Croatian National Guard

Emblem of Croatian National Guard

The Croatian National Guard (Croatian: Zbor narodne garde, ZNG) was the name of the first modern Croatian military force. Croatian president Franjo Tuđman signed to law the Decree of Formation of the Croatian National Guard on April 20, 1991 which became the first professional armed forces with defence and training duties.

These forces formed within the framework of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, and under the command of the Croatian Ministry of Defence which on September 21 formed the Command of the Croatian National Guard.

The first brigade of the ZNG was presented to the Croatian public in a special ceremony on May 28 with a march, the handing out of flags to the soldiers and the recitation of oaths at NK Zagreb's stadium in the Croatian capital. By August 12 four brigades had been formed. Croatian defence forces at this time had approximately 60,000 members, with 30,000 under the Interior Ministry's command.

The ZNG formed as a response to the arming of the Territorial Defense in Croatia as well as the inability of Croatia to ensure its territorial integrity after its declaration of independence.

On November 3, 1991 the Croatian National Guard was officially renamed to the Croatian Army (HV).

Guards brigades

The following guards brigades were formed in the early 1990s and were active during the Croatian War of Independence:

• 1st "Tigers" Brigade (active 1990–2008)
• 2nd "Thunders" Brigade (active 1991–2008)
• 3rd "Martens" Brigade (active 1991–2003)
• 4th "Spiders" Brigade (active 1991–2008)
• 5th "Falcons" Brigade (active 1992–2003)
• 7th "Pumas" Brigade (active 1992–2003)
• 9th "Wolves" Brigade (active 1992–2008), initially numbered 6th

Brigades

• 104th Brigade (Croatia)
• 204th Vukovar Brigade