Puneet Varma (Editor)

Royal Croatian Home Guard

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Active
  
1868 - 1918

Engagements
  
World War I

Branch
  
Army

Royal Croatian Home Guard

Country
  
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

Motto(s)
  
Za kralja i Domovinu (For King and Homeland)

Notable commanders
  
Svetozar Borojević Stjepan Sarkotić

The Royal Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo, often simply Domobranstvo or Domobran in singular, in German: Croatisch-Slawonische Landwehr) was the Croatian army section of the Royal Hungarian Landwehr (Hungarian: Magyar Királyi Honvédség), which existed from 1868 to 1918. The force was created by decree of the Croatian Parliament on December 5, 1868 as a result of the Croatian-Hungarian Settlement.

Contents

The settlement specified four conditions:

  1. Croats would serve their military service within Croatia
  2. Military training would be conducted in Croatian
  3. Cadet and Domobran academies would be formed
  4. Croatian military units could take on Croatian names

First units

eight squadrons:

  • 79th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
  • 80th Home Guard Squadron (Zagreb)
  • 81st Home Guard Squadron (Virovitica)
  • 82nd Home Guard Squadron (Vukovar)
  • 29th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
  • 30th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
  • 31st Home Guard Squadron (Vinkovci)
  • 32nd Home Guard Squadron (Vinkovci)
  • then eight battalions:

  • 83rd Home Guard Battalion (Sisak)
  • 84th Home Guard Battalion (Bjelovar)
  • 87th Home Guard Battalion (Gospić)
  • 88th Home Guard Battalion (Ogulin)
  • 89th Home Guard Battalion (Švarča)
  • 90th Home Guard Battalion (Glina)
  • 91st Home Guard Battalion (Nova Gradiška)
  • 92nd Home Guard Battalion (Mitrovica)
  • in the next five years:

  • 25th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Zagreb)
  • 26th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Karlovac)
  • 27th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Sisak)
  • 28th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Osijek)
  • and the:

  • 10th Home Guard Cavalry Regiment (Varaždin)
  • Commanders

  • Count Miroslav Kulmer (1869–1875).
  • Dragutin Višnić (1875–1880).
  • Milan (Emil) Musulin (1881–1890).
  • Matija Raslić (1890–1893).
  • Eduard Lukinac (1893–1897).
  • Josip Bach (1897–1901).
  • Ðuro Ćanić (1901–1903).
  • Radoslav Gerba (1903–1907).
  • Svetozar Boroević (1907–1912).
  • Stjepan Sarkotić (1912–1914).
  • Ivan Salis Seewis (1915).
  • Anton Lipošćak (1915–1916, 1917).
  • Luka Šnjarić (1916–1917).
  • Mihael Mihaljević (1917–1918).
  • Teodor Soretić (1918).
  • World War I

    The 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division consisting of the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th Home Guard Infantry regiment under the Command of Stjepan Sarkotić took part in the battle against Serbia in August, 1914 together with the 104th Landsturm (pučko-ustaška) Brigade under the Command of Theodor Bekić.

    Legacy

    During World War II, the Independent State of Croatia was formed and its regular army was also called the "Croatian Home Guard". It existed from April 1941 to May 1945.

    On 24 December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, a part of the Croatian Army was formed that was also called the "Home Guard". It ceased to exist in a 2003 reorganization.

    References

    Royal Croatian Home Guard Wikipedia