On 6 August 1995, the third day of Operation “STORM”, the town of Petrinja was finally liberated in the early hours of the morning by the forces of the Zagreb Military District under the new command of General Petar Stipetić who had replaced General Ivan Basarac. It was a very important day in the Banovina region as Croatian soldiers also freed Hrvatska Kostajnica and Glina later in the evening.
Around noon, members of the 128th “Sveti Vid” Brigade from Rijeka entered Titova Korenica (whose name was changed to Korenica the following year) and celebrated this great victory by meeting up with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) atop of Lička Plješivica mountain. The testament to this undertaking is the fact that they marched over 40 kilometers from the village of Čanak to Korenica through hilly and unfamiliar terrain.
That same day, the 1st Guard “Tiger” Brigade liberated Plitvice and joined forces with the 5th Corps of the Army of BiH near the village of Tržačka Raštela. Bosnian General Atif Dudaković greeted General Marijan Mareković of Croatia on the Korana Bridge with these words:
General, sir… welcome! We have been waiting for you for a long time and have finally met.”
One of the primary objectives of Operation “STORM”, the lifting of the blockade of the city of Bihać, was realized as a result of this joint military action.
The “Tigers” also took part in the liberation of Slunj and were joined by the 143rd Ogulin Home Guard Regiment, Croatian police and the 14th Home Guard Regiment from Slunj. In the documentary film “The Storm of Storms”, commanding General Miljenko Crnjac of the Karlovac military area especially emphasized the bravery of the 14th Home Guard Regiment whose houses were under occupation for 4 years. The night before he issued the order to liberate Slunj and the surrounding area, he simply told them “Gentlemen, it’s time to go home..”
Sources
Davor Marijan. Oluja. Zagreb: Hrvatski memorijalno-dokumentacijski centar Domovinskog rata, 2007.
Dragan Ogurlić. Rijeka u Domovinskom ratu. Rijeka: Grad Rijeka, 2008.
Documentary Film “The Storm of Storms”, HRT, 2005. (Director and Screenwriter Ninoslav Lovčević)
Graduated with a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Zagreb. He has worked at the Croatian History Museum and as a researcher for the popular TV Calendar program for Croatian Radio and Television. He has authored several books and documentaries about Croatia’s Homeland War and is the creator/producer of the immensely popular “It Happened on this Day – Homeland War” Facebook page as well as the online portal Domovinskirat.hr. Borna also is the host and editor of the daily segment “Patriotic Minutes” on Croatian Catholic Radio. He created CroHis to promote the values of the Homeland War and ensure that the sacrifices of those who defended Croatia’s independence would not be forgotten.
