Croatian Defence Forces

The Croatian Party of Rights was reestablished in Croatia on 26 February 1990, with Dobroslav Paraga president and Ante Paradžik vice-president.{{Cite web |title=Spomen na Antu Paradžika |url=http://www.hsp1861.hr/vijesti2/020227kri.htm |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.hsp1861.hr}} The Croatian civilian population began arming itself, and on 21 December 1990 the Serbs of Croatia rose; soon, the Yugoslav People's Army combined with the insurgent Serbs and the Croatian Party of Rights considered forming its military wing.

Although the first HOS squad was established in January, the HOS was officially founded on 25 June 1991 by Dobroslav Paraga, Ante Paradžik, Alija Šiljak and other leaders of the HSP.Croatian Party of Rights History, HOS Party Headquarters. Soon after establishing the HOS general staff, Paradžik became its chief. The general staff was at Starčević Center, the HSP headquarters in Zagreb. At first, the HOS was poorly armed and its soldiers used their weapons. However, they performed well in conflicts with Serb forces and attracted the attention of the Croatian public.

The HSP received donations from the Croatian diaspora and HSP branches in Australia and Canada, enabling it to buy weapons and increase its membership. However, not every HSP member supported a military wing, and secretary Krešimir Pavelić left the party in protest. Many HOS recruits came from the diaspora, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and overseas. In addition, HOS attracted trained soldiers from abroad.

The HOS used the roman salute and wore black uniforms; its headquarters featured portraits of Ustaše leaders and its units were named after Ustaša generals. Their outward association with WWII-era fascists prompted worries to the Croatian government who feared their image would damage Croatia's international reputation. By early 1992 they were disbanded and recruited into the regular Croatian Army.{{cite news |last1=Vukobratic |first1=Nikola |title=Croatian President's Reluctant Struggle Against Fascist Symbols |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/05/05/croatian-presidents-reluctant-struggle-against-fascist-symbols/ |work=Balkan Insight |date=5 May 2020}}

At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS comprised about 6,000 soldiers. Although they were members of the Croatian National Guard (ZNG), they obeyed orders from HOS officers.{{Cite web |title=Domovinski rat |url=https://domovinskirat.hr/?option=com_content&view=article&id=346:kraljevi-bla-&catid=32:ostali-leksikoni&Itemid=65 |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Domovinski rat |language=hr}} Because of an unwritten rule that HOS members could only be members of the HSP, the HOS was considered a party paramilitary organisation. The HOS and the ZNG were involved in the Battle of the Barracks and other minor battles in Croatia. The HOS increased in popularity within the HSP, and soon the HOS were in nearly every town where the HSP was active.Irvine 1996, p. 7–8 On 10 September 1991, Paraga and Paradžik organised a demonstration of a HOS company for 10,000 spectators in Jelačić Square. Shortly after the demonstration, the company was involved in the Battle of Vukovar under Robert Šilić.{{Cite book |last=Marijan |first=Davor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6EkPwAACAAJ |title=Bitka za Vukovar |date=2004 |publisher=Hrvatski institut za povijest |isbn=978-953-6324-45-3 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Ridgeway |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuGe9fy4raoC |title=Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia |date=2000-10-31 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-2590-1 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IN MEMORIAM VUKOVARSKIM BRANITELJIMA SATNIJE HOS-a |url=http://www.hsp1861.hr/vijesti/971128inme.htm |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.hsp1861.hr}}

At this time, HOS units were founded in Dalmatia. Until May 1991, Dalmatian HOS units were company-sized. In an agreement between Paraga and the Slovene Minister of Defence Janez Janša, the units were sent to Slovenia for training. By October 1991 the unit had grown to battalion size; it was called the 9th Battalion and was commanded by Jozo Radanović, president of the HSP branch in Split. This unit became one of the most popular Croatian units; in early December 1991, Radanović was promoted to colonel in the HOS.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

Paradžik was shot at a police checkpoint near Zagreb on 21 September 1991, in what was described by the authorities as an accident. They justified the killing because the police "received an anonymous tip that the Martić's family were in the car."{{Cite web |title=Ljudi koje je 90-ih trebalo ukloniti |url=https://webcitation.org/69OaMrGjR?url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/76462/ljudi-koje-je-90-ih-trebalo-ukloniti |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=webcitation.org}} On 23 November the Croatian government began a general mobilisation, and most HOS militiamen joined Croatian Army units. Shortly after the cease-fire in January 1992, the HOS ceased operations in Croatia.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

File:Klepci 1992.jpg {{Circa|1992}}]]

The Croatian Defence Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina had its headquarters in Ljubuški and mostly operated in the southern area of the country. Their commander was Blaž Kraljević. At the beginning of the Bosnian War, they fought against the Serb forces together with the HVO and ARBiH.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=46}} The strength of HOS forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated at up to 5000 members armed with infantry weapons.{{sfn|Veselinović|2014|p=71}} They included many Bosnian Muslims in their ranks and advocated a confederation between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,{{sfn|Hewitt|1998|p=71}} frequently using the slogan "Croatia to the Drina, Bosnia to the Adriatic".{{sfn|Veselinović|2014|p=71}} The HOS participated in breaking the JNA-VRS siege of Mostar in June 1992, when the HV and HVO forces pushed the Serb forces towards eastern Herzegovina.{{sfn|Hewitt|1998|p=71}}

Relations between the HVO and HOS eventually worsened, though HOS did not function integrally throughout the country. In the area of Novi Travnik it was closer to the HVO, while in the Mostar area, there were increasingly tense relations between the HOS and the HVO.{{sfn|Marijan|2004|p=270|ref=Marijan2}} On 9 August Kraljević was killed in unclear circumstances at a police checkpoint in the village of Kruševo,{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=46}} by HVO soldiers under the command of Mladen Naletilić.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=343}} On 23 August 1992 HVO and HOS leaders in Herzegovina agreed to incorporate the HOS into the HVO. The remaining HOS forces were later recognised by the Sarajevo government as part of the ARBiH. The HOS forces in central Bosnia merged with the HVO in April 1993.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=46}} Most of the Bosniaks that were members of the HOS joined the Muslim Armed Forces (MOS).{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=48}}

The HOS had a black flag with its emblem in the centre: a circle of triple wattle containing a chequered shield (with white first square) over a four-sided blue-and-white triple-wattle symbol; above, the inscription "HOS"; below, "HSP, Za dom spremni", which was the Ustaše salute during WW2 in the Independent State of Croatia.{{cite web|year = 2008|url = http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ba%7Dhsp.html#hos|title = HOS, Croatian Defence Forces|publisher = crwflags|access-date = 11 March 2008|quote = The HOS used a black flag with the emblem in the middle, with a circle of triple-wattle within which is a chequy shield over a four-sided blue-white triple wattle (similar to the one used as Ustasha symbol, on flags of the Independent State of Croatia in World War II), above the inscription HOS, below HSP, ZA DOM SPREMNI (For Homeland. Ready!).|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080116094846/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ba%7Dhsp.html#hos|archive-date = 16 January 2008|url-status = dead}} HOS symbols have become a contentious issue in recent years as the popularity of its flag with the Za Dom Spremni slogan has grown with right-wing fans at sporting events and HOS veterans continue to use HOS and Ustaše insignia at public events.

Image:Patch of the Croatian Defence Forces.svg|Standard HOS patch

Image:HOS000IX.jpg|Patch of HOS 9th battalion, 114th brigade

Image:Flag of the Republic of Croatia in 1990.svg|Croatian flag used by HOS soldiers

Image:Patch of Ninth battalion Rafael the knight Boban 2.svg|Patch of HOS 9th battalion, 4th brigade

Image:Patch of Blaz Kraljevic.svg|Rare HOS patch from Herzegovina

Image:IX RVB.jpg|HOS soldiers after the war

Image:Patch of Special purpose unit Marinko Beljo.svg|HOS-a patch from Prozor-Rama

Image:Patch of the Croatian Defence Forces for Muslims.svg|HOS patch for Muslims

Image:Patch of the Croatian Defence Forces in BiH.svg|Patch used by some HOS soldiers in Bosnia and Herzegovina

{{commons category|Croatian Defence Forces}}

• Blaž Kraljević
• Croatian Party of Rights

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin|2}}

• {{cite book|title=From Ottawa to Sarajevo: Canadian Peacekeepers in the Balkans|first=Dawn M.|last=Hewitt|publisher=Centre for International Relations, Queen's University|location=Kingston, Ontario|year=1998|isbn=978-0-88911-788-4}}
• {{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/103326?lang=en|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|location=Zagreb, Croatia|title=Expert Opinion: On the War Connections of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1991–1995)|volume=36|year=2004|first=Davor|last=Marijan|pages=249–289|ref=Marijan2}}
• {{cite book | last = Ramet | first = Sabrina P. | year = 2006 | title = The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005 | publisher = Indiana University Press | location = Bloomington | isbn = 978-0-253-34656-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC }}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC|title=The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia: A Military History, 1992–1994|first=Charles R.|last=Shrader|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|location=College Station, Texas|year=2003|isbn=978-1-58544-261-4}}
• {{cite journal|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/126050|journal=Croatian Political Science Review|publisher=Fakultet političkih znanosti Sveučilišta u Zagrebu|location=Zagreb, Croatia|title=Obnavljanje i djelovanje Hrvatske stranke prava, 1990-1992.|trans-title=Renewal and political activism of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), 1990-1992|volume=51|issue=2|year=2014|first=Velimir|last=Veselinović|pages=55–87|access-date=7 January 2019}}

{{Refend}}

{{Yugoslav wars}}

Category:Croatian nationalist organizations

Category:Military units and formations of the Croatian War of Independence

Category:Military units and formations of the Bosnian War

Category:Anti-communist organizations

Category:Military units and formations established in 1991

Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1993

Category:Military wings of fascist parties

Category:1991 establishments in Croatia

Category:1991 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Croatia

Category:Paramilitary organizations in the Yugoslav Wars

Category:Far-right politics in Croatia

Category:Croatian irredentism

Category:Defunct paramilitary organizations

Category:Anti-communism in Croatia