Editing Armed Forces of Croatia (section)

== History ==

=== Formation in the early 1990s ===
In the late spring of 1991, the first military units of the [[Croatian National Guard|National Guard Corps]] were formed, established on 20 April 1991. by the decision of the President of the Republic and which, for legal and political reasons, was formally part of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition to the structures and units that were created by state policy, there were also [[Paramilitary|party armies]] or their loose affiliations. The Croatian Party of Rights organized its armed detachments, the [[Croatian Defence Forces|Croatian Defence Forces (HOS)]], which were privately armed, relatively well trained and trained at the tactical level, and deployed to critical positions on the battlefields. The Party of Democratic Change (Reformed Communists, SDP) armed its activists in Istria, the Littoral and Dalmatia, as did the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in other parts of Croatia. In some places, however, the TO system was reactivated (e.g. in Zagreb), which gave better results.

The system of command and control was initially critically confused, and the competencies were vague and unclear. The ZNG is thus under the dual jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense. A large part of the command in the field was transferred to local crisis staffs composed and led by political officials who did not necessarily have military knowledge broader than those they had acquired during their conscription service in the [[Yugoslav People's Army|JNA]]. There were often several different units in the field, which, even if they were nominally in the same organization, often did not have a common higher command.

The main tasks of the ZNG (later HV) were to prevent the penetration of the JNA and other forces in the most important directions, to defend cities and critical areas, and to conquer JNA barracks in the depth of their own deployment. These tasks began to be fulfilled more comprehensively and systematically only after the armed forces were organized into a single Croatian Army (HV) on the basis of the new Defence Law, and when the General Staff was established on 21 September 1991, with Chief General Anton Tus as its Chief. At that time, a more systematic mobilization of reserve soldiers and the organization of units, commands and institutions began, as well as the planned use of forces.

On 1 October 1991, large military-territorial and combat commands (Operational Zones) were formed with headquarters in Osijek, Bjelovar, Zagreb, Karlovac, Rijeka and Split. Subordinate to them were operational groups that commanded certain directions and areas. The basic and at the same time the highest tactical units were infantry brigades (professional and reserve), and brigades and battalions of other branches were also formed. By the end of the year, 63 brigades had been formed and developed.

=== Croatian War of Independence ===
[[File:16 obljetnica vojnoredarstvene operacije Oluja 05082011 Kninska tvrdjava 155.jpg|400x400px|thumb|16th Anniversary of Military [[Operation Storm]] in Knin]]

During the Homeland War, the armed forces gradually grew to about 300,000 members. Most of the units were filled from the reserve, i.e. from the personnel who acquired basic military knowledge during their compulsory military service in the Yugoslav People's Army. Thanks to the growing military experience, the quality of these units grew, and the organization of the entire system improved over time.

The training of new generations of 18-year-old young men who served in the Croatian Army continued, whereby army units during military service were generally not used for combat tasks (young men would mostly receive call-ups for combat units soon after completing their compulsory military service).

As the war progressed, through clandestine operations (the legal procurement of military equipment for the war-torn territory of the former Yugoslavia was prevented), significant amounts of military surpluses created after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact were purchased; in particular, the procurement of combat aircraft of Soviet origin was significant for the formation of the Croatian Air Force. The Croatian Air Force had included about twenty [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|Mig 21 aircraft]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arhiva.nacional.hr/clanak/28465/prvi-put-nakon-rata-otkriveni-originalni-racuni-za-oruzje |title=Prvi put nakon rata otkriveni originalni računi za oružje|website=arhiva.nacional.hr}}</ref> and several [[Mil Mi-24]] combat helicopters, as well as several transport helicopters. Also, the domestic industry has become capable of significant independent production of weapons and military equipment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna-povijest/vojna-tehnika-i-oprema-hv-a-967423|title=Vojna tehnika i oprema HV-a|website=vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr}}</ref>

The Croatian Navy was created to a large extent thanks to the successful action of capturing about one quarter of the Yugoslav Navy vessels in Šibenik in 1991. [[RBS 15|RBS-15]] anti-ship missiles were also captured:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna-povijest/prva-pobjeda-u-obrani-od-velikosrpske-agresije-sibenska-bitka-u-rujnu-1991-godine-962517|title=Prva pobjeda u obrani od velikosrpske agresije – šibenska bitka u rujnu 1991. godine|website=vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr}}</ref> this system made in Sweden has not yet been put into operation by the Yugoslav Navy, and the Croatian Navy succeeded in doing so after Croatian experts independently developed the "Phobos" fire control system; Namely, the Swedish manufacturer was not allowed to deliver that key part of the weapon system. With the introduction of modern missiles with a range of over 70&nbsp;km into operational use, the Croatian Navy has largely prevented serious action by the enemy navy.

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia were in a wartime structure until 12 March 1996, when they switched to peacetime by the decision of the President of the Republic of Croatia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presidential Decree |url=http://www.predsjednik.hr/Zagreb12.03.1996_3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221212256/http://www.predsjednik.hr/Zagreb12.03.1996_3 |archive-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref>

=== Reforms ===
[[File:Croatian detachment Bastille Day 2013 Paris t105017.jpg|thumb|400x400px|[[Honor Guard Battalion (Croatia)|Honor Guard Battalion]] at the [[Bastille Day]] [[Bastille Day military parade|2013 military parade.]]]]
With the stabilization of the situation after the end of the war, several important waves of reforms followed. There was an increasingly visible trend of other transition countries, as well as NATO members, to put emphasis in the development of the armed forces on mobility, on multifunctionality and flexibility in the use of the armed forces, and not on the mass composition and heavy equipment. Economic over-demanding and conceptual inadequacy, i.e. the inapplicability of the old Cold War conception became obvious. New security threats and a new international constellation called for deeper changes in the way armed forces were designed.  The process of reforming the defense system began in 2002. The aim of the reform and reorganization is to establish a modern structure of the defence system that will be able to respond to the challenges of the new era, taking into account the membership of the Republic of Croatia in NATO and security arrangements within the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Change of doctrine of the Croatian Armed Forces |url=http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/0672006/pricuva.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516102529/http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/0672006/pricuva.asp |archive-date=16 May 2008 }}</ref>  The main guidelines for the reform are set by strategic documents adopted by the Republic of Croatia: the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, the Defence Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, the Military Strategy of the Republic of Croatia. During 2003, the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff began working on the ''Strategic Defence Review'' (''SPO),'' which was adopted in 2005.  With the adoption ''of the Long-Term Development Plan of the Croatian Armed Forces 2006 – 2015'' (''DPR'') in the Croatian Parliament on 7 July 2006, clear content and time frames for further reform, development and modernization of the Croatian Armed Forces in the next ten years were set.

The essence of the changes consists in the gradual transition from Croatian individual (national) to collective defence and security mechanisms, and this also implies:

* transition to the professionalization of the Croatian Armed Forces, which means replenishment of soldiers voluntarily, and not through conscription (it also implies significant changes in the method of replenishment of the reserve, because the system of voluntary/contractual reserve will no longer be able to be replenished by conscript soldiers after the completion of conscript service);
* the transition to a collective defence system means a smaller active and reserve composition, but better trained, equipped, compatible and interoperable with allies.
* the possibility that smaller nations that are members of the Alliance, such as Croatia, can partially "specialize" in order to be able to contribute to joint operations in a specific way with their limited capacities.
* even greater overall engagement of units and members of the Croatian Armed Forces in collective activities, international missions, preventive security activities, etc.

In 2007, the Decision was made not to call up recruits for military service which represented an important step towards the professionalization of the Croatian Armed Forces, which implies the abolition of compulsory military service and the introduction of voluntary military service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abolishment of Conscription |url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/38547/ukinuto-obvezno-sluzenje-vojnog-roka|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104123205/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/38547/ukinuto-obvezno-sluzenje-vojnog-roka |archive-date=4 January 2009 }}</ref> The first generation of volunteer conscripts began serving in November 2008.

After the Long-Term Development Plan of the Croatian Armed Forces for the period 2015-2024 envisaged a frugal development of the armed forces, the complication of the security situation in Europe regarding Russia which culminated in the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022]] the political will to decisively strengthen the Croatian Armed Forces was formed in Croatia, and the military budget was significantly increased.