The 2nd Guards Brigade (), nicknamed "the Thunders" (), was one of the original

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 ...

(ZNG) brigades formed in 1991 and one of the most elite

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps). As defined by the United States Army, me ...

units in the

Croatian Ground 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 ...

(HV) during its existence, during which it saw action in a number of engagements during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

(1991–1995). As part of the large reorganization of the Croatian Armed Forces in the late 2000s the brigade was officially disbanded in March 2008, reduced to a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

-sized unit stationed in

Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banija, Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was 2020 Petrinja earthquake, hit by a strong earthquake wit ...

and incorporated into the Motorized Guard Brigade. The present-day battalion still uses the original brigade's nickname and emblem.

History

The brigade was formed on 15 May 1991 at the Trstenik barracks near

Dugo Selo Dugo Selo is a town with 17,676 inhabitants in Zagreb County, Croatia. Geography Dugo Selo (lit. ''Long Village'') is a 20 km drive from Zagreb city centre. The town covers an area of 51 km² and it consists of numerous settlements. ...

, where the brigade command was established and the brigade's 1st infantry battalion was formed. The brigade was initially composed of members who joined from the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

's special operations units based at

Lučko Lučko is a settlement in the Novi Zagreb - zapad district of the city of Zagreb, located south of the Sava and southwest of the city center. Lučko is located near the Lučko interchange that connects the A1 motorway, the Zagreb bypass and t ...

, Rakitje,

Kumrovec Kumrovec () is a village in the northern part Croatia, part of Krapina-Zagorje County. It sits on the Sutla River, along the Croatian-Slovenian border. The Kumrovec municipality has 1,413 residents (2021), but the village itself has only 267 peo ...

, Vinica,

Sisak Sisak (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin ...

and

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

in northern Croatia, as it was originally formed within the Interior Ministry's framework as part of the ZNG, which later evolved into the

. The 2nd battalion was formed on 3 June 1991 in Sisak, and the 3rd battalion was formed on 21 June 1991 in

Duga Resa Duga Resa is a town in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is located about 65 km southwest of Zagreb and 100 km east of Rijeka. Name The earliest reference to Duga Resa is from the year 1380. There are several theories on how the then-villag ...

. The Thunders' first engagement was in early June 1991 on the Mladost Bridge in

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

when they stopped the advance 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 ...

(JNA) tanks in the initial stages of the

Battle of the Barracks The Battle of the Barracks () was a series of engagements that occurred in mid-to-late 1991 between the Croatian National Guard (ZNG, later renamed the Croatian Army) and the Croatian police on one side and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on ...

. Over the course of the

elements of the brigade saw action in

Central Croatia In contemporary geography, the terms Central Croatia () and Mountainous Croatia () are used to describe most of the area sometimes historically known as Croatia or Croatia proper (), one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Cro ...

and

Banovina Banovina may refer to: * Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941 * Banovina (region) in central Croatia, also known as Banija * ''Radio Banovina'', radio station in the city of Glina, Croatia * Banovina Palace, governmental buildin ...

regions. The brigade also took part in the

Siege of Dubrovnik The siege of Dubrovnik ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, opsada Dubrovnika, опсада Дубровника) was a military engagement fought between the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Croatian forces defending the city of Dubrovnik and its surroundings dur ...

(Operation Tiger) and in operations in the

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning fro ...

region in northern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. They were also actively involved in Operation Maslenica,

Operation Flash Operation Flash ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Bljesak, separator=" / ", Операција Бљесак) was a brief Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted against the forces of the self-declared proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) from ...

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

and

Operation Una Operation Una () was a military offensive conducted by the Croatian Army (''Hrvatska vojska'' – HV) against the Army of Republika Srpska (''Vojska Republike Srpske'' – VRS) in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18–19 September 1995, duri ...

. During the war, 203 members of the brigade were killed in action, and 5 were missing as of 2013. On 1 May 1996 the 81st Guards Battalion based in

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, 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). I ...

was incorporated into the brigade and in 2003 the 2nd Guards Brigade was merged with the 7th "Pumas" Brigade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Guards Brigade (Croatia) Military units and formations established in 1991 Military units and formations disestablished in 2008 Brigades of Croatia Military units and formations of the Croatian War of Independence Order of Duke Domagoj recipients Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski recipients 1991 establishments in Croatia

History

See also

References