Operation Swath - 10 Operation Swath - 10 ( ) was a military offensive undertaken by the Croatian Army ( " Hrvatska vojska " – HV ) against the SAO Western Slavonia Territorial Defense Forces on the Bilogora Mountain , in the region of western Slavonia . The operation took place from 31 October to 4 November 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence and ended in a Croatian victory . The military success set the stage for follow - up advances by Croatian forces on the Papuk Mountain in Operation Papuk - 91 fought in late November and December . By the end of the year , the HV gained control of the entire Papuk , securing transport routes between eastern Slavonia and the rest of Croatia . The offensives were accompanied by the displacement of most of the Croatian Serb population of the area captured by the HV . The refugees initially fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina , but the majority were soon settled in the Yugoslav People ' s Army - held Baranja region in the east of Croatia . The event provoked accusations that the Croatian troops had committed ethnic cleansing and civil rights abuses in the offensive . The accusations were contradicted by a European Community Monitor Mission ( ECMM ) report made following an ECMM team tour of the area captured by the Croatian forces , two days after the offensive ended . During Operation Papuk - 91 , retreating White Eagles paramilitaries committed the Voćin massacre . The war crime s committed in Voćin were prosecuted at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia . Background . Within the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia , the 5th ( Banja Luka ) Corps of the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( " Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija " – JNA ) was tasked with advancing north through western Slavonia , from Okučani to Daruvar and Virovitica , and with a secondary drive from Okučani towards Kutina . This task was essentially consistent with the line expected to be reached by the main thrust of the JNA advancing from eastern Slavonia in about a week . The linkup was designed to facilitate a further advance west to Zagreb and Varaždin . The corps had already deployed a battlegroup of the 265th Mechanised Brigade near Okučani to support the advance that started on 21 September , and reached the Papuk Mountains . The corps received one artillery and two motorised brigades as reinforcements during the advance , but the problems with morale and desertions experienced by the JNA elsewhere were also present in the Banja Luka Corps . The JNA was stopped by the Croatian National Guard ( " Zbor Narodne Garde " – ZNG ) between Novska , Nova Gradiška and Pakrac , even though SAO Western Slavonia Territorial Defense Forces ( " Teritorijalna odbrana " – TO ) units took positions on the Bilogora and Papuk north of Pakrac , near Virovitica and Slatina with no JNA support . The capture of Ivanovo Selo , east of Grubišno Polje and north of Daruvar , on 21 September marked the territorial peak of the TO - held area on the Bilogora . The village was recaptured by the ZNG the same day at a cost of 7 dead and 15 wounded . On 1 October , the Banja Luka Corps initiated probing attacks in the region , presaging a major effort employing the bulk of the corps three days later . The advance established defensive positions just outside Novska and Nova Gradiška . On 6 October , Pakrac was briefly isolated when the JNA captured Batinjani northwest of the town , interdicting the last road available for supply of Pakrac . The ZNG recaptured the village the same day and drove the JNA back , but it sustained 22 killed in the action . The JNA captured Jasenovac on 8 October . Lipik and a part of Pakrac were captured four days later . By that time the JNA offensive in western Slavonia had lost its momentum , and the ZNG made minor advances north of Novska and west of Nova Gradiška on 13 and 16 October . The Croatian authorities considered the war situation no longer critical . This assessment was followed by an order to prepare and implement plans for a counter - offensive on 15 October . On 29 October , the ZNG launched Operation Hurricane - 91 against positions held by the JNA and the TO near Novska and Nova Gradiška . Order of battle . The TO forces in the Bilogora Mountain region were formally a part of the 28th Partisan Division , commanded by Colonel Nikola Marić . In reality , the TO forces comprised approximately 1 , 750 soldiers provided with eight armoured vehicle s , ten cannons and twelve mortars . The TO - force was organised in two battalions , headquartered in the villages of Mali Grđevac and Velika Peratovica , jointly commanded by Rade Čakmak . North of the TO - held area , the ZNG deployed the 127th Infantry Brigade in the Virovitica area . In the Grubišno Polje area , south of the Bilogora , the ZNG force was subordinated to the 57th Independent Battalion ( later renamed the 77th Independent Battalion ) . The attacking ZNG force , under the command of Colonel Franjo Kovačević , consisted of 2 , 647 troops , supported by twelve armoured vehicles , eighteen cannons and twenty mortars — surpassing the defending TO force in every aspect except for the close air support provided by the Yugoslav Air Force to the TO . The ZNG originally planned to deploy the 105th Infantry Brigade and " Omega " special police company from Bjelovar , but the two units had to be committed elsewhere and were not available for the offensive . Timeline . Operation Swath - 10 was formulated by the Croatians to regain control of the Virovitica – Lončarica – Grubišno Polje road , cutting off and destroying the TO forces deployed in the area of the road — the northernmost part of western Slavonia captured by the TO or the JNA . Those objectives were also designed to deny the Banja Luka Corps support if it attempted to break through towards Virovitica , controlling the last remaining supply route between Zagreb and Slavonia , shorten the Croatian defensive positions and improve the morale of the troops and civilian population . The offensive was originally scheduled for 15 October , but it was postponed for two weeks due to unavailability of the 105th Infantry Brigade and the special police . The operation plan expected the ZNG to cut off the two TO battalions on the Bilogora Mountain within two days of fighting , and the second stage of the offensive called for destruction of the trapped TO force . The operation was authorised by Colonel Miroslav Jezerčić , commander of Bjelovar Operational Zone , as early as 7 October . The offensive was launched at 6 am on 31 October . A 50 - minute artillery bombardment was followed by a ZNG advance in three groups . The 57th Independent Battalion advanced from the south , the 127th Infantry Brigade from the north and the 1st Battalion of the 127th Infantry Brigade from the northwest . The same day , the ZNG captured the villages of Velika Barna , Gornja Kovačica and Zrinska northwest of the Grubišno Polje – Veliki Grđevac road . That also secured the Grubišno Polje . The ZNG also advanced along the Virovitica – Grubišno Polje road , arriving at the outskirts of Mala Peratovica , east of Grubišno Polje , and approaching Lončarica , south of Virovitica . The TO forces offered strong resistance , especially near Lončarica , even though the battlefield situation was described as hopeless . The TO requested close air support from the Yugoslav Air Force , and between four and six aircraft were deployed in response . On 1 November , the ZNG conducted mopping - up operations in the areas northwest of Grubišno Polje . The next day , the TO force started to retreat towards the Papuk Mountain . Lončarica and Dapčevački Brđani ( another village situated approximately northeast of Mala Peratovica along the Virovitica – Grubišno Polje road ) were captured by the Croatian force on 3 November , after they defeated strong TO resistance . That day , the ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army ( " Hrvatska vojska " – HV ) . After the two villages were captured , the HV forces advancing from Grubišno Polje and Virovitica linked up . The same day , the HV also captured the village of Velika Peratovica , isolated by the advances along the Virovitica – Grubišno Polje road and the advance northwest of Grubišno Polje made on the first day of the offensive . On 4 November , the operation was declared complete after the HV secured the entire area . Follow - up operations . Battle of Bastajski Brđani . On 10 November , the 57th Independent Battalion advanced against the TO in the village of Veliki Miletinac , east of the area captured in Operation Swath - 10 , capturing the village the same day . Neighbouring Mali Miletinac was captured by the HV the next day . On 12 November , the HV captured the villages of Bastajski Brđani and Rekići . Two days later , the TO counterattacked , killing nine HV members and wounding approximately 10 more , but the HV defence held . Another effort to recapture Bastajski Brđani was made by the TO , reinforced with 50 White Eagles paramilitaries . The attack failed even though it was well prepared and supported by artillery because the defending HV force was alerted through signals intelligence and reinforced in anticipation of the attack . The White Eagles suffered 46 killed in the battle . Operation Papuk - 91 . Operation Papuk - 91 was devised as a follow - up of Operation Swath - 10 , involving advancing south from the Virovitica – Osijek road , aimed at clearing the Papuk and Psunj mountains of the TO forces , elements of the 28th Partisan Division . The offensive was approved by Jezerčić at a meeting in Slatina on 23 November . The meeting was attended by HV Inspector General Martin Špegelj , Colonel Miljenko Crnjac ( commanding officer of the 123rd Infantry Brigade ) , Colonel Đuro Dečak ( commanding officer of the 127th Infantry Brigade ) , Colonel Josip Černi ( commanding officer of the 136th Infantry Brigade ) and commanders of other units tasked with supporting the offensive . The operation was launched on 28 November , and the HV advanced across a front spanning Grubišno Polje and Orahovica nearly further east . On 2 December , a detachment of the 123rd Infantry Brigade , en route to relieve troops manning a base on the Papuk , was ambushed and eleven soldiers were killed . On 10 December , the HV advanced onto the Psunj Mountain area north of Nova Gradiška in an effort codenamed Gradina , capturing the villages of Šnjegavić , Sinlije , Golobrdac , Vučjak Čečavski , Ruševac , Jeminovac , Čečavac and Opršinac . The advance improved the safety of the Nova Gradiška – Požega road and secured the right flank of the Nova Gradiška axis of Operation Hurricane - 91 . Between 12 and 15 December , the HV captured a cluster of villages centred on Đulovac , southeast of the area captured in Operation Swath - 10 . The HV units approaching from the east captured Voćin , approximately southeast of Đulovac , on 14 – 15 December . Both Voćin and Đulovac were badly damaged by the retreating TO and the White Eagles paramilitaries . In addition , the retreating White Eagles killed 43 civilians in Voćin on 13 December . Bodies of the victims were mutilated and left unburied , presumably as a warning to others . On 16 December , the HV captured the villages of Gornji Vrhovci , Kamenski Vučjak and Kamenski Šušnjari situated approximately south of Voćin and west of Velika , restricting the TO forces to the southwest edge of the Papuk Mountain and the Psunj Mountain further south in operation codenamed Sokolina . The following day , the HV captured Novo Zvečevo and a TO supply depot in the village , located halfway between Voćin and Kamenski Vučjak . The attack on Novo Zvečevo was codenamed Johanesberg . On 18 December , the HV advanced southwest from Kamenski Vučjak ( advance codenamed Laništa ) , capturing the villages of Striježevica , Bogdašić , Amatovci and Kamenski Šeovci , arriving within of the village of Kamenska situated on the Pakrac – Požega road . During the following three days the HV performed mopping up operations in the area . On 21 December , the HV launched a failed attack on Kamenska and the adjacent village of Mijači ( codenamed Prkos ) . The TO withdrew from the area north of Kamenska , including the village of Sažije on 24 December , and it retreated from Kamenska and Mijači the next day . The HV forces deployed in the area of Pakrac , west of the Papuk and the Psunj , advanced east to support Operation Papuk - 91 , capturing the villages of Dereza , Gornji Grahovljani , Donji Grahovljani , Kusonje and Španovica on 24 – 25 December , leaving less than of the Pakrac – Požega road in between the HV units advancing from the west and the east . Operation Papuk - 91 was concluded on 26 December , when the forces of the 123rd , the 127th and the 136th Brigades linked up at Bučje . The advance of the final day was codenamed Velebit . Aftermath . In Operation Swath - 10 , the HV sustained the loss of five dead . It captured of western Slavonia containing 21 villages . While the HV met the objective of securing the Virovitica – Grubišno Polje road it failed to trap the TO troops deployed to the area . This was later attributed to insufficient forces required to accomplish the goal , specifically unavailability of the 105th Infantry Brigade or possibly the 73rd Independent ( Garešnica ) Battalion . The two units were deployed in the area of Pakrac instead . The positions reached by the HV set the stage for further advance against the SAO Western Slavonia in Operation Papuk - 91 . Some sources conflate Operations Swath - 10 and Papuk - 91 , presenting the latter as a part of Operation Swath - 10 . Operation Papuk - 91 completely eliminated threat to the road connecting the eastern Slavonia and Zagreb because the TO forces were pushed sufficiently far south , placing the road out of range of artillery . In Operation Papuk - 91 , the HV captured 110 settlements , as well as approximately of territory . In 2008 , a monument to the HV troops who took part in the offensive was unveiled in Grubišno Polje . Another monument was erected on the Papuk Mountain to the 11 soldiers of the 123rd Infantry Brigade ambushed in Operation Papuk - 91 on 2 December 1991 . Operations Swath - 10 , Papuk - 91 , and Hurricane - 91 , executed in western Slavonia in late 1991 , are considered to be the first Croatian offensive operations of liberation in the Croatian War of Independence . The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) charged Vojislav Šešelj with a series of war crime s , including the killings committed by the White Eagles paramilitaries in Voćin on 13 December . The trial concluded in 2012 , but the verdict is still pending . Slobodan Milošević , President of Serbia at the time of the killings , was also charged by the ICTY for the crimes committed in Voćin . Milošević died before his trial at the ICTY was completed . Refugees . The Croatian Serb civilian population fled the area affected by Operation Swath - 10 . According to Serbian sources , the population started to flee on the first day of the offensive , and by the second day approximately 800 vehicles left the region and crossed into Bosnia and Herzegovina . The retreating columns included men of military age who refused to fight . A substantial proportion of the refugees were settled in Baranja , in houses owned by Croats displaced from the region . Based on the reports of the fleeing civilians , the Yugoslav government accused Croatia of ethnic cleansing and other civil rights violations . Deputy prime minister Aleksandar Mitrović wrote to the European Community Monitor Mission ( ECMM ) , accusing Croatia of causing numerous casualties , devastation and displacement of Serb civilians . Even though the accusations were contrasted by evacuation plans put together by SAO Western Slavonia authorities on 25 October , and by testimony of civilians who remained in the area and claimed that the TO called the population to flee claiming " Ustaše are coming [ . . . ] killing every Serb " , media in Serbia widely reported on alleged atrocities . The reports related the Croatian offensive to World War II and massacres committed by the Independent State of Croatia in that period . On 3 November , the Presidency of Yugoslavia condemned the offensive citing the destruction of 18 Serb villages , and the next day the National Assembly of Serbia appealed to the international community for help . In response to the situation and a request received from the Presidency of Yugoslavia , an ECMM team toured the area affected by the offensive on 6 November , targeting those locations where the media reports indicated the atrocities occurred , including Velika Peratovica , Mala Peratovica , Gornja Rašenica , Donja Rašenica and Lončarica . The ECMM report of 6 November refuted the accusations . The ECMM team found only one Serb couple remaining in the area , but they denied claims that the HV mistreated the civilians left behind . The ECMM team reported that there was no systematic destruction of houses , even though a number of structures exhibited artillery bombardment damage and a small number of houses , farms and haystack s had been recently torched . However , the report states that the team was unable to determine if the HV was to blame , or if the villagers took revenge against SAO Western Krajina leaders , or if the destruction was a result of a scorched earth policy applied by the retreating force . The HV offensives in western Slavonia conducted in late 1991 — Operations Hurricane - 10 , Swath - 10 , and Papuk - 91 — created a total of 20 , 000 Serb refugees . They fled from the area when the JNA ordered the Croatian Serb forces to withdraw , and were subsequently settled in JNA - held Baranja region in the east of Croatia . Ceasefire . A ceasefire of 3 January 1992 allowed for the implementation of the Vance plan , which provided for the protection of civilians in specific areas designated as UN Protected Areas ( UNPAs ) and deployment of UN peacekeepers in Croatia . One of the UNPAs defined by the plan , UNPA Western Slavonia , encompassed parts of the municipalities of Novska and Nova Gradiška , as well as the entire municipalities of Daruvar , Grubišno Polje and Pakrac . Thus the UNPA covered the area held by the JNA on 3 January , additional territory to the north , recaptured by the HV in late 1991 , and towns which never came under SAO Western Slavonia control — such as Grubišno Polje and Daruvar . The peacekeeping force named United Nations Protection Force ( UNPROFOR ) , initially expected to be 10 , 000 - strong , started to deploy on 8 March .