Imperial Croatian Home Guard

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Croatian Home Guard

The Imperial Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Carsko Hrvatsko domobranstvo, often simply Domobranstvo or Domobran in singular) was the Croatian army section of the Honvéd 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 Agreement.

The agreement 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 )
• 81th Home Guard Squadron ( Virovitica )
• 82th Home Guard Squadron ( Vukovar )

• 29th Home Guard Squadron ( Varaždin )
• 30th Home Guard Squadron ( Varaždin )
• 31th Home Guard Squadron ( Vinkovci )
• 32th Home Guard Squadron ( Vinkovci )

then eight battalions:

• 83th 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 )
• 91th Home Guard Battalion ( Nova Gradiška )
• 92th 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 )

All commanders of the Croatia-Slavonia 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 42th 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 togheter with the 104th Landsturm (pučko-ustaška) Brigade under the Command of Theodor Bekić [1]

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary after the First World War, Croatia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The kingdom's armed force, the Yugoslav Royal Army, became the only legal one in the nation and the Croatian Home Guard was disbanded. Several incidents occurred across Croatia after the Croatian Home Guard was disbanded, the most famous of which was a demonstration by former Croatian Home Guard members on December 5, 1918 in Zagreb. Serb officers killed 20 unarmed Croatian Home Guards.

During World War II, the Independent State of Croatia was formed and restored the Croatian Home Guard as its regular army which existed from April 1941 to May 1945.

On 24 December 1991 the Croatian Home Guard was restored as a part of the Croatian Army.

See also

Austria-Hungary portal

Military of Austria-Hungary