Bosnian War :
126-588: Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council victory 1993 1994 1995 Operation Southern Move ( Croatian : Operacija Južni potez ) was the final Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defence Council (HVO) offensive of the Bosnian War . It took place in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 8–11 October 1995. Its goal was to help the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) whose positions around
252-593: A Central Intelligence Agency analysis, the ground offensives of the HV, HVO and ARBiH in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Operation Southern Move, were a more significant contributor to bringing the Bosnian Serbs to the negotiation table than NATO airstrikes. A country-wide ceasefire went into effect on 12 October, followed by negotiations which produced the Dayton Agreement on 21 November and ended
378-617: A caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a "machine, that should carry and lay down its own road", but this was Edgeworth's choice of words. His own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track. Armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed. The machines described in Wells's 1903 short story The Land Ironclads are
504-515: A defeat on the Japanese 6th Army with his massed combined tank and air attack, the Soviets learned a lesson on the use of gasoline engines, and quickly incorporated those newly found experiences into their new T-34 medium tank during World War II . Prior to World War II, the tactics and strategy of deploying tank forces underwent a revolution. In August 1939, Soviet General Georgy Zhukov used
630-523: A field gun in an armoured box on tracks . Major William E. Donohue, of the British Army's Mechanical Transport Committee, suggested fixing a gun and armoured shield on a British type of track-driven vehicle. The first armoured car was produced in Austria in 1904. However, all were restricted to rails or reasonably passable terrain. It was the development of a practical caterpillar track that provided
756-580: A handful of heavy weapons, while the ARBiH was largely unprepared with nearly 100,000 troops, small arms for less than a half of their number and virtually no heavy weapons. Arming of the various forces was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo that had been introduced in September 1991. By mid-May 1992, when those JNA units which had not been transferred to the VRS withdrew from Bosnia and Herzegovina to
882-509: A humorous objection to this, remarking that the War Office pundits would probably contract the description to 'W.C.'s for Russia', and that we had better forestall this by merely labelling the packages 'Tanks'. So tanks they became, and tanks they have remained." This appears to be an imperfect recollection. He says that the name problem arose "when we shipped the first two vehicles to France the following year" (August 1916), but by that time
1008-603: A large scale, and it was their superior tactics and French blunders, not superior weapons, that made the "blitzkrieg" so successful in May 1940. For information regarding tank development in this period, see tank development between the wars . Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union all experimented heavily with tank warfare during their clandestine and "volunteer" involvement in the Spanish Civil War , which saw some of
1134-810: A meeting took place of the Inter-Departmental Conference (including representatives of the Director of Naval Construction's Committee, the Admiralty, the Ministry of Munitions, and the War Office). Its purpose was to discuss the progress of the plans for what were described as "Caterpillar Machine Gun Destroyers or Land Cruisers." In his autobiography, Albert Gerald Stern (Secretary to the Landship Committee, later head of
1260-741: A military balance of power in the region, and the opposing side had to directly recognize Croatian military power, and this balance of power forced the opposing side to peacefully resolve the reintegration of the Croatian Danube region. Numerous Croatian army units arose from the Croatian National Guard, including: With the end of the Homeland War, the ground forces of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia begin their transformation, reduction and transition to
1386-591: A more traditional role in close cooperation with infantry units, but in the Battle of France deep independent armoured penetrations were executed by the Germans, a technique later called blitzkrieg . Blitzkrieg used innovative combined arms tactics and radios in all of the tanks to provide a level of tactical flexibility and power that surpassed that of the Allied armour. The French Army , with tanks equal or superior to
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#17327800411341512-557: A peacetime organization with the territorial principle of defense. At the end of 2002, the formation of the Croatian Land Army as one of the branches of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia began. The head of the formation is Lieutenant General Marijan Mareković, who is also its first commander and held this position until March 19, 2007. Shortly after the organization of the HKov unit, in addition to their basic tasks in
1638-584: A repeat of the German successes of 1940. Despite early successes against the Soviets, the Germans were forced to up-gun their Panzer IVs, and to design and build both the larger and more expensive Tiger heavy tank in 1942, and the Panther medium tank the following year. In doing so, the Wehrmacht denied the infantry and other support arms the production priorities that they needed to remain equal partners with
1764-523: A small number of middle-ranking British Army officers tried to persuade the War Office and the Government to consider the creation of armoured vehicles. Amongst their suggestions was the use of caterpillar tractors, but although the Army used many such vehicles for towing heavy guns, it could not be persuaded that they could be adapted as armoured vehicles. The consequence was that early tank development in
1890-491: A smaller caliber and lighter gun. These smaller tanks move over terrain with speed and agility and can perform a reconnaissance role in addition to engaging hostile targets. The smaller, faster tank would not normally engage in battle with a larger, heavily armoured tank, except during a surprise flanking manoeuvre . The word tank was first applied in a military context to British "landships" in 1915 to keep their nature secret before they entered service. On 24 December 1915,
2016-472: A step closer, insofar as they are armour-plated, have an internal power plant, and are able to cross trenches. Some aspects of the story foresee the tactical use and impact of the tanks that later came into being. However, Wells's vehicles were driven by steam and moved on pedrail wheels , technologies that were already outdated at the time of writing. After seeing British tanks in 1916, Wells denied having "invented" them, writing, "Yet let me state at once that I
2142-484: A total of 150. Production models of "Male" tanks (armed with naval cannon and machine guns) and "Females" (carrying only machine-guns) would go on to fight in history's first tank action at the Somme in September 1916. Great Britain produced about 2,600 tanks of various types during the war. The first tank to engage in battle was designated D1 , a British Mark I Male, during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of
2268-484: A variety of intense combat situations, simultaneously both offensively (with direct fire from their powerful main gun) and defensively (as fire support and defilade for friendly troops due to the near invulnerability to common infantry small arms and good resistance against heavier weapons, although anti-tank weapons used in 2022, some of them man-portable, have demonstrated the ability to destroy older generations of tanks with single shots ), all while maintaining
2394-428: Is a formation of a 3rd (reserve) mechanized brigade which will need to be fully equipped and ready to be deployed at moment's notice. Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat . Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower , strong armour , and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament
2520-474: Is also used colloquially. The Polish name czołg , derived from verb czołgać się ("to crawl"), is used, depicting the way of machine's movement and its speed. In Hungarian the tank is called harckocsi (combat wagon), albeit tank is also common. In Japanese, the term sensha ( 戦車 , lit. "battle vehicle") is taken from Chinese and used, and this term is likewise borrowed into Korean as jeoncha ( 전차 / 戰車 ); more recent Chinese literature uses
2646-471: Is often mounted within a turret . They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large- caliber tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret , supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers . They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for
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#17327800411342772-504: Is really to Mr Winston Churchill that the credit is due more than to anyone else. He took up with enthusiasm the idea of making them a long time ago, and he met with many difficulties. He converted me, and at the Ministry of Munitions he went ahead and made them. The admiralty experts were invaluable, and gave the greatest possible assistance. They are, of course, experts in the matter of armour plating. Major Stern , (formerly an officer in
2898-632: Is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces . It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threats, and in addition to the task of defending the Republic of Croatia , the HKoV also has the task of participating in peace support operations and humanitarian operations as part of international forces, as well as
3024-475: Is to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia. The Croatian Army is responsible for implementing war operations independently and with the support of other branches, leading the fight on land, on the coast and on the islands. In an assumed war or crisis situation, the land forces will act as the backbone and main force for the successful implementation of the defense of their own territory and for participation in operations outside
3150-512: The Samokhodnaya ustanovka families of AFV's for the Soviets: such turretless, casemate -style tank destroyers and assault guns were less complex, stripped down tanks carrying heavy guns, solely firing forward. The firepower and low cost of these vehicles made them attractive but as manufacturing techniques improved and larger turret rings made larger tank guns feasible, the gun turret
3276-692: The Battle of Orašje in May and June 1995. After recapture of the bulk of the Republic of Serb Krajina (the Croatian Serb -controlled areas of Croatia) in Operation Storm in August 1995, the HV shifted its focus to western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The shift was motivated by a desire to create a security zone along the Croatian border, establish Croatia as a regional power and gain favours with
3402-612: The Bosniak -dominated central government and the Bosnian Croat leadership respectively, as well as the HV, which occasionally supported HVO operations. In late April 1992, the VRS was able to deploy 200,000 troops, hundreds of tanks , armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and artillery pieces. The HVO and the Croatian Defence Forces ( Hrvatske obrambene snage – HOS) could field approximately 25,000 soldiers and
3528-585: The Cold War , the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. In the 21st century, with the increasing role of asymmetrical warfare and the end of the Cold War, that also contributed to the increase of cost-effective anti-tank rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) worldwide and its successors, the ability of tanks to operate independently has declined. Modern tanks are more frequently organized into combined arms units which involve
3654-608: The Homeland War were the backbone and main bearers of all operations carried out by the Croatian Army. Members of the guard brigades fought on the battlefields throughout the Republic of Croatia during the most difficult battles and decisive moments in the Homeland War, and together with the members of the reserve infantry brigades, which were also founded in 1991, they participated in the battles for Vukovar , Dubrovnik , Zadar , Karlovac, Gospić , Novska and Okučane, in
3780-494: The Hussite-wars . The continuous " caterpillar track " arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century, and by the late nineteenth they existed in various recognizable and practical forms in several countries. It is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created
3906-522: The Republican side were equipped with cannon, and of those 64 nearly all were World War I vintage Renault FT tanks, while the 331 Soviet supplied machines had 45mm main guns and were of 1930s manufacture. The balance of Nationalist tanks were machine gun armed. The primary lesson learned from this war was that machine gun armed tanks had to be equipped with cannon, with the associated armour inherent to modern tanks. The five-month-long war between
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4032-577: The Second Battle of El Alamein , the Afrika Korps, crippled by disruptions in their supply lines, had 95% of its tanks destroyed and was forced to retreat by a massively reinforced Eighth Army , the first in a series of defeats that would eventually lead to the surrender of the remaining Axis forces in Tunisia . When Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa ,
4158-513: The T-34 , one of the predecessors of the main battle tank . Less than two weeks later, Germany began their large-scale armoured campaigns that would become known as blitzkrieg ("lightning war") – massed concentrations of tanks combined with motorized and mechanized infantry , artillery and air power designed to break through the enemy front and collapse enemy resistance. The widespread introduction of high-explosive anti-tank warheads during
4284-776: The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company in Birmingham and tested in Switzerland and Norway, and can be seen in action in Herbert Ponting 's 1911 documentary film of Scott's Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition . Scott died during the expedition in 1912, but expedition member and biographer Apsley Cherry-Garrard credited Scott's "motors" with the inspiration for the British World War I tanks, writing: "Scott never knew their true possibilities; for they were
4410-588: The second Markale massacre of 28 August, which came on the heels of the Srebrenica massacre . Airstrikes began on 30 August, initially targeting VRS air defences, and striking targets near Sarajevo. The campaign was briefly suspended on 1 September and its scope was expanded to target artillery and storage facilities around the city. The bombing resumed on 5 September, and its scope extended to VRS air defences near Banja Luka by 9 September as NATO had nearly exhausted its list of targets near Sarajevo. On 13 September,
4536-480: The 4th Guards Brigade broke through and outflanked the 7th Motorised Brigade positions, forcing the VRS to withdraw from Mrkonjić Grad. The move also placed the Podrašnica Valley and Čađavica junction under HV control, completing the objectives of the first stage of the operation. The HVO 2nd Guards Brigade was deployed on the right flank of the 7th Guards Brigade and the two units advanced north towards Bočac . At
4662-539: The ARBiH to mount a successful advance against the VRS 1st Krajina Corps defending Sanski Most. Finally, the outcome of the battle brought the VRS to a position where it was forced to choose between defending Prijedor, Banja Luka or the Doboj– Brčko route. This route had been vital for the resupply of both Banja Luka and Doboj since the VRS secured it in Operation Corridor 92 three years earlier. According to
4788-478: The Arab world, tanks are called Dabbāba (after a type of siege engine ). In Italian, a tank is a " carro armato " (lit. "armed wagon"), without reference to its armour. Norway uses the term stridsvogn and Sweden the similar stridsvagn (lit. "battle wagon", also used for "chariots"), whereas Denmark uses kampvogn (lit. fight wagon). Finland uses panssarivaunu (armoured wagon), although tankki
4914-485: The Bosnian Serb leadership to serious peace negotiations. The offensive also contributed to the displacement of 10,000 Bosnian Serb refugees and resulted in the deaths of at least 181 Serbs while hundreds more went missing following the operation. A country-wide ceasefire came into effect on 12 October, one day after the offensive ended, and was soon followed by negotiations which produced the Dayton Agreement , ending
5040-401: The Bosnian Serbs accepted NATO's demand for the establishment of an exclusion zone around Sarajevo and the campaign ceased. Following a relative lull in fighting in western Bosnia, the HV, HVO and ARBiH renewed their joint offensive against the VRS in the region. The HV and HVO component of the offensive, codenamed Operation Maestral 2 , was launched on 8 September with the aim of capturing
5166-644: The Bosnian War. As the Yugoslav People's Army ( Jugoslovenska narodna armija – JNA) withdrew from Croatia following the acceptance and start of implementation of the Vance plan , its 55,000 officers and soldiers born in Bosnia and Herzegovina were transferred to a new Bosnian Serb army, which was later renamed the Army of Republika Srpska ( Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS). This re-organisation followed
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5292-467: The Bosnian War. The offensive displaced 10,000 Serb refugees from Mrkonjić Grad, adding to a growing humanitarian crisis as another 30,000 Serbs fled Sanski Most before the ARBiH captured it in the final days of Operation Sana. Approximately 6,000 non-Serbs were forced to flee their homes in Prijedor and Novi Grad by Bosnian Serb forces. According to Bosnian Serb sources, 480 Serbs died or went missing in
5418-477: The British War Office . In Russia, Vasiliy Mendeleev designed a tracked vehicle containing a large naval gun. All of these ideas were rejected and, by 1914, forgotten (although it was officially acknowledged after the war that de Mole's design was at least the equal to the initial British tanks). Various individuals continued to contemplate the use of tracked vehicles for military applications, but by
5544-626: The British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tank's potential, and did not have enough resources, thus it built only twenty. Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II . Important new concepts of armoured warfare were developed; the Soviet Union launched the first mass tank/air attack at Khalkhin Gol ( Nomonhan ) in August 1939, and later developed
5670-626: The Chief of Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Robert Hranj, spoke about plans to establish a certain operational reserve in the coming period whose units will be smaller, but will be characterized by a higher degree of readiness and develop the ability to perform all types of tasks, from supporting civilian institutions in the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia to combat tasks. Due to Russo-Ukrainian War and intense regional security it has become apparent current Army organization requires significant re-organization. What this re-organization entails
5796-412: The Cold War had been hammered out in the closing stages of World War II. Large turrets, capable suspension systems, greatly improved engines, sloped armour and large-caliber (90 mm and larger) guns were standard. Tank design during the Cold War built on this foundation and included improvements to fire control , gyroscopic gun stabilization, communications (primarily radio) and crew comfort and saw
5922-486: The Committee in view of his experience with the engineering methods it was felt might be required; the two other members were naval officers, and a number of industrialists were engaged as consultants. So many played a part in its long and complicated development that it is not possible to name any individual as the sole inventor of the tank. However leading roles were played by Lt Walter Gordon Wilson R.N. who designed
6048-878: The Croatian Army are the Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade which in turn is divided into one tank battalion equipped with M-84A4 Sniper main battle tanks, one armoured battalion supplemented by M-84A4 Sniper main battle tanks as well as M80A1 infantry fighting vehicles and two mechanized battalions armed with M80A1 IFVs. Second major combat units of the Army are Guards Mechanized Brigade divided by three mechanized battalions equipped with Patria CRO armoured personnel carriers and one motorized battalion equipped with Oshkosh M-ATV vehicles. Both Brigades come equipped with one Artillery Battalion, Air Defence Battalion, Engineer Battalion, one Reconnaissance Company, Signals Company, as well as one Logistics Company. Such unique organizational structure of
6174-501: The English-derived 坦克 tǎnkè (tank) as opposed to 戰車 zhànchē (battle vehicle) used in earlier days. The modern tank is the result of a century of development from the first primitive armoured vehicles, due to improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy armoured vehicles. As a result of these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in
6300-460: The FT was its engine located at the rear. This pattern, with the gun located in a mounted turret and the engine at the back, has become the standard for most succeeding tanks across the world even to this day. The FT was the most numerous tank of the war; over 3,000 were made by late 1918. Germany fielded very few tanks during World War I , and started development only after encountering British tanks on
6426-561: The German tanks in both quality and quantity, employed a linear defensive strategy in which the armoured cavalry units were made subservient to the needs of the infantry armies to cover their entrenchment in Belgium. In addition, they lacked radios in many of their tanks and headquarters, which limited their ability to respond to German attacks. In accordance with blitzkrieg methods, German tanks bypassed enemy strongpoints and could radio for close air support to destroy them, or leave them to
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#17327800411346552-501: The HV 126th Home Guard Regiment and the HVO 1st Guards Brigade from a starting line 15 to 20 kilometres (9.3 to 12.4 miles) west of Mrkonjić Grad, against positions held by the 11th Mrkonjić Light Infantry Brigade. This effort was intended as a diversion aimed at misleading the VRS defences regarding the main axis of the offensive. It was hampered by poor weather which prevented the effective use of artillery fire. The main HV force committed to
6678-515: The HV, while the second group was spearheaded by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Guards Brigades of the HVO, and included the 126th Home Guard Regiment of the HV. The VRS units facing the combined HV/HVO force were elements of Operational Group-2 and the 30th Division, under the command of Colonel Milenko Lazić. They were deployed around Mrkonjić Grad, and comprised the 7th Motorised, 3rd Serbian and 11th Mrkonjić Light Infantry brigades. The three brigades, numbering approximately 5,500 troops, were tasked to cover
6804-613: The JNA provided artillery support from Serbia, firing across the Drina River. At the same time, the JNA attempted to defuse the situation and arrange negotiations elsewhere in the country. The JNA and the VRS in Bosnia and Herzegovina faced the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine – ARBiH) and the Croatian Defence Council ( Hrvatsko vijeće obrane – HVO), reporting to
6930-616: The Mechanical Warfare Supply Department) says that at that meeting: Mr. (Thomas J.) Macnamara ( M.P. , and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty ) then suggested, for secrecy's sake, to change the title of the Landship Committee. Mr. d'Eyncourt agreed that it was very desirable to retain secrecy by all means, and proposed to refer to the vessel as a "Water Carrier". In Government offices, committees and departments are always known by their initials. For this reason I, as Secretary, considered
7056-639: The Royal Naval Air Service) a business man at the Ministry of Munitions had charge of the work of getting them built, and he did the task very well. Col Swinton and others also did valuable work. Whilst several experimental machines were investigated in France, it was a colonel of artillery, J.B.E. Estienne , who directly approached the Commander-in-Chief with detailed plans for a tank on caterpillar tracks, in late 1915. The result
7182-483: The Somme. The A7V , the only type made, was introduced in March 1918 with just 20 being produced during the war. The first tank versus tank action took place on 24 April 1918 at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux , France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs . Captured British Mk IVs formed the bulk of Germany's tank forces during World War I; about 35 were in service at any one time. Plans to expand
7308-477: The Soviet Union and the Japanese 6th Army at Khalkhin Gol ( Nomonhan ) in 1939 brought home some lessons . In this conflict, the Soviets fielded over two thousand tanks, to the around 73 cannon armed tanks deployed by the Japanese, the major difference being that Japanese armour were equipped with diesel engines as opposed to the Russian tanks equipped with petrol engines. After General Georgy Zhukov inflicted
7434-578: The Soviets had a superior tank design, the T-34 . A lack of preparations for the Axis surprise attack, mechanical problems, poor training of the crews and incompetent leadership caused the Soviet machines to be surrounded and destroyed in large numbers. However, interference from Adolf Hitler , the geographic scale of the conflict, the dogged resistance of the Soviet combat troops, and the Soviets' massive advantages in manpower and production capability prevented
7560-432: The Soviets, when entering World War II six months later (December 1941), the United States' mass production capacity enabled it to rapidly construct thousands of relatively cheap M4 Sherman medium tanks. A compromise all round, the Sherman was reliable and formed a large part of the Anglo-American ground forces, but in a tank-versus-tank battle was no match for the Panther or Tiger. Numerical and logistical superiority and
7686-411: The US, Charles de Gaulle in France, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the USSR. Liddell Hart held a more moderate view that all arms – cavalry, infantry and artillery – should be mechanized and work together. The British formed the all-arms Experimental Mechanized Force to test the use of tanks with supporting forces. In the Second World War only Germany would initially put the theory into practice on
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#17327800411347812-402: The United Kingdom was carried out by the Royal Navy . As the result of an approach by Royal Naval Air Service officers who had been operating armoured cars on the Western Front, the First Lord of the Admiralty , Winston Churchill , formed the Landship Committee , on 20 February 1915. The Director of Naval Construction for the Royal Navy, Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt , was appointed to head
7938-416: The West by forcing an end to the Bosnian War. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed the move as it contributed to their goal of gaining control over western Bosnia and the city of Banja Luka —the largest city in the Bosnian Serb-held territory. In the final days of August 1995, NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force —an air campaign targeting the VRS. This campaign was launched in response to
8064-400: The Xiongnu's powerful cavalry charges , and allowed Han troops to utilize their ranged weapons ' advantages of precision . This forced a stalemate and allowed time for his troops to recover strength, before using the cover of a sandstorm to launch a counteroffensive which overran the nomads . Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or "invented"
8190-438: The basis of blitzkrieg in the opening stages of World War II. During World War II , the first conflict in which armoured vehicles were critical to battlefield success, the tank and related tactics developed rapidly. Armoured forces proved capable of tactical victory in an unprecedentedly short amount of time, yet new anti-tank weaponry showed that the tank was not invulnerable. During the Invasion of Poland, tanks performed in
8316-436: The battles for the preservation of state borders in Posavina, Banovina, Lika, in the east in Slavonia and in the south in the hinterland of Zadar, Sibenik and Dubrovnik. Professional and reserve members of the ground forces of the Croatian Army participated and were the main force and support in the preparation and implementation of operations such as the "Spaljena Zemlja" operation in 1992, the " Maslenica " operation in 1993, and
8442-477: The combined force of tanks and airpower at Nomonhan against the Japanese 6th Army; Heinz Guderian , a tactical theoretician who was heavily involved in the formation of the first independent German tank force, said "Where tanks are, the front is", and this concept became a reality in World War II. Guderian's armoured warfare ideas, combined with Germany's existing doctrines of Bewegungskrieg (" maneuver warfare ") and infiltration tactics from World War I, became
8568-414: The country in the collective defense system of the NATO alliance. In war situations, the Croatian Army is responsible for the implementation of joint defensive and offensive operations in the defense of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia and participation in the defense of the state and allies in accordance with Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty. The Croatian Army has contributed to
8694-410: The crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, and thus be more flexibly positioned at advantageous locations on the battlefield. These features enable the tank to perform in
8820-414: The declaration of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 January 1992, ahead of the referendum on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina that took place between 29 February and 1 March 1992. This declaration would later be cited by the Bosnian Serbs as a pretext for the Bosnian War . Bosnian Serbs began fortifying the capital, Sarajevo , and other areas on 1 March 1992. On the following day,
8946-623: The defense of the sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia, they also receive the tasks of participating in NATO-led international operations and UN missions. In 2007, the Croatian Army abandoned the corps structure and the territorial principle of defense through a reorganization, and from four brigades two were established with their commands in Vinkovci and Knin. The Croatian Army is an all-volunteer force numbering 7,000 active-duty personnel and 150 civil servants and employees as of 2020. The Army can also call on 6,000 reserve personnel who serve up to 30 days every year. Two major combat formations of
9072-533: The direct ancestors of the 'tanks' in France". In 1911, a Lieutenant Engineer in the Austrian Army, Günther Burstyn , presented to the Austrian and Prussian War Ministries plans for a light, three-man tank with a gun in a revolving turret, the so-called Burstyn-Motorgeschütz. In the same year an Australian civil engineer named Lancelot de Mole submitted a basic design for a tracked, armoured vehicle to
9198-522: The earliest examples of successful mechanized combined arms —such as when Republican troops, equipped with Soviet-supplied tanks and supported by aircraft, eventually routed Italian troops fighting for the Nationalists in the seven-day Battle of Guadalajara in 1937. However, of the nearly 700 tanks deployed during this conflict, only about 64 tanks representing the Franco faction and 331 from
9324-493: The end of the day, the HVO had captured the Bočac Hydroelectric Power Station. The final objective was achieved when the force reached a line 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of Banja Luka. The advance reportedly came within 14 kilometres (9 miles) of Banja Luka, whose electrical power supply was interrupted, and where a curfew was imposed in response to the deteriorating situation. Operation Southern Move ended on
9450-504: The fighting in the area of Mrkonjić Grad. The figure includes 181 bodies recovered in a mass grave at the town's Serbian Orthodox cemetery. According to the Republika Srpska police who investigated the scene and interviewed witnesses, most of the dead were VRS prisoners of war or civilians who were killed by the 4th Guards Brigade to avenge the death of Colonel Andrija Matijaš, the brigade's deputy commander. The results of
9576-566: The first fatalities of the war were recorded in Sarajevo and Doboj . In the final days of March, Bosnian Serb forces bombarded Bosanski Brod with artillery, resulting in a cross-border operation by the Croatian Army ( Hrvatska vojska – HV) 108th Brigade. On 4 April 1992, JNA artillery began shelling Sarajevo. There were other examples of the JNA directly supported the VRS, such as during the capture of Zvornik in early April 1992, when
9702-520: The first time in September 1915 and served to develop the form of the track but an improved design, better able to cross trenches, swiftly followed and in January 1916 the prototype, nicknamed "Mother", was adopted as the design for future tanks. The first order for tanks was placed on 12 February 1916, and a second on 21 April. Fosters built 37 (all "male"), and Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , of Birmingham, 113 (38 "male" and 75 "female"),
9828-625: The first units of the ZNG followed the "Bloody Easter" in 1991, when it became obvious that the Republic of Croatia would have to defend itself with organized military forces. The first units of the National Guard Corps are considered to be the first units of the ground forces of the Croatian Army, and from their active cores came the guard brigades: 1st Guards Brigade "Tigrovi" , 2nd Guards Brigade "Gromovi" , 3rd Guards Brigade "Kune" and 4th Guards Brigade "Pauci" , units which during
9954-700: The following NATO missions since 2015: Source: The Croatian Army was involved in the following UN missions since 2017: In the past, the Croatian Army has also contributed to: The Croatian Army celebrates its day on May 28 in commemoration of the day when members of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th brigades of the Croatian National Guard were lined up and sworn in at the NK Zagreb stadium in Kranjčevićeva Street in Zagreb. The organization of
10080-416: The future arrangements were under discussion for transporting the first landships to France a question arose as to how, from a security point of view, the consignment should be labelled. To justify their size we decided to call them 'water-carriers for Russia' —the idea being that they should be taken for some new method of taking water to forward troops in the battle areas. Lt.-Col. Swinton ... raised
10206-645: The gearbox and developed practical tracks and by William Tritton whose agricultural machinery company, William Foster & Co. in Lincoln, Lincolnshire , England built the prototypes . On 22 July 1915, a commission was placed to design a machine that could cross a trench 4 ft wide. Secrecy surrounded the project with the designers locking themselves in a room at the White Hart Hotel in Lincoln. The committee's first design, Little Willie , ran for
10332-440: The gearbox and hull, and by William Tritton of William Foster and Co. , who designed the track plates. This was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Army's Mark I tank , the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme . The name "tank" was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see etymology ). While
10458-584: The increasingly sophisticated tanks, in turn violating the principle of combined arms they had pioneered. Soviet developments following the invasion included upgunning the T-34, development of self-propelled anti-tank guns such as the SU-152 , and deployment of the IS-2 in the closing stages of the war, with the T-34 being the most produced tank of World War II, totalling up to some 65,000 examples by May 1945. Much like
10584-452: The infantry. A related development, motorized infantry , allowed some of the troops to keep up with the tanks and create highly mobile combined arms forces. The defeat of a major military power within weeks shocked the rest of the world, spurring tank and anti-tank weapon development. The North African Campaign also provided an important battleground for tanks, as the flat, desolate terrain with relatively few obstacles or urban environments
10710-427: The insistence of Colonel J.B.E. Estienne , rejected in favour of char d'assaut ("assault vehicle") or simply char ("vehicle"). During World War I, German sources tended to refer to British tanks as tanks and to their own as Kampfwagen . Later, tanks became referred to as " Panzer " (lit. "armour"), a shortened form of the full term " Panzerkampfwagen ", literally "armoured fighting vehicle". In
10836-796: The investigation were forwarded to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but the ICTY did not pursue the matter. As of December 2013, an investigation by the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities against 27 high-ranking HV and HVO officers and Croatian officials is ongoing. In 2013, an officer and two soldiers of the 7th Guards Brigade charged with killing four Serb civilians near Mrkonjić Grad were acquitted, pending appeal. 44°25′N 17°05′E / 44.41°N 17.09°E / 44.41; 17.09 Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( Croatian : Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV )
10962-452: The liberation operations in 1995 which finally led to the liberation of the occupied territory and the establishment of the integrity of the Republic of Croatia. With their strength and the art of warfare, they made the main effort and celebrated as winners in operations " Flash ", "Summer '95" and "Storm" . After the brilliant victory in "Storm", operations " Mistral " and " Southern Move " followed. The final operations in 1995 established
11088-682: The major combat formations, to be organized as a small, highly capable force with an emphasis on mobility, versatility and quality, has as a clear aim of being able to be deployed rapidly and operate with high degree of flexibility as part of a larger multinational combat force. For such an organizational structure to work, it must be deployed with high level of training and equipped with modern weapons systems that put emphasis on precision, quick mobility and interoperability with other NATO partners. To that end, Croatian Army has also been extensively training with its NATO partners in number of yearly exercises such as "SHIELD", “Immediate response”, “SAVA STAR” among
11214-550: The mobility needed to exploit changing tactical situations. Fully integrating tanks into modern military forces spawned a new era of combat, armoured warfare . Until the invention of the main battle tank , tanks were typically categorized either by weight class ( light , medium , heavy or superheavy tanks ) or doctrinal purpose ( breakthrough- , cavalry- , infantry- , cruiser- , or reconnaissance tanks). Some are larger and more thickly armoured and with large guns, while others are smaller, lightly armoured, and equipped with
11340-598: The modern tank. During the 119 BC Battle of Mobei of the Han–Xiongnu War , the Han general Wei Qing led his army through a fatiguing expeditionary march across the Gobi desert only to find Yizhixie chanyu 's main force waiting to encircle them on the other side. Using armored heavy wagons known as "Wu Gang Wagon" ( Chinese : 武剛車) in ring formations that provided Chinese archers , crossbowmen and infantry protection from
11466-469: The name "tank" had been in use for eight months. The tanks were labelled "With Care to Petrograd," but the belief was encouraged that they were a type of snowplough. The term "tank" is used throughout the English speaking world, but other countries use different terminology. In France, the second country to use tanks in battle, the word tank or tanque was adopted initially, but was then, largely at
11592-459: The necessary independent, all-terrain mobility. In a memorandum of 1908, Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott presented his view that man-hauling to the South Pole was impossible and that motor traction was needed. Snow vehicles did not yet exist, however, and so his engineer Reginald Skelton developed the idea of a caterpillar track for snow surfaces. These tracked motors were built by
11718-508: The newly declared Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , the VRS controlled approximately 60 percent of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The extent of VRS control was extended to about 70 percent of the country by the end of 1992. By 1995, the ARBiH and the HVO had developed into better-organised forces employing comparably large numbers of artillery pieces and good defensive fortifications. The VRS was not capable of penetrating their defences even where its forces employed sound military tactics, for instance in
11844-436: The night of 11/12 October. The offensive captured an area 40 kilometres (25 miles) wide and 20 kilometres (12 miles) deep. The defeat of the VRS also made it clear to the Bosnian Serb leadership that they had to commit to ending the war through negotiations or risk the capture of Banja Luka. In addition, the offensive proved decisive in halting the VRS counteroffensive against the ARBiH near Ključ and Bosanska Krupa, and allowing
11970-482: The offensive was also aimed at capturing the Bočac Hydroelectric Power Station , the last significant source of electricity under VRS control in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The combined HV and HVO forces were under the overall command of HV Major General Ante Gotovina . The offensive achieved its objectives, and significantly contributed, along with Operations Sana and Maestral 2 , to forcing
12096-491: The offensive, comprising the 4th Guards and the 7th Guards brigades and the 1st HGZ, began their advance on 9 October. Poor weather and heavy fog forced the HV to postpone the attack from 6:00 until 8:50. The advance was supported by strong artillery fire support and two Mil Mi-24s of the Croatian Air Force . The HV 7th Guards Brigade struggled to advance against the VRS positions southeast of Mrkonjić Grad around
12222-459: The others, as well as being part of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence . Reserve units were one of the foundations on which the Croatian Army was built in the Homeland War. The Home Guard was restored and became a separate part of the Croatian Army as a reserve unit and was subjected to a unique command system. After the war, the Home Guard was disbanded and demobilized, and in 2003, with
12348-578: The outbreak of the War no one in a position of responsibility in any army seems to have given much thought to tanks. The direct military impact of the tank can be debated but its effect on the Germans was immense, it caused bewilderment, terror and concern in equal measure. It was also a huge boost to the civilians at home. After facing the Zeppelins, at last Britain had a wonder weapon. Tanks were taken on tours and treated almost like film stars. From late 1914
12474-399: The proposed title totally unsuitable. In our search for a synonymous term, we changed the word "Water Carrier" to "Tank," and became the "Tank Supply" or "T.S." Committee. That is how these weapons came to be called Tanks. He incorrectly added, "and the name has now been adopted by all countries in the world." Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Swinton, who was secretary to the meeting, says that he
12600-564: The rear of the VRS force counterattacking the ARBiH force in Ključ. Operation Southern Move was to be carried out in two stages. The first stage involved the capture of Mrkonjić Grad and the surrounding Podrašnica Valley. In the second phase of the operation, the force would seize the last significant source of electricity in the VRS-controlled part of western Bosnia and Herzegovina—the Bočac Hydroelectric Power Station . The whole operation
12726-445: The reorganization of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Home Guard was abolished. After Croatia had only active units of a total of about 16,000 people for several years after joining NATO, in 2014 it was decided to start re-organizing the reserve component. In 2018 six reserve units were first formed: 2 artillery and missile regiments, 1 air defence regiment, 1 logistics regiment, and 1 battalion engineering and communications each. In 2020,
12852-498: The same time, the 4th Guards Brigade advanced onto Manjača mountain. The HV units were replaced by HVO elements on 11 October. The HVO 1st Guards and 2nd Guards brigades took over the northward advance from the HV 4th Guards and 7th Guards brigades, while the HVO 3rd Guards Brigade relieved the 1st HGZ and the 126th Home Guard Regiment. The VRS defence was disorganised, and they were gradually pushed north, while maintaining effective artillery fire support for their retreating troops. By
12978-580: The second half of World War II led to lightweight infantry-carried anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerfaust , which could destroy some types of tanks. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, and led to greatly improved armour types during the 1960s, especially composite armour . Improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design and aiming technology. During
13104-503: The successful use of combined arms allowed the Allies to overrun the German forces during the Battle of Normandy . Upgunned versions with the 76 mm gun M1 and the 17-pounder were introduced to improve the M4's firepower, but concerns about protection remained—despite the apparent armour deficiencies, a total of some 42,000 Shermans were built and delivered to the Allied nations using it during
13230-402: The support of infantry , who may accompany the tanks in infantry fighting vehicles , and supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft . The tank is the 20th-century realization of an ancient concept: that of providing troops with mobile protection and firepower. The internal combustion engine , armour plate , and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of
13356-399: The tank programme were under way when the War ended. The United States Tank Corps used tanks supplied by France and Great Britain during World War I. Production of American-built tanks had just begun when the War came to an end. Italy also manufactured two Fiat 2000s towards the end of the war, too late to see service. Russia independently built and trialed two prototypes early in the War;
13482-444: The tank. Leonardo's late-15th-century drawings of what some describe as a "tank" show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle surrounded by cannons. However, the human crew would have difficulty moving the heavy vehicle over long distances, while usage of animals was problematic in a space so confined. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons known as ‘ Wagenburg ’ containing cannons and used them effectively in several battles during
13608-502: The task of preventing and eliminating the consequences of emergency situations in the country caused by natural and technical accidents and disasters. The HKoV has units of combat branches (Mechanized and Armoured Mechanized infantry), combat support branches (artillery, air defense, engineering, communications, nuclear-biological-chemical defense, military police and military intelligence units) and services support (supply, transport, maintenance and sanitation). The basic mission of HKoV
13734-502: The town of Ključ , and approaching Sanski Most and Novi Grad by 18–19 September—before being halted by significant VRS reinforcements. A VRS counteroffensive, launched on the night of 23/24 September from Novi Grad, Sanski Most and Mrkonjić Grad gradually pushed the 5th Corps back towards Bosanska Krupa and Ključ, despite gradual arrival of reinforcements dispatched by the ARBiH 7th Corps. The VRS had approached within 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) of Ključ by 6 October, and ARBiH control of
13860-462: The town of Ključ , captured by them during Operation Sana , were endangered by a counteroffensive by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). The objectives of Operation Southern Move included the capture of the town of Mrkonjić Grad and positions on the Manjača Mountain which would allow the HV and the HVO to directly threaten Banja Luka , the largest city controlled by Bosnian Serbs . Finally,
13986-420: The town was under threat. In response, the ARBiH requested HV and HVO assistance. The HV and the HVO forces earmarked for the offensive comprised 11,000–12,000 troops, organised into two groups, under the overall command of HV Major General Ante Gotovina . The primary group consisted of the 4th Guards and the 7th Guards Brigades , the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade ( 1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug – 1st HGZ) of
14112-572: The towns of Jajce , Šipovo and Drvar . The ARBiH 7th Corps advanced on the right flank of the HV and the HVO towards Donji Vakuf . As Operation Maestral 2 neared its objectives, the ARBiH 5th Corps launched Operation Sana in the Bihać area, aimed at pushing the VRS back to the Sana River to the east. The ARBiH achieved significant territorial gains, advancing 70 kilometres (43 miles) to capture
14238-434: The tracked, two-man Vezdekhod and the huge Lebedenko , but neither went into production. A tracked self-propelled gun was also designed but not produced. Although tank tactics developed rapidly during the war, piecemeal deployments, mechanical problems, and poor mobility limited the military significance of the tank in World War I, and the tank did not fulfil its promise of rendering trench warfare obsolete. Nonetheless, it
14364-410: The villages of Liskovica, Bjelajci and Šehovci, manned by the 7th Motorised Brigade. The 4th Guards Brigade and the 1st HGZ faced the defences southwest of the town, manned by the 3rd Serbian Brigade. By the end of the day, the HV had advanced by about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) partially enveloping Mrkonjić Grad. The town itself was hit by about 200 artillery shells fired by the HV and HVO. On 10 October,
14490-471: The war years, a total second only to the T-34. Tank hulls were modified to produce flame tanks , mobile rocket artillery , and combat engineering vehicles for tasks including mine-clearing and bridging . Specialized self-propelled guns, most of which could double as tank destroyers , were also both developed by the Germans—with their Sturmgeschütz , Panzerjäger and Jagdpanzer vehicles—and
14616-514: The wider Somme offensive ) on 15 September 1916. Bert Chaney, a nineteen-year-old signaller with the 7th London Territorial Battalion, reported that "three huge mechanical monsters such as [he] had never seen before" rumbled their way onto the battlefield, "frightening the Jerries out of their wits and making them scuttle like frightened rabbits." When the news of the first use of the tanks emerged, Prime Minister David Lloyd George commented, It
14742-556: The world he was known as the "Instructional Demonstration Unit." "Little Willie's" hull was called in the shop orders a "water carrier for Mesopotamia"; no one knew that the hull was intended to be mounted on a truck. Naturally, the water carrier began to be called a "tank". So the name came to be used by managers and foremen of the shop, until now it has a place in the army vocabulary and will probably be so known in history for all time. (*F.J. Gardiner, F.R.Hist.S.) D'Eyncourt's account differs from Swinton's and Tritton's: ... when
14868-478: The years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front . The first British prototype, nicknamed Little Willie , was constructed at William Foster & Co. in Lincoln , England in 1915, with leading roles played by Major Walter Gordon Wilson who designed
14994-510: Was clear to military thinkers on both sides that tanks in some way could have a significant role in future conflicts. In the interwar period tanks underwent further mechanical development. In terms of tactics, J.F.C. Fuller 's doctrine of spearhead attacks with massed tank formations was the basis for work by Heinz Guderian in Germany, Percy Hobart in Britain, Adna R. Chaffee, Jr. , in
15120-564: Was ideal for conducting mobile armoured warfare. However, this battlefield also showed the importance of logistics, especially in an armoured force, as the principal warring armies, the German Afrika Korps and the British Eighth Army , often outpaced their supply trains in repeated attacks and counter-attacks on each other, resulting in complete stalemate. This situation would not be resolved until 1942, when during
15246-465: Was instructed to find a non-committal word when writing his report of the proceedings. In the evening he discussed it with a fellow officer, Lt-Col Walter Dally Jones , and they chose the word "tank". "That night, in the draft report of the conference, the word 'tank' was employed in its new sense for the first time." Swinton's Notes on the Employment of Tanks , in which he uses the word throughout,
15372-562: Was not their prime originator. I took up an idea, manipulated it slightly, and handed it on." It is, though, possible that one of the British tank pioneers, Ernest Swinton , was subconsciously or otherwise influenced by Wells's tale. The first combinations of the three principal components of the tank appeared in the decade before World War One. In 1903, Captain Léon René Levavasseur of the French artillery proposed mounting
15498-497: Was planned to take four days, immediately preceding a country-wide ceasefire scheduled to take effect on the morning of 12 October 1995. According to Brigadier Ante Kotromanović , then commander of the 126th Home Guard Regiment, the offensive was approved by the United States, and U.S. warplanes attacked VRS positions near Banja Luka in preparation of the offensive. The offensive began on 8 October with an attack launched by
15624-489: Was published in January 1916. In July 1918, Popular Science Monthly reported: Because a fellow of the Royal Historical Society * has unintentionally misled the British public as to the origin of the famous "tanks", Sir William Tritton , who designed and built them, has published the real story of their name ... Since it was obviously inadvisable to herald "Little Willie's" reason for existence to
15750-479: Was recognized as the most effective mounting for the main gun to allow movement in a different direction from firing, enhancing tactical flexibility. During the Cold War , tension between the Warsaw Pact countries and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) countries created an arms race that ensured that tank development proceeded largely as it had during World War II. The essence of tank designs during
15876-578: Was two largely unsatisfactory types of tank, 400 each of the Schneider and Saint-Chamond , both based on the Holt tractor . The following year, the French pioneered the use of a full 360° rotation turret in a tank for the first time, with the creation of the Renault FT light tank, with the turret containing the tank's main armament. In addition to the traversable turret, another innovative feature of
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