10 day war
| date | June 26 to July 7, 1991 |
|---|---|
| place | Slovenia |
| Casus Belli | Declaration of independence by Slovenia |
| output | Slovenian victory |
| consequences | Independence of Slovenia |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 30,000 | approx. 35,000 |
| losses | |
|
18 dead and 182 wounded |
44 dead and 146 wounded. 4,693 prisoners by the TO (NATO information) |
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The 10-Day War (also Slovenian War ; Slovenian War of Independence ) was a military conflict in Yugoslavia that lasted from June 26 to July 7, 1991 as a result of Slovenia's declaration of independence on June 25, 1991 between the Yugoslav People's Army and the Slovenian Territorial Defense . The war ended with the signing of the Brioni Agreement . It is considered the beginning of the armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia .
The conflict
After the communist Slovenian MPs left the national parliament of Yugoslavia for good in the spring of 1989 in protest, the first democratic elections were initiated in Slovenia in September 1989. The Slovenian Communist Party , which had ruled alone until then , approved the elections in November 1989, although the Belgrade party headquarters pushed for a ban. In April 1990, despite massive threats from Belgrade, the first free parliamentary and presidential elections were held. The new, democratically legitimized government of Slovenia then tried to agree on a kind of confederative state structure with the Yugoslav government, but this failed. The Slovenian government and the Slovenian President Milan Kučan as well as the Catholic Church began in July 1990 to come to terms with the war crimes of the Second World War in Kočevski Rog , in order to begin an unencumbered new beginning for Slovenia, with broad approval of the population.
On December 23, 1990, a referendum was held on Slovenia's independence. With a result of 88.2%, the Slovenes voted for statehood. In spring 1991 the Slovenian government tried for the last time to find a consensus in the form of a confederation between Slovenia and the Yugoslav government, but this attempt also failed.
On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia broke away from the state association of Yugoslavia and declared their independence. Immediately afterwards, the Slovenian police and the armed forces of the Slovenian territorial defense Teritorialna Obramba (TO) took over control of the border crossings to Italy, Austria and Hungary and the security of air control at the Slovenian airports. The Yugoslav Prime Minister Ante Marković thereupon authorized the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) to "protect the state borders, both at border crossings and in regions that are in the border area".
The fighting began on June 27th. There were several skirmishes between Slovenian police officers and the Slovenian Territorial Defense on the one hand and the Yugoslav People's Army on the other. Especially at international border crossings, such as B. Spielfeld , a danger was often seen during acts of war that Austria could be drawn into these armed conflicts. For this reason, the Austrian Armed Forces moved troops to the southern border with Slovenia. Fierce fighting raged at border crossings, which were also close to barracks , resulting in high damage and some deaths.
Many tank units of the Yugoslav People's Army never reached their goals in northern Slovenia, as the Slovenian territorial defense, after months of preparation, was able to successfully defend itself with anti-tank traps at the important traffic points. Since northern Slovenia is an Alpine region, the well-armed Yugoslav armed forces could not counteract with air strikes. Nevertheless, Yugoslav MIGs got lost far into Austrian airspace ( Graz ).
At the same time, many barracks were blocked and sabotaged in Croatia (which was itself in the process of independence). Croats and Bosnians in the Yugoslav People's Army immediately surrendered to the Slovenian territorial defense because they did not want to take part in an armed conflict. According to TV stations at the time, around 3800 soldiers of the Yugoslav People's Army surrendered to the Slovenian TO within a few days. According to official information, a total of 4693 members of the JNA and 252 federal police officers were captured by the Slovenian territorial defense.
After ten days a ceasefire was agreed. Therefore, one speaks of the 10-day war to this day .
In October 1991 the last Yugoslav soldier left Slovenian soil.
The armed forces
In the conflict there were around 30,000 (information provided by the staff) to 35,200 (information provided by NATO ) from the Yugoslav People's Army and around 26,000 (information provided by NATO) to 30,000 (information provided by the General Staff of the Slovenian TO) from the Slovenian territorial defense . These were mainly recruited by the new state of Slovenia from associations of the former Yugoslav territorial defense of Slovenia and the police. However, the JNA figures are to be viewed critically, as different information from the JNA staff and various press releases from this period are available. Also because of the many deserters, defectors for Slovenian territorial defense and blocked units in the barracks and streets, half of the units of the Yugoslav People's Army will actually have achieved their position goals or have faced the Slovenian units. 30% of the total strength of the RV i PVO (Yugoslav Air Force) and in some units up to 76% of the pilots were of Slovenian descent. About 200 members of the RV i PVO decided to change sides before the end of the conflict.
procedure
June 26th
On the morning of June 26th, units of the 13th Corps of the Yugoslav People's Army left their barracks in Rijeka , Croatia , to move towards the Slovenian- Italian border. This immediately led to strong reactions from local Slovenes who spontaneously raised barricades and organized demonstrations against the actions of the Yugoslav People's Army. There was no fighting yet; both sides were apparently trying not to fire the first shot.
At this point the Slovenian government was already putting its plan into action to gain control of the republic's border posts and the airport in the capital Ljubljana . Most of the border posts were manned by Slovenes anyway, so that the takeover took place mostly without fighting and only consisted of an exchange of uniforms and insignia. According to Janez Janša , the aim was to initially enforce the country's sovereignty in the critical areas of border control, customs and air surveillance.
The occupation of the border crossings had both economic and strategic importance. Customs revenues represented a significant proportion of the revenues of the Yugoslav Federation. In addition, this brought Slovenia into the position of defender against the background of the expected intervention of the Yugoslav People's Army. One of the most important strategic factors was that Slovenia would have been isolated from abroad if the borders had been occupied by the Yugoslav People's Army.
June 27th
A unit of the JNA's 306th Air Defense Regiment, stationed in Karlovac , Croatia, crossed the Slovenian border at Metlika . A few hours later a column of JNA tanks and armored personnel carriers left their barracks in Vrhnika (Oberlaibach) near the Slovenian capital Ljubljana in the direction of the capital's airport. They arrived a few hours later and occupied the buildings. In the east, units of the JNA left Maribor in the direction of the nearby Šentilj border crossing and the border town of Dravograd a little further to the west . The Yugoslav Air Force distributed leaflets over different parts of Slovenia.
The Slovenian leadership was informed early on of the JNA troop movements. The military leadership of the 5th Military District, which also included Slovenia, was in telephone contact with the Slovenian President Milan Kučan and informed him that it was the task of the units to take over the border crossings and the airport. A meeting of the Slovenian cabinet was hastily convened, in which Kučan and the other members decided on armed resistance.
The Slovenian government had been warned that the JNA would use helicopters to deploy special forces in strategic locations. She warned the leadership of the 5th Military District in the Croatian capital Zagreb that all military helicopters would be shot down. The JNA leadership ignored the warning, assuming that the Slovenes would not offer serious resistance. This turned out to be a serious misjudgment. On the afternoon of June 27th, units of the Slovenian Territorial Forces (TO) shot down two JNA helicopters over Ljubljana, killing their occupants, including a Slovenian pilot.
The Slovenian Territorial Forces also took up positions around various JNA barracks and carried out some attacks on JNA units in Slovenia. A TO unit attacked the JNA units that were occupying the capital's airport. Four JNA soldiers died in a firefight in Trzin , the rest surrendered; one soldier died on the side of the TO. In Pesnica , Ormož and Koseze (near Ilirska Bistrica ) units of the TO tank columns of the JNA attacked. A column of tanks from the 32nd Mechanized Brigade advancing from Varaždin in Croatia was stopped in Ormož near the Slovenian-Croatian border and was unable to break through the Slovenian barricades on its own.
Despite the confusion and fighting, the JNA was able to carry out most of its mission successfully. By the end of June 27, all crossings to Italy, all but three crossings to Austria and several of the newly built crossings to Croatia had been taken. However, many JNA units were still stuck in unprotected positions within Slovenia.
June 28th
On the night of June 28th, the units of the Slovenian Territorial Forces received the order to begin a general offensive against the JNA units. The Slovenian Ministry of Defense ordered:
“In all places where the armed forces of the Republic of Slovenia have a tactical advantage, offensive actions against enemy units and buildings are carried out. The enemy is asked to surrender, with the closest possible ultimatum and using all available weapons. During the deployment, all necessary precautions must be taken to evacuate and protect settlements. "
In the course of the day the JNA tank column, which had been attacked the day before near Pesnica, was stopped a few kilometers from the Austrian border by a barricade made of trucks near Strihovec and came under fire from TO units and the police. The Yugoslav Air Force made two attacks against the Slovenian positions, killing four truck drivers. In Medvedjek in Central Slovenia six truck drivers during air raids killed at another truck barricade. Heavy fighting broke out near Nova Gorica on the Italian border, where Slovenian special forces destroyed three JNA T-55 tanks and captured three more. Four JNA soldiers died and nearly 100 surrendered.
The border crossing at Holmec (Austrian Bleiburg / Grablach) was held by Slovenian units, with two dead on the Slovenian side and eleven on the Yugoslav side. In a missile attack by the JNA from the barracks above the border crossing, the entire border crossing was destroyed; 91 JNA soldiers were captured. The JNA barracks near Bukovje near Dravograd were attacked and the JNA weapons depot near Borovnica fell into the hands of the Slovenian TO, which significantly improved their weapons supply. The Yugoslav Air Force flew further attacks, particularly at Ljubljana Airport, in which two Austrians, the journalist Nikolas Vogel and his driver Norbert Werner, were killed and four Adria Airways scheduled aircraft were badly damaged. The air force also attacked the military headquarters at Kočevska Reka and flew missions against the Kum , Trdinov Vrh , on the Krimberg and Nanos transmitters in order to limit the influence of the Slovenian government on the population. In the Alpine regions of the border crossings, however, the Yugoslav air force was hardly successful, which is why the attacks in the north quickly subsided.
At the end of the day, the JNA still held many of its positions but was quickly losing ground. In addition, she was already suffering from increasing cases of desertion : many Croatian and remaining Slovenian soldiers of the JNA left their units or went over to the other side. Neither the local units nor the leadership in Belgrade had concrete plans for how to proceed and were simply overwhelmed by the unexpected situation in Slovenia.
June 29th
The outbreak of fighting led to diplomatic efforts on the part of the European Community to bring about an end to the crisis. Three EC foreign ministers met with representatives of the Yugoslav and Slovenian governments in Zagreb on the night of June 29th. An agreement was reached on a ceasefire plan, but it was not implemented. In the morning hours, the Slovenian side achieved some important military successes. The JNA units at Ljubljana airport surrendered to the TO troops who had surrounded the complex during the night. In the north near Strihovec, some JNA tanks were captured and integrated into a TO tank unit. JNA special forces attempted a sea landing near Hrvatini , but were expected by Slovenes and repulsed. The border crossings at Vrtojba and Šentilj also fell to the Slovenes, who captured tanks and other weapons and thus increased their arsenal.
The JNA issued an ultimatum to the Slovenian armed forces calling for all fighting to cease by 9:00 a.m. on June 30th. The Slovenian parliament rejected the ultimatum and demanded in a resolution a peaceful solution to the conflict that included Slovenia's independence.
June 30th
On June 30, a Sunday, Slovenian units captured the strategically important Karawanken tunnel in the Alps on the border with Austria and captured nine JNA tanks near Nova Gorica . The entire JNA garrison at Dravograd - 16 officers and 500 soldiers - surrendered after being surrounded for days, as did the garrisons at Tolmin and Bovec . The captured weapons were quickly distributed to the Slovenian units.
July 1
On July 1st, Slovenian units were able to take over the JNA facilities at Nova Vas south of Ljubljana. The JNA ammunition depot near Črni Vrh caught fire and was destroyed by a violent explosion, which also affected much of the city. However, the depots in Pečovnik , Bukovžlak and Zaloška Gorica could be captured, whereby the Slovenes came into possession of 70 truckloads of ammunition and explosives.
The 306th Air Defense Regiment withdrew from its exposed position near Medvedjek back to the Krakovski forest in the direction of the Croatian border. At Krško it ran into a roadblock and was surrounded by Slovenian units. Hoping for help from a relief unit , it refused to surrender.
At that point the JNA leadership asked permission to accelerate Yugoslav operations. Defense Minister Veljko Kadijević informed the Yugoslav cabinet that the original plan - a limited action to secure Slovenia's borders - had failed and that it was time for a large-scale invasion and the declaration of martial law . The cabinet, headed by the Serb Borisav Jović, refused to authorize this. The chief of staff, General Blagoje Adzić, was furious and publicly stated that the Yugoslav federal organs would continuously obstruct the army and demand negotiations, while the Slovenes would attack by any means available.
2nd July
The worst fighting of the war took place on July 2nd. That day turned out to be a disastrous day for the JNA. The tank unit in Krakovski Forest came under constant fire from Slovenian units and was forced to surrender. Units of the 4th JNA Panzer Corps attempted to advance from Jastrebarsko in Croatia, but were repulsed near the border town of Bregana . Slovenian units attacked and captured the Šentilj , Gornja Radgona , Fernetiči and Gorjansko border posts and took numerous prisoners. A long battle took place near Dravograd . On that day alone, the Slovenian Territorial Defense took around 100 prisoners.
3rd of July
On the morning of July 3, a large convoy set off from Belgrade, allegedly in the direction of Slovenia. But he never arrived there, according to official information due to machine damage. Other observers suggested that the real intention behind the troop movements was to prepare for an imminent attack on Croatian East Slavonia .
In Slovenia itself the fighting continued. A relief unit of the JNA on the way to Gornja Radgona was stopped at Radenci . The JNA was also attacked at the border post near Krog .
In the evening the Yugoslav People's Army finally agreed to an armistice and withdrew to the barracks.
4th-6th July
During the armistice, the Slovenian units took control of all border crossings in the country, while the units of the Yugoslav People's Army were allowed to withdraw to the barracks or to Croatia undisturbed.
7th of July
The 10-day war was formally ended by the Brioni Agreement , named after the Croatian Brijuni Islands, where it was negotiated and signed by representatives of Slovenia, Croatia and Yugoslavia through the mediation of the United Nations, the European Community and the Austrian government . In it, Slovenia (like Croatia) promised to suspend its independence efforts for three months. In return, the Slovenian police and the Slovenian armed forces were given control of the Slovenian territory. All Yugoslav units had to leave Slovenia by the end of October, leaving behind heavy equipment and heavy weapons. This was left to the own armed forces or sold to other republics. The withdrawal of troops began ten days after the agreement and ended on October 26th.
End of war
With the mediation of the UN , the EC and the Austrian government , a compromise was reached with the Brioni Agreement that finally ended the conflict: Slovenia was supposed to suspend its independence for a period of three months and during this time the soldiers there had to withdraw of the JNA who were doing their military service in Slovenia. Both sides adhered to the agreement, and so on October 8, 1991 the independence of the Republic of Slovenia came into effect. While the acts of war in Slovenia ceased after a short time and Slovenia became independent, another war broke out in Croatia .
The result
On the basis of various information, the Slovenian government determined the following figures - using a “rough calculation”.
The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) had 44 dead and 146 wounded, the Slovenian side 18 dead and 182 wounded. Twelve foreign nationals were killed during the fighting. There is no reliable data on the number of Slovenian soldiers killed while trying to escape from the Yugoslav People's Army. The number is estimated at around 150. There were a total of 72 armed conflicts during the war. The Slovenian government has taken into account data from NATO statistics for 1991 and figures from the Slovenian General Staff. Above all, seriously injured people who later died were included in the figures. The information provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross during this period is unreliable, as it is largely based on the official information provided by both military staff during the armed conflict. Naturally, during the war, neither party had an interest in publishing the actual numbers (propaganda from both sides) of all wounded and fallen soldiers.
There was no major destruction, which favored the development of the Slovenian economy after independence.
Unlike in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the military clashes did not drag on. This was mainly due to the following factors:
- Slovenia was the only republic with a fairly homogeneous population structure. The Serbian minority in Slovenia without a compact settlement area was at around two percent significantly smaller than in the other sub-states, so that in Slovenia and the rest of Yugoslavia, correspondingly lower support for annexation was to be expected. International pressure would probably have been higher for the same reason.
- The northern alpine regions of Slovenia could not be reached by the JNA tank units and were difficult to control by the Yugoslav Air Force.
- Many Croatian and Bosnian (and remaining Slovenian) soldiers immediately surrendered to the Slovenian territorial defense. In addition, there were many young recruits in the JNA who were overwhelmed by the situation.
literature
- Warren Zimmermann: Origins of a Catastrophe. Yugoslavia and its destroyers. New York Times Books, New York 1996.
- John B. Allcock et al .: Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia . ABC-CLIO, Denver 1998.
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - Office of Russian and European Analysis (Ed.): Balkan Battlegrounds. A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict 1990–1995. Volume 1. Washington, DC, 2002, OCLC 499994548 .
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - Office of Russian and European Analysis (Ed.): Balkan Battlegrounds. A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict 1990–1995. Volume 1. Washington, DC, 2003, OCLC 164856939 .
- James Gow, Cathie Carmichael: Slovenia and the Slovenes. C. Hurst, London 1999.
- James Gow: The Serbian Project and its Adversaries. C. Hurst, London 2003.
- Branka Magaš, Ivo Žanić (eds.): The War in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1991–1995. Frank Cass, London 2001.
- Brigadier Janez J. Svajncer: Vojna za Slovenijo, Cankarjeva zalozba, Ljubljana 1991 - Obranili domovino, Ljubljana 1993.
Web links
- Detailed course of the war, with film recordings (Slovenian) ( Memento from July 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Janez J. Švajncer: Slovenska vojska ( Memento of March 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) , May 2001 (on the website of the Information Office of the Slovenian Government, English)
- official report of the Slovenian Government (English) ( Memento of 29 August 2008 at the Internet Archive )
- Janez J. Švajncer: Military History of Slovenians (PDF, p. 72/73; 186 kB) on nato.gov.si
Individual evidence
- ↑ Xavier Fraudet: France's Security Independence: Originality and Constraints in Europe, 1981-1995 . Peter Lang, 2006, ISBN 978-3-03911-141-1 , p. 129.
- ↑ derStandard.at from June 12, 2016: Independence Slovenia: Nothing more as it was , REVIEW: Samo Kobenter recalls the beginning of the Yugoslav war and cites the unique inner-Slovenian reconciliation policy as an example of possible reasons that the war for Slovenia was short and In contrast to Croatia, which at that time under Franjo Tudjman, ideologically even fell back on fascist traditions.
- ↑ Brigadier Janez J. Svajncer: War for Slovenia 1991 . Slovenska vojska , May 2001.
- ↑ Brigadier Janez J. Svajncer: War for Slovenia 1991 . Slovenska vojska, May 2001 + Slovenian Government + NATO Statistics 1991.
- ^ Laura Silber, Allan Little: The Death of Yugoslavia . Penguin, London 1995.