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Battle of Osijek

February 16, 2024

Battle of Osijek
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
DateAugust 1991 – June 1992
Location
Osijek, Croatia
Result
  • No territorial changes
  • Croatia retains control of Osijek
Belligerents
Yugoslavia  Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Andrija Biorčević Branimir Glavaš
Karl Gorinšek
Casualties and losses
Unknown 800 soldiers and civilians killed

The Battle of Osijek (Serbo-Croatian: Bitka za Osijek) was the artillery bombardment of the Croatian city of Osijek by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) which took place from August 1991 to June 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence. Shelling peaked in late November and December 1991, then diminished in 1992 after the Vance plan was accepted by the combatants. Airstrikes and attacks by JNA infantry and armored units against targets in the city accompanied the bombardment, which caused approximately 800 deaths and resulted in a large portion of the city's population leaving. Croatian sources estimated that 6,000 artillery shells were fired against Osijek over the period.

After the JNA captured Vukovar on 18 November 1991, Osijek was the next target for its campaign in Croatia. The JNA units subordinated to the 12th (Novi Sad) Corps, supported by the Serb Volunteer Guard, achieved modest advances in late November and early December, capturing several villages south of Osijek, but the Croatian Army maintained its defensive front and limited the JNA's advances.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Osijek, Croatian authorities charged thirteen JNA officers with war crimes against civilians, but no arrests have been made to date. Croatian authorities also charged the wartime commander of Osijek's defence, Branimir Glavaš, and five others with war crimes committed in the city in 1991. The five were convicted and received sentences ranging between eight and ten years, and as of March 2015, judicial proceedings against Glavaš are in progress.

Background edit

In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, ethnic tensions worsened. The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) confiscated the weapons of Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) to minimize potential resistance.[1] On 17 August 1990, the escalating tensions turned into open revolt by the Croatian Serbs.[2] The revolt took place in the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin[3] and in parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina regions and eastern Croatia.[4] In January 1991, Serbia, supported by Montenegro and Serbia's provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo, made two unsuccessful attempts to obtain approval from the Yugoslav Presidency to deploy the JNA to disarm Croatian security forces.[5]

After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and Croatian special police in March,[6] the JNA itself, supported by Serbia and its allies, asked the federal Presidency to grant it wartime powers and declare a state of emergency. The request was denied on 15 March 1991,[7] and the JNA came under the control of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević in the summer of 1991 as the Yugoslav federation started to fall apart.[8] By the end of the month, the conflict had escalated, resulting in the first fatalities of the war.[9] The JNA then stepped in to support the insurgents and prevent Croatian police from intervening.[7] In early April, leaders of the Serb revolt in Croatia announced their intention to integrate the areas under their control with Serbia. The Government of Croatia considered this an act of secession.[10]

Timeline edit

 
Map showing the fighting in eastern Slavonia, September 1991 – January 1992; Osijek is located in the bulge (salient) near the top of the map

The JNA intervened directly against Croatia for the first time on 3 July 1991, driving Croatian forces out of Baranja, north of the city of Osijek,[11] and out of Erdut, Aljmaš and Dalj east of Osijek.[12] The advance was followed by intermittent fighting around Osijek, Vukovar and Vinkovci.[13] At several points, JNA positions approached to within several hundred yards of Osijek city limits.[14]

The JNA units near Osijek were subordinated to the 12th (Novi Sad) Corps,[15] commanded by Major General Andrija Biorčević.[16] In the city itself, the JNA had several barracks which housed the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade and the 12th Mixed Artillery Regiment.[17] The 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade contained one of a handful battalions maintained by the JNA at full combat readiness.[18] Osijek was established as their starting point in a planned westward offensive toward Našice and Bjelovar.[15]

Croatian forces in the area were formally subordinated to the Operational Zone Command in Osijek headed by Colonel Karl Gorinšek.[19] In practice, the city's defense was overseen by Branimir Glavaš, then head of the National Defence Office in Osijek, according to information presented at Glavaš trial in the 2000s. Glavaš formally became commander of city defenses on 7 December 1991.[20]

Bombardment of the city edit

 
Partially repaired bombardment damage in Osijek

The JNA first attacked Osijek by mortar fire on 31 July 1991,[21] and heavily bombarded the city's center on 19 August 1991.[22] The attacks came from positions north, east and south of Osijek,[23] and were supported by JNA garrisons stationed in Osijek itself.[24] On 7–9 September, an inconclusive battle was fought in Tenja, within three kilometres (1.9 miles) of the city.[25] The JNA garrisons were besieged by Croatian forces in mid-September. After a barracks in the city centre was captured on 15 September 1991,[26] the remaining JNA garrison tried to break through the Croatian troops besieging the barracks and, after heavy fighting, reached JNA positions south of Osijek on 17 September 1991.[17] The intensity of the shelling increased thereafter, peaking through November and December. After a ceasefire was arranged in January 1992, following the acceptance of the Vance plan, the artillery attacks dropped off and became intermittent,[27] and ceased by June.[23]

During its height, the intensity of the bombardment was reported to reach as high as one shell per minute,[28] and the artillery attacks were compounded by Yugoslav Air Force strikes against the city.[29] According to Croatian sources, a total of 6,000 artillery shells were fired against Osijek in the period.[30] Prior to the start of the bombardment, the civilian population of Osijek totaled 104,761 city residents and 129,792 municipal residents.[31] These numbers were significantly reduced as civilians fled the fighting. It is estimated that only about a third of the population remained in the city by the end of November,[32] with some sources placing the estimate even lower, suggesting that the population of the city was reduced to just 10,000 civilians during the most intense periods of the bombardment.[33] Those who remained in Osijek through the fighting generally slept in bomb shelters.[14]

Ground offensive edit

class=notpageimage|
Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar (Modern county lines provided for reference)

After JNA captured Vukovar on 18 November, the JNA 12th (Novi Sad) Corps, supported by the Serbian Ministry of Interior-trained Serb Volunteer Guard paramilitaries,[34][35] started to advance west between Vinkovci and Osijek on 20 November.[34] The city of Osijek appeared to be the next target of the JNA,[36] which was later confirmed by General Života Panić, commander of the JNA 1st Military District.[37]

On 21 November 1991, the JNA captured the villages of Stari Seleš, Novi Seleš and Ernestinovo situated approximately ten kilometres (6.2 miles) south of Osijek. Laslovo, five kilometres (3.1 miles) south of Ernestinovo, was captured three days later. Those developments threatened Đakovo and pointed to the potential encirclement of Osijek.[12] On 4 December 1991, the Special Envoy of Secretary-General of the United Nations Cyrus Vance visited Osijek to inspect the damage.[38]

In early December, the JNA made modest advances, capturing Antunovac located six kilometres (3.7 miles) south of Osijek on 5 December 1991.[12] On the same day, an armoured JNA force unsuccessfully attacked positions held by the Croatian 106th Brigade in Rosinjača Forest near Nemetin, approximately two kilometres (1.2 miles) east of Osijek.[39] On 6 December, the JNA pushed Croatian troops out from Tenja,[12] followed by a heavy attack against Osijek repulsed by the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV) on 7 December.[40] On 11 December, HV personnel entered the frontline village of Paulin Dvor, less than three kilometres (1.9 miles) west of Ernestinovo,[12] and summarily executed 19 civilians (18 Serbs and one Hungarian).[41][42] The JNA captured Paulin Dvor five days later, on 16 December,[12] and attacked Osijek once again.[43] The HV managed to contain the attack, though fighting continued south of Osijek until January 1992.[34]

Operation Devil's Beam edit

Advances of the JNA north of Osijek threatened HV control of a narrow bridgehead held across the Drava River skirting the city's northern edge. By mid-December the bridgehead was reduced to a strip of land opposite Osijek, encompassing suburban settlements of Podravlje and Tvrđavica. In order to remove the threat, the HV launched an offensive codenamed Operation Devil's Beam (Croatian: Operacija Đavolja greda) on 17–18 December. The offensive, involving the 1st Battalion of the 135th Brigade, elements of the special forces Frankopan Battalion and the Osijek-based Orao special police unit, Drava River flotilla, artillery of the 106th Brigade,[44] and personnel of the 4th Beli Manastir Police Station,[45] successfully pushed the JNA north, across Stara Drava oxbow lake located approximately four kilometres (2.5 miles) north of Osijek.[46] The JNA also withdrew from the village of Kopačevo towards Darda and Vardarac, but the HV did not have sufficient resources to exploit the development.[47] The HV lost eight killed in the offensive,[48] but the JNA's advance towards Osijek from the north was halted.[45]

Aftermath edit

By June 1992, approximately 800 people had been killed by the bombardment.[27] By the end of the Croatian War of Independence in 1995, a total of 1,724 people from Osijek had been killed, including 1,327 soldiers and 397 civilians.[49] The city itself suffered great damage during the war, with the bulk of direct damage occurring as a consequence of the 1991–92 bombardment.[50] Direct war damage sustained by the city was estimated at a total of US$1.3 billion.[51] The damage was regularly recorded by 400 volunteers during the bombardment.[52]

Although media reported on the bombardment of Osijek, journalists in the city itself felt that it was receiving an unduly low level of media coverage compared to wartime events elsewhere in Croatia.[53] The attacks on Osijek were welcomed by the Pravoslavlje newspaper published by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which appeared to give a blessing to the attack as a part of a "holy war", setting it in the context of World War II massacres and concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia.[54]

The JNA withdrew from Croatia in 1992, but continued to contribute personnel and equipment to the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (ARSK) which controlled the areas previously held by the JNA.[55] Although the United Nations Protection Force peacekeepers deployed to the area on the basis of the Vance plan and placed most of the ARSK heavy weapons in storage,[56] Osijek was intermittently bombarded throughout the war—the last artillery strike occurred in September 1995.[57] The hostilities ceased in November 1995 through the Erdut Agreement securing restoration of Croatian rule in the region.[58]

In November 2010, then-Croatian President Ivo Josipović officially apologized for the Paulin Dvor massacre, shortly after his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadić issued a formal apology for the massacre at Vukovar.[41]

War crime trials edit

In 2008, Croatian authorities formally charged Colonel Boro Ivanović, commanding officer of the JNA 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade, and twelve other JNA officers with war crimes against the civilian population. The charges include causing the deaths of 307 civilians in Osijek and surrounding areas, injuries to another 171 civilians, and the destruction of at least 1,188 different structures. As of 2013, all of the indicted officers remain at large in Serbia.[59]

In 2005, the Osijek District Court convicted former Croatian soldier Nikola Ivanković for his involvement in the killings at Paulin Dvor, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. In 2012, Enes Vitesković was also convicted for his involvement in the atrocity, and given an eleven-year sentence.[42]

After the war, five Croatian fighters were charged and convicted of eleven counts of murder, one of attempted murder, and one of torture of Serb civilians found in the JNA barracks, which surrendered on 15 September 1991. They received prison sentences of between five and eight years. Glavaš, who was tried alongside them for the same crimes, received a ten-year sentence.[26][60] Before the conviction became final in 2009, and to avoid extradition, Glavaš fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he had granted citizenship. His sentence was reduced to eight years and became final in 2010, when he was arrested and imprisoned in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[61] In January 2015, the conviction was set aside by the Constitutional Court of Croatia, pending a new trial before the Supreme Court of Croatia.[62]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 117.
  2. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 118.
  3. ^ The New York Times 19 August 1990.
  4. ^ Woodward 1995, p. 170.
  5. ^ Hoare 2010, pp. 118–119.
  6. ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 384–385.
  7. ^ a b Hoare 2010, p. 119.
  8. ^ Sell 2002, p. 373.
  9. ^ The New York Times 3 March 1991.
  10. ^ The New York Times 2 April 1991.
  11. ^ Ramet 2006, p. 397.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Marijan 2012a, p. 111.
  13. ^ CIA 2002, p. 93.
  14. ^ a b The Washington Post 6 September 1991.
  15. ^ a b Marijan 2012b, p. 261.
  16. ^ Vreme 7 September 2006.
  17. ^ a b CIA 2002b, p. 103.
  18. ^ Marijan 2003, note 20.
  19. ^ Slobodna Dalmacija 8 November 2003.
  20. ^ Slobodna Dalmacija 26 October 2006.
  21. ^ Libal 1997, p. 30.
  22. ^ Libal 1997, p. 38.
  23. ^ a b Ramsbotham, Miall & Woodhouse 2011, pp. 308, 310.
  24. ^ Mesić 2004, p. 233.
  25. ^ CIA 2002b, p. 86.
  26. ^ a b Nacional 24 October 2006.
  27. ^ a b Jegen 1996, p. 14.
  28. ^ Bailey 2004, p. 435.
  29. ^ Ramet 2006, p. 409.
  30. ^ Nacional 27 April 2012.
  31. ^ Andraković & Jukić 2009, p. 31.
  32. ^ Los Angeles Times 26 November 1991.
  33. ^ Ramsbotham, Miall & Woodhouse 2011, p. 308.
  34. ^ a b c CIA 2002, pp. 101–102.
  35. ^ Macdonald 2002, p. 104.
  36. ^ Ahrens 2007, p. 117.
  37. ^ CIA 2002b, p. 208.
  38. ^ The Washington Post 4 December 1991.
  39. ^ Glas Slavonije 6 December 2012.
  40. ^ Los Angeles Times 9 December 1991.
  41. ^ a b BBC 4 November 2010.
  42. ^ a b B92 11 December 2011.
  43. ^ Fraser 17 December 1991.
  44. ^ SIB.hr 23 December 2013.
  45. ^ a b Bajto 18 December 2011.
  46. ^ Pejić 19 December 2014.
  47. ^ Alilović 18 December 2014.
  48. ^ Zelenić 18 December 2014.
  49. ^ HRT 28 June 2012.
  50. ^ Pavičić 2009, p. 150.
  51. ^ Pavičić 2009, p. 154.
  52. ^ Pavičić 2009, p. 153.
  53. ^ Mercier 1995, p. 135.
  54. ^ Ramet 2006, p. 400.
  55. ^ Armatta 2010, p. 216.
  56. ^ CIA 2002, p. 107.
  57. ^ Večernji list 16 November 2011.
  58. ^ Ramet & Matić 2007, p. 46.
  59. ^ Blic 17 November 2008.
  60. ^ Nacional 8 May 2009.
  61. ^ Nacional 28 September 2010.
  62. ^ Jurasić 12 January 2015.

References edit

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Scientific journal articles
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  • Marijan, Davor (December 2003). ""Jedinstvo" – Posljednji ustroj JNA" ["Unity" – The last order of battle of the JNA]. Polemos: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research on War and Peace (in Croatian). Croatian Sociological Association and Jesenski & Turk Publishing House. 6 (11–12): 11–47. ISSN 1331-5595.
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  • Pavičić, Marta (December 2009). "Ratne štete kao posljedica Domovinskog rata i njihov utjecaj na razvoj Osijeka" [War damage as a consequence of the Croatian War of Independence and its impact on development of Osijek]. Annals of the Institute for Scientific and Art Research in Osijek (in Croatian). Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (25): 149–164. ISSN 1332-456X.
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  • Bajto, Amoreta (18 December 2011). "Đavolja greda" [Devil's Beam] (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision.
  • "Serb leader Tadic apologises for 1991 Vukovar massacre". BBC. 4 November 2010.
  • "21 years since massacre of civilians in Croatia". B92. 11 December 2012.
  • Bajto, Amoreta (28 June 2012). [Day of the defenders of Osijek: "Opća opasnost" in the city tonight] (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  • "Optužnica protiv 13 oficira JNA zbog razaranja Osijeka" [Charges against 13 JNA officers for destruction of Osijek]. Blic (in Serbian). Tanjug. 17 November 2008. from the original on 30 November 2013.
  • Čizmić, Martina (28 September 2010). "Branimir Glavaš uhićen i odveden u pritvor u Drinovcima" [Branimir Glavaš arrested and in custody in Drinovci]. Nacional (in Croatian). from the original on 1 October 2010.
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  • Harden, Blaine (6 September 1991). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  • Janić, Adelina (17 December 2012). [21st Anniversary of Operation Devil's Beam Marked] (in Croatian). Baranja Medija. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  • Jurasić, Marinko (12 January 2015). "Ustavni sud ukinuo osuđujuću presudu Vrhovnog suda Branimiru Glavašu" [Constitutional Court Sets Aside Supreme Court Conviction of Branimir Glavaš]. Večernji list (in Croatian).
  • "HDSSB se neće odreći zločinca" [HDSSB will not give up the criminal]. Nacional (in Croatian). HINA. 27 April 2012. from the original on 13 October 2013.
  • Pejić, Darko (19 December 2014). "Prisjećanje na uspješnu akciju Đavolja greda" [Commemoration of Successful Operation Devil's Beam]. Glas Slavonije (in Croatian).
  • Rački-Kristić, Željka (16 November 2011). "HNK gorio pod granatama. "Gledali smo u zgradu kao u pokojnika"" [Croatian National Theatre burned in bombardment. "We stared at the building as if it just died"]. Večernji list (in Croatian). from the original on 30 November 2013.
  • "Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts". The New York Times. Reuters. 19 August 1990. from the original on 21 September 2013.
  • "Skidamo prašinu: Vojno-redarstvena akcija Đavolja greda" [Removing Dust From: Military and Police Operation Devil's Beam] (in Croatian). SIB.hr portal. 23 December 2013.
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  • Silber, Laura (4 December 1991). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  • Sudetic, Chuck (2 April 1991). "Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity". The New York Times. from the original on 2 October 2013.
  • Šimičević, Hrvoje (8 May 2009). "Glavaš osuđen na 10 godina zatvora, Šišljagić i HDSSB ga skrivaju" [Glavaš sentenced to 10 years in prison, Šišljagić and HDSSB shelter him]. Nacional (in Croatian). from the original on 11 May 2009.
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  • "Vance Reportedly Makes Gains on Peacekeepers for Croatia". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 9 December 1991.
  • Vukotić, Mirko (6 December 2012). "Hrvatska ne može, neće i ne smije zaboraviti svoje junake, rekao je ministar" [Croatia can not, will not and must not forget its heroes, said the minister]. Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). from the original on 30 November 2013.
  • Zelenić, Ksenija (18 December 2014). [Anniversary of Operation Devil's Beam] (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2015.

Further reading edit

  • Blaskovich, Jerry (1997). Anatomy of Deceit: An American Physician's First-Hand Encounter With the Realities of the War in Croatia. Sonoma, California: Dunhill Publishing. ISBN 978-0-935016-24-6. – Chapter 6: The Devastation of Osijek and the Smoldering Ashes of Vukovar

45°34′N 18°40′E / 45.56°N 18.67°E / 45.56; 18.67

February 16, 2024
battle, osijek, part, croatian, independencedateaugust, 1991, june, 1992locationosijek, croatiaresultno, territorial, changes, croatia, retains, control, osijekbelligerentsyugoslavia, croatiacommanders, leadersandrija, biorčevićbranimir, glavaš, karl, gorinšek. Battle of OsijekPart of the Croatian War of IndependenceDateAugust 1991 June 1992LocationOsijek CroatiaResultNo territorial changes Croatia retains control of OsijekBelligerentsYugoslavia CroatiaCommanders and leadersAndrija BiorcevicBranimir Glavas Karl GorinsekCasualties and lossesUnknown800 soldiers and civilians killed The Battle of Osijek Serbo Croatian Bitka za Osijek was the artillery bombardment of the Croatian city of Osijek by the Yugoslav People s Army JNA which took place from August 1991 to June 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence Shelling peaked in late November and December 1991 then diminished in 1992 after the Vance plan was accepted by the combatants Airstrikes and attacks by JNA infantry and armored units against targets in the city accompanied the bombardment which caused approximately 800 deaths and resulted in a large portion of the city s population leaving Croatian sources estimated that 6 000 artillery shells were fired against Osijek over the period After the JNA captured Vukovar on 18 November 1991 Osijek was the next target for its campaign in Croatia The JNA units subordinated to the 12th Novi Sad Corps supported by the Serb Volunteer Guard achieved modest advances in late November and early December capturing several villages south of Osijek but the Croatian Army maintained its defensive front and limited the JNA s advances In the aftermath of the Battle of Osijek Croatian authorities charged thirteen JNA officers with war crimes against civilians but no arrests have been made to date Croatian authorities also charged the wartime commander of Osijek s defence Branimir Glavas and five others with war crimes committed in the city in 1991 The five were convicted and received sentences ranging between eight and ten years and as of March 2015 judicial proceedings against Glavas are in progress Contents 1 Background 2 Timeline 2 1 Bombardment of the city 2 2 Ground offensive 2 3 Operation Devil s Beam 3 Aftermath 3 1 War crime trials 4 Footnotes 5 References 6 Further readingBackground editIn 1990 following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia ethnic tensions worsened The Yugoslav People s Army Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija JNA confiscated the weapons of Croatia s Territorial Defence Teritorijalna obrana TO to minimize potential resistance 1 On 17 August 1990 the escalating tensions turned into open revolt by the Croatian Serbs 2 The revolt took place in the predominantly Serb populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin 3 and in parts of the Lika Kordun Banovina regions and eastern Croatia 4 In January 1991 Serbia supported by Montenegro and Serbia s provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo made two unsuccessful attempts to obtain approval from the Yugoslav Presidency to deploy the JNA to disarm Croatian security forces 5 After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and Croatian special police in March 6 the JNA itself supported by Serbia and its allies asked the federal Presidency to grant it wartime powers and declare a state of emergency The request was denied on 15 March 1991 7 and the JNA came under the control of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in the summer of 1991 as the Yugoslav federation started to fall apart 8 By the end of the month the conflict had escalated resulting in the first fatalities of the war 9 The JNA then stepped in to support the insurgents and prevent Croatian police from intervening 7 In early April leaders of the Serb revolt in Croatia announced their intention to integrate the areas under their control with Serbia The Government of Croatia considered this an act of secession 10 Timeline edit nbsp Map showing the fighting in eastern Slavonia September 1991 January 1992 Osijek is located in the bulge salient near the top of the mapThe JNA intervened directly against Croatia for the first time on 3 July 1991 driving Croatian forces out of Baranja north of the city of Osijek 11 and out of Erdut Aljmas and Dalj east of Osijek 12 The advance was followed by intermittent fighting around Osijek Vukovar and Vinkovci 13 At several points JNA positions approached to within several hundred yards of Osijek city limits 14 The JNA units near Osijek were subordinated to the 12th Novi Sad Corps 15 commanded by Major General Andrija Biorcevic 16 In the city itself the JNA had several barracks which housed the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade and the 12th Mixed Artillery Regiment 17 The 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade contained one of a handful battalions maintained by the JNA at full combat readiness 18 Osijek was established as their starting point in a planned westward offensive toward Nasice and Bjelovar 15 Croatian forces in the area were formally subordinated to the Operational Zone Command in Osijek headed by Colonel Karl Gorinsek 19 In practice the city s defense was overseen by Branimir Glavas then head of the National Defence Office in Osijek according to information presented at Glavas trial in the 2000s Glavas formally became commander of city defenses on 7 December 1991 20 Bombardment of the city edit nbsp Partially repaired bombardment damage in OsijekThe JNA first attacked Osijek by mortar fire on 31 July 1991 21 and heavily bombarded the city s center on 19 August 1991 22 The attacks came from positions north east and south of Osijek 23 and were supported by JNA garrisons stationed in Osijek itself 24 On 7 9 September an inconclusive battle was fought in Tenja within three kilometres 1 9 miles of the city 25 The JNA garrisons were besieged by Croatian forces in mid September After a barracks in the city centre was captured on 15 September 1991 26 the remaining JNA garrison tried to break through the Croatian troops besieging the barracks and after heavy fighting reached JNA positions south of Osijek on 17 September 1991 17 The intensity of the shelling increased thereafter peaking through November and December After a ceasefire was arranged in January 1992 following the acceptance of the Vance plan the artillery attacks dropped off and became intermittent 27 and ceased by June 23 During its height the intensity of the bombardment was reported to reach as high as one shell per minute 28 and the artillery attacks were compounded by Yugoslav Air Force strikes against the city 29 According to Croatian sources a total of 6 000 artillery shells were fired against Osijek in the period 30 Prior to the start of the bombardment the civilian population of Osijek totaled 104 761 city residents and 129 792 municipal residents 31 These numbers were significantly reduced as civilians fled the fighting It is estimated that only about a third of the population remained in the city by the end of November 32 with some sources placing the estimate even lower suggesting that the population of the city was reduced to just 10 000 civilians during the most intense periods of the bombardment 33 Those who remained in Osijek through the fighting generally slept in bomb shelters 14 Ground offensive edit nbsp nbsp Vukovar nbsp Vinkovci nbsp Osijek nbsp Tenja nbsp Nemetin nbsp Ernestinovo nbsp Đakovo nbsp Antunovac nbsp Laslovo nbsp Paulin Dvor nbsp Erdut nbsp Dalj nbsp Tvrđavicaclass notpageimage Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar Modern county lines provided for reference After JNA captured Vukovar on 18 November the JNA 12th Novi Sad Corps supported by the Serbian Ministry of Interior trained Serb Volunteer Guard paramilitaries 34 35 started to advance west between Vinkovci and Osijek on 20 November 34 The city of Osijek appeared to be the next target of the JNA 36 which was later confirmed by General Zivota Panic commander of the JNA 1st Military District 37 On 21 November 1991 the JNA captured the villages of Stari Seles Novi Seles and Ernestinovo situated approximately ten kilometres 6 2 miles south of Osijek Laslovo five kilometres 3 1 miles south of Ernestinovo was captured three days later Those developments threatened Đakovo and pointed to the potential encirclement of Osijek 12 On 4 December 1991 the Special Envoy of Secretary General of the United Nations Cyrus Vance visited Osijek to inspect the damage 38 In early December the JNA made modest advances capturing Antunovac located six kilometres 3 7 miles south of Osijek on 5 December 1991 12 On the same day an armoured JNA force unsuccessfully attacked positions held by the Croatian 106th Brigade in Rosinjaca Forest near Nemetin approximately two kilometres 1 2 miles east of Osijek 39 On 6 December the JNA pushed Croatian troops out from Tenja 12 followed by a heavy attack against Osijek repulsed by the Croatian Army Hrvatska vojska HV on 7 December 40 On 11 December HV personnel entered the frontline village of Paulin Dvor less than three kilometres 1 9 miles west of Ernestinovo 12 and summarily executed 19 civilians 18 Serbs and one Hungarian 41 42 The JNA captured Paulin Dvor five days later on 16 December 12 and attacked Osijek once again 43 The HV managed to contain the attack though fighting continued south of Osijek until January 1992 34 Operation Devil s Beam edit Advances of the JNA north of Osijek threatened HV control of a narrow bridgehead held across the Drava River skirting the city s northern edge By mid December the bridgehead was reduced to a strip of land opposite Osijek encompassing suburban settlements of Podravlje and Tvrđavica In order to remove the threat the HV launched an offensive codenamed Operation Devil s Beam Croatian Operacija Đavolja greda on 17 18 December The offensive involving the 1st Battalion of the 135th Brigade elements of the special forces Frankopan Battalion and the Osijek based Orao special police unit Drava River flotilla artillery of the 106th Brigade 44 and personnel of the 4th Beli Manastir Police Station 45 successfully pushed the JNA north across Stara Drava oxbow lake located approximately four kilometres 2 5 miles north of Osijek 46 The JNA also withdrew from the village of Kopacevo towards Darda and Vardarac but the HV did not have sufficient resources to exploit the development 47 The HV lost eight killed in the offensive 48 but the JNA s advance towards Osijek from the north was halted 45 Aftermath editBy June 1992 approximately 800 people had been killed by the bombardment 27 By the end of the Croatian War of Independence in 1995 a total of 1 724 people from Osijek had been killed including 1 327 soldiers and 397 civilians 49 The city itself suffered great damage during the war with the bulk of direct damage occurring as a consequence of the 1991 92 bombardment 50 Direct war damage sustained by the city was estimated at a total of US 1 3 billion 51 The damage was regularly recorded by 400 volunteers during the bombardment 52 Although media reported on the bombardment of Osijek journalists in the city itself felt that it was receiving an unduly low level of media coverage compared to wartime events elsewhere in Croatia 53 The attacks on Osijek were welcomed by the Pravoslavlje newspaper published by the Serbian Orthodox Church which appeared to give a blessing to the attack as a part of a holy war setting it in the context of World War II massacres and concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia 54 The JNA withdrew from Croatia in 1992 but continued to contribute personnel and equipment to the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina ARSK which controlled the areas previously held by the JNA 55 Although the United Nations Protection Force peacekeepers deployed to the area on the basis of the Vance plan and placed most of the ARSK heavy weapons in storage 56 Osijek was intermittently bombarded throughout the war the last artillery strike occurred in September 1995 57 The hostilities ceased in November 1995 through the Erdut Agreement securing restoration of Croatian rule in the region 58 In November 2010 then Croatian President Ivo Josipovic officially apologized for the Paulin Dvor massacre shortly after his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic issued a formal apology for the massacre at Vukovar 41 War crime trials edit In 2008 Croatian authorities formally charged Colonel Boro Ivanovic commanding officer of the JNA 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade and twelve other JNA officers with war crimes against the civilian population The charges include causing the deaths of 307 civilians in Osijek and surrounding areas injuries to another 171 civilians and the destruction of at least 1 188 different structures As of 2013 update all of the indicted officers remain at large in Serbia 59 In 2005 the Osijek District Court convicted former Croatian soldier Nikola Ivankovic for his involvement in the killings at Paulin Dvor and sentenced him to 15 years in prison In 2012 Enes Viteskovic was also convicted for his involvement in the atrocity and given an eleven year sentence 42 After the war five Croatian fighters were charged and convicted of eleven counts of murder one of attempted murder and one of torture of Serb civilians found in the JNA barracks which surrendered on 15 September 1991 They received prison sentences of between five and eight years Glavas who was tried alongside them for the same crimes received a ten year sentence 26 60 Before the conviction became final in 2009 and to avoid extradition Glavas fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he had granted citizenship His sentence was reduced to eight years and became final in 2010 when he was arrested and imprisoned in Bosnia and Herzegovina 61 In January 2015 the conviction was set aside by the Constitutional Court of Croatia pending a new trial before the Supreme Court of Croatia 62 Footnotes edit Hoare 2010 p 117 Hoare 2010 p 118 The New York Times 19 August 1990 Woodward 1995 p 170 Hoare 2010 pp 118 119 Ramet 2006 pp 384 385 a b Hoare 2010 p 119 Sell 2002 p 373 The New York Times 3 March 1991 The New York Times 2 April 1991 Ramet 2006 p 397 a b c d e f Marijan 2012a p 111 CIA 2002 p 93 a b The Washington Post 6 September 1991 a b Marijan 2012b p 261 Vreme 7 September 2006 a b CIA 2002b p 103 Marijan 2003 note 20 Slobodna Dalmacija 8 November 2003 Slobodna Dalmacija 26 October 2006 Libal 1997 p 30 Libal 1997 p 38 a b Ramsbotham Miall amp Woodhouse 2011 pp 308 310 Mesic 2004 p 233 CIA 2002b p 86 a b Nacional 24 October 2006 a b Jegen 1996 p 14 Bailey 2004 p 435 Ramet 2006 p 409 Nacional 27 April 2012 Andrakovic amp Jukic 2009 p 31 Los Angeles Times 26 November 1991 Ramsbotham Miall amp Woodhouse 2011 p 308 a b c CIA 2002 pp 101 102 Macdonald 2002 p 104 Ahrens 2007 p 117 CIA 2002b p 208 The Washington Post 4 December 1991 Glas Slavonije 6 December 2012 Los Angeles Times 9 December 1991 a b BBC 4 November 2010 a b B92 11 December 2011 Fraser 17 December 1991 SIB hr 23 December 2013 a b Bajto 18 December 2011 Pejic 19 December 2014 Alilovic 18 December 2014 Zelenic 18 December 2014 HRT 28 June 2012 Pavicic 2009 p 150 Pavicic 2009 p 154 Pavicic 2009 p 153 Mercier 1995 p 135 Ramet 2006 p 400 Armatta 2010 p 216 CIA 2002 p 107 Vecernji list 16 November 2011 Ramet amp Matic 2007 p 46 Blic 17 November 2008 Nacional 8 May 2009 Nacional 28 September 2010 Jurasic 12 January 2015 References editBooksAhrens Geert Hinrich 2007 Diplomacy on the Edge Containment of Ethnic Conflict and the Minorities Working Group of the Conferences on Yugoslavia Washington D C Woodrow Wilson Center Press ISBN 978 0 8018 8557 0 Armatta Judith 2010 Twilight of Impunity The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic Durham North Carolina Duke University Press ISBN 978 0 8223 4746 0 Bailey Jonathan B A 2004 Field Artillery and Firepower Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 59114 029 0 Central Intelligence Agency Office of Russian and European Analysis 2002 Balkan Battlegrounds A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict 1990 1995 Washington D C Central Intelligence Agency ISBN 978 0 16 066472 4 OCLC 50396958 Central Intelligence Agency Office of Russian and European Analysis 2002 Balkan battlegrounds a military history of the Yugoslav conflict 1990 1995 Volume 2 Washington D C Central Intelligence Agency ISBN 978 0 16 066472 4 Hoare Marko Attila 2010 The War of Yugoslav Succession In Ramet Sabrina P ed Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989 Cambridge England Cambridge University Press pp 111 136 ISBN 978 1 139 48750 4 Libal Michael 1997 Limits of Persuasion Germany and the Yugoslav Crisis 1991 1992 Westport Connecticut Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 275 95798 8 Mesic Stjepan 2004 The Demise of Yugoslavia A Political Memoir Budapest Hungary Central European University Press ISBN 978 963 9241 81 7 Ramet Sabrina P Matic Davorka 2007 Democratic Transition in Croatia Value Transformation Education amp Media College Station Texas Texas A amp M University Press ISBN 978 1 58544 587 5 Jegen Mary Evelyn 1996 Sign of Hope the Center for Peace Nonviolence and Human Rights in Osijek Uppsala Sweden Life amp Peace Institute ISBN 978 91 87748 34 9 Macdonald David Bruce 2002 Balkan Holocausts Serbian and Croatian Victim Centered Propaganda and the War in Yugoslavia Manchester England Manchester University Press ISBN 978 0 7190 6467 8 Mercier Michele 1995 Crimes Without Punishment Humanitarian Action in Former Yugoslavia Basingstoke England Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978 0 7453 1080 0 Ramet Sabrina P 2006 The Three Yugoslavias State Building And Legitimation 1918 2006 Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 34656 8 Ramsbotham Oliver Miall Hugh Woodhouse Tom 2011 Contemporary Conflict Resolution Cambridge England Polity ISBN 978 0 7456 4973 3 Sell Louis 2002 Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia Durham North Carolina Duke University Press ISBN 978 0 8223 3223 7 Woodward Susan L 1995 Balkan Tragedy Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War Washington D C Brookings Institution Press ISBN 9780815722953 Scientific journal articlesAndrakovic Verica Jukic Marijan December 2009 Dinamika stanovnistva grada Osijeka od 1857 do 2001 godine Population dynamics in the city of Osijek from 1857 till 2001 Annals of the Institute for Scientific and Art Research in Osijek in Croatian Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts 25 23 45 ISSN 1332 456X Marijan Davor December 2003 Jedinstvo Posljednji ustroj JNA Unity The last order of battle of the JNA Polemos Journal of Interdisciplinary Research on War and Peace in Croatian Croatian Sociological Association and Jesenski amp Turk Publishing House 6 11 12 11 47 ISSN 1331 5595 Marijan Davor May 2012 The Sarajevo Ceasefire Realism or strategic error by the Croatian leadership Review of Croatian History Croatian Institute of History 7 1 103 123 ISSN 1845 4380 Marijan Davor November 2012 Zamisao i propast napadne operacije Jugoslavenske narodne armije na Hrvatsku u rujnu 1991 godine The Conception and Failure of the Offensive Operation of the Yugoslav National Army in September 1991 Journal of Contemporary History in Croatian Croatian Institute of History 44 2 251 275 ISSN 0590 9597 Pavicic Marta December 2009 Ratne stete kao posljedica Domovinskog rata i njihov utjecaj na razvoj Osijeka War damage as a consequence of the Croatian War of Independence and its impact on development of Osijek Annals of the Institute for Scientific and Art Research in Osijek in Croatian Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts 25 149 164 ISSN 1332 456X News reportsAlilovic Sasa 18 December 2014 23 godine od Đavolje grede 23 Years Since Devil s Beam in Croatian Radio Baranja Archived from the original on 11 November 2020 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Bajto Amoreta 18 December 2011 Đavolja greda Devil s Beam in Croatian Croatian Radiotelevision Serb leader Tadic apologises for 1991 Vukovar massacre BBC 4 November 2010 21 years since massacre of civilians in Croatia B92 11 December 2012 Bajto Amoreta 28 June 2012 Dan osjeckih branitelja Opca opasnost veceras Day of the defenders of Osijek Opca opasnost in the city tonight in Croatian Croatian Radiotelevision Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Retrieved 11 July 2013 Optuznica protiv 13 oficira JNA zbog razaranja Osijeka Charges against 13 JNA officers for destruction of Osijek Blic in Serbian Tanjug 17 November 2008 Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Cizmic Martina 28 September 2010 Branimir Glavas uhicen i odveden u pritvor u Drinovcima Branimir Glavas arrested and in custody in Drinovci Nacional in Croatian Archived from the original on 1 October 2010 Cvitic Plamenko 24 October 2006 Srbe ubijala somborska skupina Serbs were killed by the Sombor Group Nacional in Croatian Archived from the original on 22 January 2012 Đuricic Vuk 26 October 2006 Smrt je stizala crvenim Yugom Death arrived in a red Yugo Slobodna Dalmacija in Croatian Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Đuricic Vuk 8 November 2003 Transport kostiju Bone Transport Slobodna Dalmacija in Croatian Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Engelberg Stephen 3 March 1991 Belgrade Sends Troops to Croatia Town The New York Times Archived from the original on 2 October 2013 Fraser John 17 December 1991 EC Agrees a Compromise Deal over Yugoslavia Pressure from Bonn Speeds up Support for Breakaway Regions The Herald Glasgow Harden Blaine 6 September 1991 Besieged Croatian City Groans Under Shelling Serb Guerrillas Press Attack on Osijek The Washington Post Archived from the original on 6 November 2012 Retrieved 18 July 2011 Janic Adelina 17 December 2012 Obiljezena 21 obljetnica akcije Đavolja greda 21st Anniversary of Operation Devil s Beam Marked in Croatian Baranja Medija Archived from the original on 15 March 2015 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Jurasic Marinko 12 January 2015 Ustavni sud ukinuo osuđujucu presudu Vrhovnog suda Branimiru Glavasu Constitutional Court Sets Aside Supreme Court Conviction of Branimir Glavas Vecernji list in Croatian HDSSB se nece odreci zlocinca HDSSB will not give up the criminal Nacional in Croatian HINA 27 April 2012 Archived from the original on 13 October 2013 Pejic Darko 19 December 2014 Prisjecanje na uspjesnu akciju Đavolja greda Commemoration of Successful Operation Devil s Beam Glas Slavonije in Croatian Racki Kristic Zeljka 16 November 2011 HNK gorio pod granatama Gledali smo u zgradu kao u pokojnika Croatian National Theatre burned in bombardment We stared at the building as if it just died Vecernji list in Croatian Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts The New York Times Reuters 19 August 1990 Archived from the original on 21 September 2013 Skidamo prasinu Vojno redarstvena akcija Đavolja greda Removing Dust From Military and Police Operation Devil s Beam in Croatian SIB hr portal 23 December 2013 Scattered Shelling Mars Latest Yugoslav Cease Fire Los Angeles Times Associated Press 26 November 1991 Archived from the original on 5 November 2012 Silber Laura 4 December 1991 Vance Inspects Damage in Besieged Croatian City The Washington Post Archived from the original on 6 November 2012 Retrieved 18 July 2011 Sudetic Chuck 2 April 1991 Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity The New York Times Archived from the original on 2 October 2013 Simicevic Hrvoje 8 May 2009 Glavas osuđen na 10 godina zatvora Sisljagic i HDSSB ga skrivaju Glavas sentenced to 10 years in prison Sisljagic and HDSSB shelter him Nacional in Croatian Archived from the original on 11 May 2009 Svarm Filip 7 September 2006 Dete Sluzbe Service Issue Vreme in Serbian Archived from the original on 6 February 2012 Vance Reportedly Makes Gains on Peacekeepers for Croatia Los Angeles Times Associated Press 9 December 1991 Vukotic Mirko 6 December 2012 Hrvatska ne moze nece i ne smije zaboraviti svoje junake rekao je ministar Croatia can not will not and must not forget its heroes said the minister Glas Slavonije in Croatian Archived from the original on 30 November 2013 Zelenic Ksenija 18 December 2014 Godisnjica akcije Đavolja greda Anniversary of Operation Devil s Beam in Croatian Croatian Radiotelevision Archived from the original on 24 January 2022 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Further reading editBlaskovich Jerry 1997 Anatomy of Deceit An American Physician s First Hand Encounter With the Realities of the War in Croatia Sonoma California Dunhill Publishing ISBN 978 0 935016 24 6 Chapter 6 The Devastation of Osijek and the Smoldering Ashes of Vukovar 45 34 N 18 40 E 45 56 N 18 67 E 45 56 18 67 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Osijek amp oldid 1177867812, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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