1944–1945 military in the Axis puppet state
The Croatian Armed Forces were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard and the Ustaše Militia in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). It was established by the fascist Ustaše regime of Ante Pavelić in the NDH an Axis puppet state in Yugoslavia during World War II.
The Croatian Armed Forces was reorganized in November 1944 to combine the units of the Ustaše and Domobrani into eighteen divisions, comprising 13 infantry, two mountain, two assault and one replacement Croatian divisions, each with its own organic artillery and other support units. There were also several armoured units, equipped in late 1944 with 20 Panzer IIIN and 15 Panzer IVF and H medium tanks. From early 1945, the Croatian divisions were allocated to various German corps and by March 1945 were holding the Southern Front. Securing the rear areas were some 32,000 men of the Croatian Gendarmerie, organised into 5 Police Volunteer Regiments plus 15 independent battalions, equipped with standard light infantry weapons, including mortars.
By the end of March 1945, it was obvious to the Army command that, although the front remained intact, they would eventually be defeated by sheer lack of ammunition. For this reason, the decision was made to retreat across the border into the Austrian part of Nazi Germany, in order to surrender to the British forces advancing north from Italy.
Croatian Home Guard.
The Croatian Home Guard was formed in April 1941 a few days after the founding of the NDH itself. The task of the new Croatian armed forces was to defend the new state against both foreign and domestic enemies. By the end of 1941, the home guard forces consisted of 85,000 and the national police force of about 6,000.
During 1943, four Jäger Brigades were set up, each with four 500-man battalions in two regiments and an artillery group equipped for hilly terrain. The home guard reached its maximum size at the end of 1943, when it had 130,000 men. By 1944, the home guard had 90,000 men, though only 20,000 were front-line combat troops, organised in three mountain, four Jager and eight static garrison brigades, and the 1st Recruit Training Division.
Ustaše Militia.
The Ustaše militia was created on 11 April 1941 when Marshal Slavko Kvaternik appointed a separate staff to control the various volunteer groups that had risen throughout the NDH as the Yugoslav Army collapsed in the face of the Axis invasion. On 18 March 1942, a law decree organised the armed forces into the Home Guard, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, and the Ustaše militia. By September 1943, shortly after the Italian surrender, the Ustaše militia included 25 battalions, all of around 22,500 men with Pavelić's personal guard of about 6,000 men. In late 1944, the militia consisted of about 76,000 officers and men. In March 1945, the Ustaša Defence Brigades were incorporated into the Croatian Armed Forces.
Croatian Gendarmerie.
The Croatian Gendarmerie was formed on 30 April 1941 as rural police under Major-General Milan Miesler. By September 1943, there were 18,000 men in seven regional regiments. These were divided into 23 companies (one per county plus one for Zagreb). The companies were subdivided into 142 district platoons, each with several posts. In early 1942, a three-battalion Combined Gendarmie Regiment, in July redesignated Petrinja Brigade, was established for anti-Partisan operations in Slavonia. Twelve of the independent Police Volunteer Battalions formed the Croatian Gendarmerie Division in 1945.
Ranks and insignia.
Commissioned officer ranks.
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
Other ranks.
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
References.
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