The Serbian Army of Krajina (SAK, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska vojska Krajine, Српска војска Крајине, abbr. SVK), also known as the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina or Krajina Serbian Army, was the armed forces of the

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...

(RSK). The SVK consisted of ground and air elements. Created through the merger of the Territorial Defense of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (TORSK), units 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) and the Krajina Militia, the SVK was officially established on 19 March 1992. Responsible for the security of the RSK, its area of responsibility covered an area of some 17,028 km² at its peak, as it was located entirely inland it thus had no naval forces. The SVK, along with the state of RSK, ceased to exist in 1995 following the Croatian military offensive

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 ...

Organization

Commanders-in-Chief

Commanders

Structure

* 105th Aviation Brigade * 44th Air defense rocket brigade * 75th Mixed artillery brigade * "Pauk" Operational Group * 2nd Guards Motorized Brigade * Special forces corps * 7th Dalmatia (''Dalmatinski'') corps * 15th Lika (''Lički'') corps * 21st Kordun (''Bordunski'') corps * 39th Banija (''Banijski'') corps * 18th West-Slavonia (''Zapadnoslavonski'') corps * 11th East-Slavonia (''Istočnoslavonski'') corps At the creation of the army, it was planned that its number would be 80,000 people, however it turned out to be less. * According to

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Kosta Novaković: 62,483 (772 officers, 2,709 non-commissioned officers and 59,002 soldiers) or 78% of the planned number. * According to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

in 1994: 62,805 (2,890 officers, 4,329 non-commissioned officers and 55,886 soldiers). * According to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Milisav Sekulić: 71,409 (3,291 officers, 3,424 non-commissioned officers and 60,496 soldiers).

Equipment

Vehicles

In 1995, the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

(IISS) estimated that the SVK had a total of 250 tanks and 100 armoured personnel carriers.

Artillery

In 1995, the IISS estimated that the SVK had a total of 200 pieces of artillery of varied calibers, 14 multiple rocket launchers, and an unknown number of 81 mm, 82 mm, and 120 mm mortars.

Anti-tank

Aircraft

In 1995, the IISS estimated that the SVK had 16 fixed-wing combat aircraft and 9 helicopters in service.

Air defence

Gallery

File:Krajina Airforce Galeb G2.jpg, Krajina Airforce G-2 Galeb File:Krajina Airforce Gazelle.jpg, Krajina Airforce Aérospatiale Gazelle File:Krajina Airforce Utva 66.JPG, Krajina Airforce Utva 66 File:Krajina Airforce Zlin 526.jpeg, Krajina Airforce Zlin Z-526

War crimes

During the Croatian War of Independence, numerous massacres were conducted by the Army of Serbian Krajina. On 2–3 May 1995, seven civilians were killed and many more injured in the Zagreb rocket attacks. The main leaders of the Serbian Army of Krajina, Milan Martić, Milan Babić and Goran Hadžić, were indicted and trialled by the

ICTY 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 tribun ...

for various war crimes and crimes against humanity. Milan Martić was sentenced to 35 years in prison, Milan Babić was sentenced to 13 years, while Goran Hadžić died shortly after their trial started.