations that Croatian troops had committed
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
and civil-rights abuses. These accusations were contested by the
European Community Monitor Mission The European Union (EU) has undertaken a number of overseas missions and operations, drawing on civilian and military capabilities, in several countries across three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), as part of its Common Security and Defe ...
(ECMM). A month after the operation, the retreating paramilitary unit known as the White Eagles perpetrated the
Voćin massacre The Voćin massacre was the killing of 43 civilians in Voćin, Croatia, by the Serbian White Eagles paramilitary unit on 13 December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The massacre was carried out after the unit was ordered to ...
, and its war crimes were prosecuted at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
.


Background

During the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia, the 5th (
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 ...
) Corps of the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
(''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'', or JNA) was tasked with advancing north through western
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-Baranja ...
from
Okučani Okučani is a village and municipal centre in western Slavonia, Croatia. It is located 19 km southeast of Novska and 17 km west of Nova Gradiška.Daruvar Daruvar ( cz, Daruvar, german: Daruwar, hu, Daruvár, sr, Дарувар, la, Aquae Balissae) is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Dar. Vino ...
and
Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...
and with a secondary drive from Okučani towards
Kutina Kutina is a town in central Croatia, the largest settlement in the hilly region of Moslavina, in the Sisak-Moslavina County. The town proper has a population of 13,735 (2011), while the total municipal population is 22,760. The settlement of Kuti ...
. This was essentially consistent with the line expected to be reached by the main thrust of the JNA, advancing from eastern Slavonia in about a week. The link was designed to facilitate a further advance west, to
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and
Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...
. The corps had deployed a battlegroup of the 265th Mechanised Brigade near Okučani, supporting an advance which began on 21 September and reached the Papuk Mountains. The corps received one artillery and two motorised brigades as reinforcements during the advance, but the desertion and morale problems experienced by the JNA elsewhere also existed in the Banja Luka Corps. The JNA was stopped by the
Croatian National Guard The Croatian National Guard ( hr, Zbor narodne garde or ZNG) was an armed force established by Croatia in April and May 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although it was established within the framework of the Ministry of the Interi ...
(''Zbor Narodne Garde'', or ZNG) between
Novska Novska is a town in the Sisak-Moslavina County of Croatia. It is located in western part of the historic region of Slavonia, between Kutina and Nova Gradiška, linear distance southeast of the capital, Zagreb. Demographics Novska has a total pop ...
,
Nova Gradiška Nova Gradiška is a town located in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia, population 14,229 (2011). It is located in the historic region of Slavonia, near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first word in the name means ''New'', and there ...
and
Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,842, total municipality population 8,460 (census 2011). Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina. Name In Croatian the town is known a ...
, although
SAO Western Slavonia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Zapadna Slavonija, Српска аутономна област Западна Славонија) was a Serbian self-proclaimed autonomous region (oblast) ...
Territorial Defense Forces (''Teritorijalna odbrana'', or TO) units took up positions on the
Bilogora Bilogora (Bilo-gora, or ''Bilogorje'', ''Bilo-gorje'') is a low mountainous range in Central Croatia. It consists of a series of hills and small plains some 80 kilometres in length stretching in the direction northwest-southeast, along the southwest ...
and Papuk north of Pakrac (near Virovitica and Slatina) with no JNA support. The capture of Ivanovo Selo, east of
Grubišno Polje Grubišno Polje (Czech: ''Hrubečné Pole'') is a town in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. Demographics In the 1991 census, the settlement had equal numbers of Serbs and Croatians, but during the Croatian War of Independence the Croatian Serbs ...
and north of Daruvar, on 21 September marked the territorial peak of the TO-held area on the Bilogora. The village was recaptured by the ZNG the same day, with seven dead and fifteen wounded. On 1 October, the Banja Luka Corps began probing attacks in the region before a major effort with most of the corps three days later. The advance established defensive positions just outside Novska and Nova Gradiška. On 6 October Pakrac was briefly isolated when the JNA captured Batinjani (northwest of the town), blocking the last road available to supply the town. The ZNG recaptured the village the same day, driving the JNA back at a cost of 22 killed. The JNA captured Jasenovac on 8 October;
Lipik Lipik is a town in western Slavonia, in the Požega-Slavonia County of northeastern Croatia. It is known for its spas, mineral water and Lipizzaner stables. Settlements The settlements included in the administrative area of Lipik include: * A ...
and part of Pakrac were captured four days later. By then, the JNA offensive in western Slavonia had lost momentum and the ZNG made minor advances north of Novska and west of Nova Gradiška on 13 and 16 October. Croatian authorities no longer considered the war situation critical, issuing an order to plan a counter-offensive for 15 October. On 29 October, the ZNG launched Operation Hurricane-91 against positions held by the JNA and the TO near Novska and Nova Gradiška. The TO forces in the Bilogora Mountain region were officially part of the 28th Partisan Division, commanded by
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 of ...
Nikola Marić. In reality, they comprised about 1,750 soldiers, eight armoured vehicles, ten cannons and twelve mortars. The TO force was organised into two battalions, headquartered in the villages of Mali Grđevac and Velika Peratovica and commanded by Rade Čakmak. North of the TO-held area, the ZNG deployed the 127th Infantry Brigade in the Virovitica area. In the Grubišno Polje area south of the Bilogora, the ZNG force was subordinate to the 57th Independent Battalion (later renamed the 77th Independent Battalion). The attacking ZNG force, under Colonel Franjo Kovačević, consisted of 2,647 troops supported by twelve armoured vehicles, eighteen cannons and twenty mortars—surpassing the defending TO force in every respect except for the
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
of the TO by the
Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ ...
. The ZNG originally planned to deploy the 105th Infantry Brigade and the Omega special-police company from
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. History ...
, but the units were needed elsewhere and unavailable for the offensive.


Timeline

Operation Swath-10 (also known as Bilogora '91) was planned by the Croatians to regain control of the Virovitica–Lončarica–Grubišno Polje road, cutting off and destroying the TO forces deployed in the area of the road (the northernmost part of western Slavonia captured by the TO or the JNA). Those objectives were also designed to deny the Banja Luka Corps support if it attempted to break through towards Virovitica; control the last remaining supply route between Zagreb and Slavonia; shorten the Croatian defensive positions, and improve troop and civilian morale. The offensive was originally scheduled for 15 October, but was postponed for two weeks due to the unavailability of the 105th Infantry Brigade and the special police. The plan of operation called for the ZNG to first cut off the two TO battalions on the Bilogora Mountain within 48 hours, with the second stage of the offensive destroying the trapped TO force. The operation was authorised by Colonel Miroslav Jezerčić, commander of Bjelovar Operational Zone, on 7 October. The offensive was launched at 6 am on 31 October, with a 50-minute
artillery bombardment In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
followed by a ZNG advance in three groups: the 57th Independent Battalion from the south, the 127th Infantry Brigade from the north and the 1st Battalion of the 127th Infantry Brigade from the northwest. That day the ZNG captured the villages of Velika Barna, Gornja Kovačica and Zrinska, northwest of the Grubišno Polje–
Veliki Grđevac Veliki Grđevac (, hu, Nagygordonya) is a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 3,248 inhabitants, 80.41% of which are Croats, in 1,157 of family households. Geography The present municipal ...
road, securing Grubišno Polje. The ZNG also advanced along the Virovitica–Grubišno Polje road, arriving at the outskirts of Mala Peratovica ( east of Grubišno Polje) and approaching
Lončarica Lončarica is a village in Croatia. It is off of the D5 (Croatia), D5 highway, located between the towns of Grubisno Polje and Verovitica. Demographics According to the 2021 census, its population was 62. References

Populated places in ...
( south of Virovitica). The TO forces put up a strong resistance (especially near Lončarica), although the battlefield situation was described as hopeless. The TO requested close air support from the Yugoslav Air Force, and four to six aircraft were deployed in response. On 1 November the ZNG conducted mopping-up operations in the areas northwest of Grubišno Polje, and the following day the TO force began retreating towards Papuk Mountain. Lončarica and Dapčevački Brđani (a village about northeast of Mala Peratovica, along the Virovitica–Grubišno Polje road) were captured by the Croatian force on 3 November after they overcame strong TO resistance. That day, the ZNG was renamed the
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...
(''Hrvatska vojska'', or HV). After the villages were captured, HV forces advancing from Grubišno Polje and Virovitica met; the HV captured the village of Velika Peratovica, which was isolated by the advances along the Virovitica–Grubišno Polje road and northwest of Grubišno Polje on the first day of the offensive. On 4 November the operation was declared finished, after the HV secured the area.


Follow-up operations


Battle of Bastajski Brđani

On 10 November the 57th Independent Battalion advanced against the TO in Veliki Miletinac (east of the area captured in Operation Swath-10), capturing the village the same day. The neighbouring Mali Miletinac was captured by the HV the following day, and on 12 November the HV captured the villages of Bastajski Brđani and Rekići. Two days later the TO counterattacked, killing nine HV troops and wounding about ten more, but the HV defence held. Another effort to recapture Bastajski Brđani was made by the TO, reinforced with 50 paramilitary White Eagles. It failed (despite being well prepared and supported by artillery) because the defending HV force was alerted by
signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
of the attack and reinforced. The White Eagles lost 46 killed in the battle.


Operation Papuk-91

Operation Papuk-91 was planned to follow Operation Swath-10, advancing south from the Virovitica–Osijek road and clearing the Papuk and
Psunj Psunj is a mountain in the southwestern Slavonia region in eastern Croatia. It is the highest mountain of Slavonia, with the highest peak of Brezovo polje at 984 m.a.s.l. In the north it extends to Ravna gora and Papuk, while otherwise it is su ...
mountains of TO forces (elements of the 28th Partisan Division). The offensive was approved by Jezerčić at a 23 November meeting in Slatina attended by HV Inspector General
Martin Špegelj Martin Špegelj (11 November 1927 – 11 May 2014) was a Croatian army general and politician who served as the second defense minister of Croatia and, later, the chief of staff of the newborn Croatian army and inspector-general of the army. His ...
, Colonel Miljenko Crnjac (commanding officer of the 123rd Infantry Brigade), Colonel Đuro Dečak (commanding officer of the 127th Infantry Brigade), Colonel Josip Černi (commanding officer of the 136th Infantry Brigade) and commanders of other units tasked with its support. The operation was launched on 28 November; the HV advanced across a front spanning Grubišno Polje and
Orahovica Orahovica is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of the mountain Papuk and positioned on the state road D2 Varaždin- Koprivnica- Našice- Osijek. History The name Orahovica is derived from the word ''orah'', meaning ...
, nearly east. On 2 December a detachment of the 123rd Infantry Brigade, en route to relieve troops manning a base on the Papuk, was ambushed with eleven soldiers killed. On 10 December the HV advanced to the Psunj Mountain area north of Nova Gradiška in an offensive,
codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
d Gradina, which captured the villages of Šnjegavić, Sinlije, Golobrdac, Vučjak Čečavski, Ruševac, Jeminovac, Čečavac and Opršinac. The advance improved the safety of the Nova Gradiška– Požega road and secured the right flank of the Nova Gradiška axis of Operation Hurricane-91. From 12 to 15 December the HV captured a cluster of villages around
Đulovac Đulovac (German: ''Wercke'', Hungarian: ''Gjulaves'', ''Gyula'' in Middle Ages) is a municipality in Slavonia, in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County of Croatia. There are 3,640 inhabitants, 79.5% of which are Croats. History In the late 19th and earl ...
, southeast of the area captured in Operation Swath-10. The HV units approaching from the east captured
Voćin Voćin is a village and municipality in western Slavonia, Croatia, located southwest of Slatina and east of Daruvar. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021). Geography Voćin, a pilgrima ...
, about southeast of Đulovac, on 14–15 December. Voćin and Đulovac were badly damaged by the retreating TO and paramilitary White Eagles, and the latter killed 43 civilians in Voćin on 13 December. The victims' bodies were mutilated and left unburied, presumably as a warning to others. On 16 December the HV (in an operation codenamed Sokolina) captured the villages of Gornji Vrhovci,
Kamenski Vučjak Kamenski Vučjak is a village in Požega-Slavonia County, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland ...
and Kamenski Šušnjari, about south of Voćin and west of Velika; this restricted the TO forces to the southwestern slopes of Papuk Mountain and Psunj Mountain further south. The following day, the HV captured Novo Zvečevo and a TO supply depot in the village (halfway between Voćin and Kamenski Vučjak) in an attack codenamed Johanesberg. On 18 December the HV advanced southwest from Kamenski Vučjak (in an advance codenamed Laništa), capturing the villages of Striježevica, Bogdašić, Amatovci and Kamenski Šeovci and coming within of the village of Kamenska (on the Pakrac–Požega road). Over the following three days, the HV performed mopping-up operations in the area. On 21 December, the HV launched an unsuccessful attack (codenamed Prkos) on Kamenska and the adjacent village of
Mijači Mijači ( sr-cyr, Мијачи) is a village in the Brestovac, Croatia, Brestovac municipality of the Požega-Slavonia County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there were 18 inhabitants in the village. The village is connected by the D38 (Cro ...
. The TO withdrew from the area north of Kamenska (including the village of Sažije on 24 December), retreating from Kamenska and Mijači the next day. HV forces deployed in the Pakrac area (west of the Papuk and the Psunj), advanced east to support Operation Papuk-91 (capturing the villages of Dereza, Gornji Grahovljani, Donji Grahovljani,
Kusonje Kusonje is a village in Croatia in the town of Pakrac, Požega-Slavonia County. It is connected by the D38 (Croatia), D38 highway. Kusonje was the site of an ambush during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, when 20 Croatian policemen and sol ...
and Španovica on 24–25 December) and left less than of the Pakrac–Požega road separating HV units advancing from the west and east. Operation Papuk-91 ended on 26 December, when forces of the 123rd, the 127th and the 136th Brigades met at Bučje; the final day's advance was codenamed Velebit.


Aftermath

Five HV soldiers were killed in the operation and dozens were wounded. Twenty-four JNA personnel and Croatian Serb rebels were also killed, as were 22 Serb civilians. A further 17 Serb civilians were killed in the weeks preceding the operation, in which Croatian forces secured of western Slavonia (including 21 villages). Although the HV secured the Virovitica–Grubišno Polje road, it failed to trap the TO troops deployed to the area. This was later attributed to insufficient manpower: the unavailability of the 105th Infantry Brigade or the 73rd Independent (
Garešnica Garešnica is a town in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. It is located in the geographical region of Moslavina. There are a total of 10,472 inhabitants, of whom 85% are Croats. Garešnica is located in central Croatia at the foot of Moslavač ...
) Battalion, which were deployed in Pakrac. The HV positions set the stage for further advances against the
SAO Western Slavonia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Zapadna Slavonija, Српска аутономна област Западна Славонија) was a Serbian self-proclaimed autonomous region (oblast) ...
in Operation Papuk-91. Some sources conflate Operations Swath-10 and Papuk-91, describing the latter as part of Operation Swath-10. Operation Papuk-91 eliminated the threat to the road connecting eastern Slavonia and Zagreb; the TO forces were pushed south, placing the road out of artillery range. In Operation Papuk-91, the HV captured 110 settlements and of territory. In 2008, a monument to HV troops participating in the offensive was unveiled in Grubišno Polje. Another monument was erected on Papuk Mountain to the 11 soldiers from the 123rd Infantry Brigade who were ambushed in Operation Papuk-91 on 2 December 1991. Operations Swath-10, Papuk-91 and Hurricane-91 (implemented in western Slavonia in late 1991) are considered the first offensive liberation operations in the Croatian War of Independence. The
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
(ICTY) charged
Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribuna ...
with a number of war crimes, including the killings by the paramilitary White Eagles in Voćin on 13 December. Although the trial ended in 2012, the verdict was pending.
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, the president of Serbia at the time of the killings, was also tried by the ICTY for the crimes in Voćin, but died before his trial ended.


Refugees

About 4,000
Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
civilians fled the area affected by Operation Swath-10. According to Serbian sources, the population began to evacuate on the first day of the offensive; by the second day, about 800 vehicles had entered
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The retreating columns included men of military age who refused to fight. A substantial number of refugees settled in Baranja, in houses owned by displaced
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
s. Based on reports of fleeing civilians, the Yugoslav government accused Croatia of
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
and other civil-rights violations. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Mitrović wrote to the
European Community Monitor Mission The European Union (EU) has undertaken a number of overseas missions and operations, drawing on civilian and military capabilities, in several countries across three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), as part of its Common Security and Defe ...
(ECMM), accusing Croatia of personal and property damage and the displacement of Serb civilians. Although the accusations were countered by evacuation plans made by SAO Western Slavonia authorities on 25 October and the testimony of civilians remaining in the area (that the TO ordered the population to flee, claiming that "the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
are coming  ..and killing every Serb"), Serbian media extensively reported alleged atrocities. Reports compared the Croatian offensive to the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
massacres committed by the Independent State of Croatia. On 3 November, the
Presidency of Yugoslavia The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( sr, Председништво СФРЈ, Predsedništvo SFRJ, Bosnian and hr, Predsjedništvo SFRJ, sl, Predsedstvo SFRJ, mk, Председателство на СФРЈ, Preds ...
condemned the offensive, citing the destruction of 18 Serb villages, and the following day the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
of Serbia appealed to the international community for help. In response to the situation (and a request from the Presidency of Yugoslavia) an ECMM team toured the area affected by the offensive on 6 November, targeting locations where media reports indicated atrocities; these included Velika Peratovica, Mala Peratovica, Gornja Rašenica, Donja Rašenica and Lončarica. The 6 November ECMM report refuted the accusations; although the team found only one Serb couple remaining in the area, they denied claims that the HV mistreated civilians left behind. The ECMM team reported no systematic destruction of houses, although a number of structures had artillery-bombardment damage and a small number of houses, farms and
haystack Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
s were recently torched. The team was unable to determine if the HV was to blame, if the villagers avenged SAO Western Krajina leaders or if the destruction was a result of a
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...
policy by the retreating force. The HV offensives in western Slavonia conducted in late 1991 (Operations Hurricane-10, Swath-10 and Papuk-91) created a total of 20,000 Serb refugees. They fled the area when the JNA ordered Croatian Serb forces to withdraw, and were settled in the JNA-held Baranja region of eastern Croatia. The refugee resettlement coincided with Croatian Serb efforts to change the ethnic composition of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
area seized in late 1991, providing a secondary motive for the expulsion of non-Serb civilians.


Ceasefire

A 3 January 1992 ceasefire allowed the implementation of the
Vance plan The Vance plan ( hr, Vanceov plan, sr, Vensov plan, italics=yes) was a peace plan negotiated by the former United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in November 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. At that time, Vance was the ...
, which protected civilians in areas designated as UN Protected Areas (UNPAs) and deployed UN peacekeepers in Croatia. One of the UNPAs defined by the plan, UNPA Western Slavonia, encompassed parts of the municipalities of Novska and Nova Gradiška and all of Daruvar, Grubišno Polje and Pakrac. This UNPA covered the area held by the JNA on 3 January, additional territory to the north (recaptured by the HV in late 1991) and towns never under SAO Western Slavonia control (such as Grubišno Polje and Daruvar). The peacekeeping force (
United Nations Protection Force The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...
, or UNPROFOR), initially expected to be 10,000-strong, began its deployment on 8 March.


Footnotes


References

;Books * * * * * * * * ;Journal articles * * * * * ;News reports * * * * * * * * ;Other sources * * * * * *


Further reading

* – "Chapter 4: What Happened in Vocin" {{DEFAULTSORT:Swath-10, Operation Conflicts in 1991 1991 in Croatia Battles of the Croatian War of Independence October 1991 events in Europe November 1991 events in Europe