Royal Croatian Home Guard

Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo Royal Croatian Home Guard
Home Guard Cap Badge
Active	1868–1918
Country	Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
Branch	Army
Motto(s)	Za kralja i Domovinu (For King and Homeland)
Engagements	World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders	Svetozar Borojević Stjepan Sarkotić

The Royal Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo, Hrvatsko-slavonsko domobranstvo or Kraljevsko hrvatsko-ugarsko domobranstvo, often simply Domobranstvo or Domobran in singular, in German: Croatisch-Slawonische Landwehr) was the Croatian-Slavonian army section of the Royal Hungarian Landwehr (Hungarian: Magyar Királyi Honvédség), which existed from 1868 to 1918. The force was created by decree of the Croatian Parliament on December 5, 1868 as a result of the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement.

Uniform of the Hungarian Honvéd

The settlement specified four conditions:

1. Croats (and Croatian Serbs) would serve their military service within Croatia
2. Military training would be conducted in Croatian
3. Cadet and Domobran academies would be formed
4. Croatian military units could take on Croatian names

Formations and units[]

The Home Guard initially consisted of 8 squadrons, garrisoned in 6 town:

• 79th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
• 80th Home Guard Squadron (Zagreb)
• 81st Home Guard Squadron (Virovitica)
• 82nd Home Guard Squadron (Vukovar)
• 29th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
• 30th Home Guard Squadron (Varaždin)
• 31st Home Guard Squadron (Vinkovci)
• 32nd Home Guard Squadron (Vinkovci)

Following a reform, it was reorganized into 8 battalions each garrisoned in a different town:

• 83rd Home Guard Battalion (Sisak)
• 84th Home Guard Battalion (Bjelovar)
• 87th Home Guard Battalion (Gospić)
• 88th Home Guard Battalion (Ogulin)
• 89th Home Guard Battalion (Švarča)
• 90th Home Guard Battalion (Glina)
• 91st Home Guard Battalion (Nova Gradiška)
• 92nd Home Guard Battalion (Mitrovica)

Following a second reform, it was reorganized into 5 regiments, each in 5 major cities:

• 25th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Zagreb)
• 26th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Karlovac)
• 27th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Sisak)
• 28th Home Guard Infantry Regiment (Osijek)
• 10th Home Guard Cavalry Regiment (Varaždin)

Commanders[]

• Count  [hr] (1869–1875).
•  [hr] (1875–1880).
•  [hr] (1881–1890).
•  [hr] (1890–1893).
•  [hr] (1893–1897).
• Josip Bach (1897–1901).
•  [hr] (1901–1903).
•  [hr] (1903–1907).
• Svetozar Boroević (1907–1912).
• Stjepan Sarkotić (1912–1914).
• Ivan Salis Seewis (1915).
• Anton Lipošćak (1915–1916, 1917).
•  [hr] (1916–1917).
•  [hr] (1917–1918).
•  [hr] (1918).

World War I[]

Badge of 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division.

The 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division consisting of the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th Home Guard Infantry regiment under the Command of Stjepan Sarkotić took part in the battle against Serbia in August, 1914 together with the 104th Landsturm (pučko-ustaška) Brigade under the Command of Theodor Bekić.^[1]

Legacy[]

During World War II, the Independent State of Croatia was formed and its regular army was also called the "Croatian Home Guard". It existed from April 1941 to May 1945.

On 24 December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, a part of the Croatian Army was formed that was also called the "Home Guard" ("Domobranstvo"). It ceased to exist in a 2003 reorganization.^[2]

See also[]

• Military of Austria-Hungary

References[]

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