Royal Croatian Home Guard
| Kraljevsko Hrvatsko domobranstvo Royal Croatian Home Guard | |
|---|---|
|
Home Guard Cap Badge | |
| Active | 1868 - 1918 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia |
| Branch | Army |
| Motto(s) | Za kralja i Domovinu (For King and Homeland) |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| 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 Army (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.
The settlement specified four conditions:
- Croats would serve their military service within Croatia
- Military training would be conducted in Croatian
- Cadet and Domobran academies would be formed
- 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 of the Royal Croatian Home Guard
All commanders of the Royal Croatian Home Guard Command, rank general, where Croatians:
- 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 Borojević (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).
Croatian Home Guard in the First World War
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.[1]
Croatian Home Guard after 1918
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.[2]
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