The Marking of the 22nd Anniversary of “Maslenica”
Wreaths were laid and respects paid at the Central Cemetery of Zadar on 21 January 2015 to mark the 22nd anniversary of the “Maslenica” Police and Military Operation.
The delegation of the President of the Republic, the Croatian Parliament and the Government, headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, Josip Leko, the delegation of the Croatian Armed Forces and the Directorate of the Police, headed by the Army Commander, Major General Mate Ostović, the officials of Zadar and the Zadar County and of the Association of Croatian defenders, accompanied by General Ante Gotovina (Ret.). They also paid respects to the 3rd Battalion (“The Falcons”) of the war-time 4th Guard Brigade of the Croatian Army at its Memorial site in Zadar.
The ceremony programme featured a memorial march of the members of the war-time units and participants of the “Maslenica“ Operation and the mass served in the Church of Saint Simon in Zadar by the archbishop of Zadar, mons Želimir Puljić. It was followed by a promotion of the book “The Maslenica Operation – participants’ testimonies “, by Tomislav Šulj and Vladimir Brnardić, published by the Croatian Homeland War Memorial and Documentation Centre.
The Operation was launched on 22 January 1993 at 6 a.m. (assigned the code name “The Pirate”), liberating some 15 villages of the Zadar hinterland within three days, including the strategic sites such as the Novsko ždrilo strait and the Zemunik Air Base. It was a turning point of the Homeland War, reconnecting the north and the south of Croatia and allowing further military campaigns by the Croatian Army.
The Operation engaged all services of the Croatian Armed Forces, in the units of the Split Army District, including the 4th Guard Brigade, the Dalmatian towns based brigades (the 112nd, 113rd and th 126th Brigades, the 7th Home Guard Regiment, the 72nd Military Police Battalion, Navy operational and special forces, Split-based Electronic Reconnaissance Division and the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence Rotary Wing Squadron). The casualties in the first three days comprised 19 killed and 70 wounded members of the Croatian Army, but unfortunately rose to 127 by the end of March 1993 due to the aggressor’s vehement artillery, tank and infantry and special forces attacks in retaliation for the Operation.