storm - Hrvatski memorijalno-dokumentacijski centar Domovinskog ...

districts ZP Zagreb shift ed the 99 th Brigade to ZP Karlovac, the 150 th Brigade to ZP
Gospić, the 145 th Brigade to ZP Split and the 144 th Brigade to the Southern Th eatre. 147
Th e task of the Karlovac Corps District was to crush the SVK Kordun Corps and
free Kordun. It was to receive reinforcements comprising the HV 99 th Brigade from the
Zagreb Corps District, the HV 104 th Brigade, the 13 th Anti-Armour Artillery-Rocket
Battalion, a tank company (of six tanks which never arrived), all from the Bjelovar Corps
District, a company from the 33 rd Engineer Brigade, and special MUP units from the
Karlovac Police Department (which never arrived because they were transferred to
Lika). 148
Th e mission of the Gospić Corps District was to smash the SVK Lika Corps, free Lika
and link up with the ARBiH 5 th Corps at Korenička Kapela - Tržačka Raštela. According
to the plan, the corps was to be reinforced with the HV General Staff 1 st Guards Brigade,
the HV 150 th Brigade, the 2 nd Company of the ABKO 50 th Battalion from ZP Zagreb, and
special MUP units from the Rijeka-Senj and Istria police departments. 149
In cooperation with special MUP forces, ZP split was to deal with the SVK North
Dalmatian Corps and free the occupied parts of Dalmatia. Planned reinforcement
comprised the HV General Staff 7 th Guards Brigade, the 2 nd Battalion of the ZP Gospić
9 th Guards Brigade, the 145 th ZP Zagreb Brigade (which did not arrive and remained
within ZP Zagreb), a 203 mm howitzer battery from ZP Zagreb and MUP units. 150
Th e Osijek Corps District supported the operation as provided for by Directive Feniks
(Phoenix) of the Chief of the HV General Staff . Its mission was to be monitored by
the forward command post of the HV General Staff set up in Đakovo with Lieutenant-
General Petar Stipetić in command, appointed to the post on 3 August 1995, one
day before the start of the operation. 151 Th e Southern Th eatre was responsible for the
defensive operation codenamed Maestral (Breeze). 152
147 MORH, GSHV: GS HV, RP/12-1/95 of 26 June 1995; Attack directive Op. no 12-1/95, Storm-1.
148 SVA MORH, GSHV: GS HV, RP/12-2-95 of 26 June 1995; Attack directive, Op. no. 12-2/95, Storm-2. Published
in J. Bobetko, “Sve moje bitke” (All My Battles), 441-451.
149 SVA MORH, GSHV: GS HV, RP/12-3-95 of 26 June 1995; Attack directive, Op.no. 12-3/95, Storm-3. Published
in J. Bobetko, “Sve moje bitke” (All My Battles), 462-475.
150 SVA MORH, GSHV: GS HV, RP/12-4-95 of 26 June 1995; Attack directive, Op. no. 12-4/95, Storm-4. Published
in J. Bobetko, “Sve moje bitke” (All My Battles), 448-491. In commenting on the mission of ZP Split as defi ned in
the GSHV Directive of 26. June 1995, General R- Rakić noted that the foregoing was at the time one of the variants
for ZP Split which was not implemented aft er 4 August 1995 because major and essential changes had taken
place in the meantime, both for ZP Split and for the HV in general (the Srebrenica massacre, the Split Declaration,
the military-police operation Summer ’95 which freed Grahovo and Glamoč); he also noted that ZP Split was
reinforced by the HV 144th Brigade rather than by the HV 145th Brigade, and Special MUP RH forces on Mount
Velebit were only present on the left fl ank of ZP Split (their zone of responsibility having been between ZP Split
and ZP Gospić), that the main route of attack of ZP Split in Storm was diff erent than planned, Velebit-Otrić, and
that due account needs to be taken of the fact that the Directive under consideration was written 35 days before
the well-known meeting at Brijuni, and that on 29 July 1995 that Directive could have been “shelved or modifi ed”.
HMDCDR: General Rajko Rakić’s comments on the text about ZP Split in the military-police operation Storm.
151 GS HV, cl. 80-01/95-02/08, reg. no. 512-06-05/01-95-3512 of 3 August 1995; Order.
152 MORH, GSHV: Southern Th eatre Comm., cl.8/95-02/115, reg. no. 3105-01-01-95-103 of 7 August 1995; Report.
Southern Th eatre Comm., cl. 8/95-02/115, reg. no. 3105-01-01-95-127 of 10 August 1995; Excerpt from the
defence order of the Southern Th eatre commander.
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