204th Vukovar Brigade
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The 204th Vukovar Brigade () of the
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...
was a military unit of the
Republic of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mont ...
that led the defence of the city of
Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...
during the 1991
Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...
, in the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
. The first
Croatian National Guard The Croatian National Guard ( 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 Interior for legal reasons, th ...
(''Zbor narodne garde'', ZNG) units that were active in Vukovar included elements of the 109th Brigade that was first mobilized in late June 1991, a part of the 1st "A" Brigade in July, and the 4th Battalion of the 3rd "A" Brigade formed in the city in August 1991. By the end of September, elements of the 109th stationed in Vukovar started to form the local 204th brigade. The 204th brigade was formed on September 25, 1991, after having been promulgated by the September 23, 1991, order of general , at the time the commander of the Osijek sector. At the time of its founding, the brigade roster included 1,803 men. It was assigned to cover the area of the former municipality of Vukovar, that included the city of Vukovar,
Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on the Fruška Gora hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbi ...
as well as numerous surrounding villages. The command was also sent to the General Staff in Zagreb, which made some amendments, notably renaming it to the 124th Brigade, that were signed into an order of the Minister of Defence on September 26. The brigade was not a trained military formation, but it included some trained soldiers and was led by trained officers, first by
Mile Dedaković Mile Dedaković (born 4 July 1951) is a retired Croatian Army colonel. Also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Jastreb ("Hawk"), Dedaković is best known for commanding the 204th Vukovar Brigade and the city of Vukovar's defenses during the 1991 Ba ...
, nicknamed ''Jastreb'' ("hawk"), who was previously a lieutenant colonel of the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
. A notable commander was
Blago Zadro Blago Zadro (31 March 1944 – 16 October 1991) was a commander of the northern part of Croatian forces in Vukovar during the Croatian War of Independence. He was killed in an attack by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in the town of Borovo Nas ...
who commanded the 3rd Battalion that defended the city from the northwest on the Trpinja road. Zadro was killed in combat on October 16, 1991. Also in mid-October, Dedaković was reassigned to
Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...
and the command passed on to Branko Borković, nicknamed ''Mladi Jastreb'' ("young hawk"), who previously had the rank of captain. At its peak it was composed of around 2,200 men, of which around 770 in active combat. A total of 921 soldiers died, 457 went missing in action, 770 were wounded, and 1527 were captured. A total of 5,497 soldiers were part of the brigade over the course of the entire war. After the fall of Vukovar in late November 1991, the leftovers of the brigade moved to Vinkovci and elsewhere. The brigade commanders never signed an official surrender. The brigade was, however, officially disbanded on June 5, 1992, but its remaining personnel soon moved into the newly formed 5th Guards Brigade, founded on October 25, 1992. The two surviving commanders, Dedaković and Borković, were never promoted, and many of its members were never credited for their valor in combat. Only Blago Zadro was posthumously promoted to Major general. The verification of the brigade rosters in the Ministry of Defence was delayed until long after the war was over, to the dismay of the brigade's former commanders. The first lineup of the brigade survivors after the war happened on September 23, 2001, sponsored by a former member and then-Minister of Croatian Defenders Ivica Pančić, as well as the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
under
Jozo Radoš Jozo Radoš (; born 3 November 1956) is a Croatian liberal politician currently serving as one out of 11 Croatian members of the European Parliament. He previously served as a Minister of Defence, member of the Croatian Parliament and as an ob ...
. In November 2005, the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
under
Berislav Rončević Berislav Rončević (born 23 June 1960) is a Croatian politician, and the former Minister of Internal Affairs in the government of Croatia and the Minister of Defense. Rončević was born in the village of Borovik near Đakovo. He graduated fro ...
finally confirmed that the official records were consolidated, which cleared the way for the official recognition of the brigade. On September 25, 2006, the whole of the brigade was officially lined up at a ceremony in Vukovar under the brigade's now-official banners and before the Commander-in-Chief
President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...
Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatia, Croatian lawyer and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minis ...
. The raw data of the Croatian Defender Registry (''Registar hrvatskih branitelja'') that was leaked in 2010 lists the names of over 3,300 soldiers from the 204th brigade over the course of the whole war.


References

{{Reflist Military units and formations established in 1991 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992 Brigades of Croatia Military units and formations of the Croatian War of Independence History of Vukovar 1991 establishments in Croatia