CROATIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE – GUARDS BRIGADES, 3rd Guards Brigade “Martens”

3rd Guards Brigade “Martens” Following the order given by the Minister of Defence, the decision establishing the 3rd “A” Brigade of the Croatian National Guard stationed in Slavonia and Baranja was adopted on 29 April 1991. The infantry battalions were partially formed from Ministry of the Interior police units, which had already been formed in that region. The 1st infantry battalion had already been established in Osijek, with the 2nd infantry battalion in Vinkovci, the 3rd infantry battalion in Slavonski Brod and the 4th infantry battalion in Vukovar. Once the Brigade was formed and equipped, it operated across all Slavonian battlefields, extinguishing an armed revolt against the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia. In the first half of 1991, the units of the 1st infantry battalion actively participated in actions in Borovo Selo, Bijelo Brdo, Mirkovci, Tenja, Sarvaš, Dalj, Erdut, Aljmaš and Laslovo. The 3rd infantry battalion was also active in Šodolovci, Karadžićevo and Koprivna, as well as in the Nova Gradiška battlefield, where it took part in the defence of Donji Bogićevci, Okučani and Gornji Bogićevci. In the Vinkovci area, the 2nd infantry battalion forces bore the brunt of the aggression aimed at Nuštar, Cerić, Marinci, Bogdanovci, Đeletovci and Jarmina. The contribution of the 4th infantry battalion to the heroic defence of Vukovar cannot be put into words. With the arrival of the UNPROFOR in early 1992, the 3rd Guards Brigade left to defend Posavina, where it remained for the rest of the year. As the combat actions in Posavina came to an end in February 1993, the Brigade moved to the hinterland of Zadar, where it took part in Operation Maslenica and continued to act as the main driving force behind all the combat actions in the Zadar hinterland until late 1993. Upon returning to its home barracks in Slavonia in 1994, the Brigade continued working on its constant task of gathering and training forces for the forthcoming operations aimed at liberating the remaining territory of the Republic of Croatia. The long-awaited command ordering the liberation of all state territories arrived on 1 May 1995. During the military-police Operation Flash, the 3rd Guards Brigade drove the main line of the Novska-Okučani offensive and it performed the liberation successfully in two days. The units that did not take part in Operation Flash were deployed along the defence line, protecting Osijek, Tvrđavica and Kopački Rit as part of Operation Wall. In August of the same year, the national leadership decided to extinguish the revolt in the occupied parts of central and southern Croatia and, on 4 August 1995, Operation Storm commenced, bringing almost the entire occupied area back under Croatian control in no more than two days. During the Storm, the 3rd Guards Brigade took part in Operation Phoenix, defending eastern Slavonia against potential attacks by Serbian forces, especially those focused on the cities of Osijek and Vinkovci. The successful peaceful re-integration of eastern Slavonia through the Erdut Agreement marked the beginning of peacetime operations for the 3rd Guards Brigade. During the Croatian War of Independence, 368 members of the Brigade died in combat, 1,088 were wounded and 11 members are still considered missing. The Brigade has been awarded the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, as well as the Order of Duke Domagoj with a neckband as the highest military medal, due to its members’ heroic actions in the Croatian War of Independence, which led to the creation of the Croatian state. Miljenko Kolobarić Retired Major of the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces