Operation Hurricane - 91 Operation Hurricane - 91 ( ) was a military offensive undertaken by the Croatian Army ( " Hrvatska vojska " – HV ) against the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( " Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija " – JNA ) and SAO Western Slavonia Territorial Defense Forces in the Sava River valley , in the region of western Slavonia during the Croatian War of Independence . The operation began on 29 October 1991 and ended on 3 January 1992 when a nationwide ceasefire was signed to implement the Vance plan . The offensive was aimed at recapturing the region , in conjunction with two other HV offensives launched against SAO Western Slavonia in the north of the region within days . Even though the offensive captured a portion of the targeted area , including the town of Lipik as the first of the larger settlements captured by the HV during the war , mission objectives were not met before the ceasefire took effect . SAO Western Slavonia retained control of the town of Okučani and its surroundings , including a short section of the Zagreb – Slavonski Brod motorway . The halting of Operation Hurricane - 91 due to the ceasefire of 3 January 1992 led to opposing assessments on the possible outcomes of the offensive had there been no ceasefire . Those range from claims that the JNA was on the brink of defeat in the area , to estimates that the HV was too exhausted and its ammunition stocks too low to permit a successful conclusion of the offensive . The three HV offensives launched in western Slavonia in late - 1991 led to the displacement of approximately 20 , 000 Croatian Serb refugees who were later settled in JNA - held Baranja region in the east of Croatia . 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 the western Slavonia region , 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 the 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 two motorised and one artillery 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 . 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 that the war situation was no longer critical . This assessment was followed by an order to prepare and implement plans for a counter - offensive on 15 October . Order of battle . The ZNG units in the areas of Novska and Nova Gradiška , east and west of JNA - held Okučani , were subordinated to Posavina Operational Group ( OG ) , commanded by Colonel Rudi Stipčić . The Posavina OG commanded 14 , 758 troops . Besides the 125th Infantry Brigade , raised in Novska , the units deployed around Novska , west of JNA - held Okučani , were the 1st Guards Brigade , the 117th Infantry Brigade , the 56th Independent Battalion , and the 65th Independent Battalion . The 15th Mixed Antitank Artillery Regiment was also deployed to the Posavina OG area of responsibility ( AOR ) . The Novska axis of the Posavina OG was reinforced in November by addition of the 151st Infantry Brigade , the 1st Battalion of the 153rd Infantry Brigade , the 51st Independent Battalion , and the 53rd Independent Battalion . In the area of Nova Gradiška , the ZNG deployed the 121st Infantry Brigade , elements of the 108th Infantry Brigade , elements of the 99th Infantry Brigade , relatively small detachments temporarily removed from the 1st and the 3rd Guards Brigades , and the 1st Battalion of the 149th Infantry Brigade . The 104th Infantry Brigade and the 105th Infantry Brigade were deployed north of the Posavina OG , in the area of Pakrac . The combined JNA and TO forces deployed opposite the Posavina OG comprised approximately 13 , 500 troops , subordinated to the JNA 5th ( Banja Luka ) Corps . In the area , the corps had at its disposal a battlegroup of the 265th Mechanised Brigade , the 6th and the 10th Partisan Brigades , and the 16th Motorised Brigade , supported by the SAO Western Slavonia TO . In the second half of December , the Banja Luka Corps was reinforced by the addition of three motorised battalions and an armoured battalion , drawn from the 84th Motorised Brigade ( from Bitola ) , and the 125th Motorised Brigade ( from Titova Mitrovica ) . In addition , the 134th Light Infantry Brigade was brought in as a reinforcement from Titovo Užice on 31 December . The corps was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel General Nikola Uzelac . Timeline . The objectives of Operation Hurricane - 91 were to secure Croatian international border at the Sava River south of Okučani and recapture territory held by the JNA and the TO in the area between Pakrac , Nova Gradiška and Novska , as well as in the area of Jasenovac . The HV was also tasked with interdicting the Okučani – Lipik road . The offensive began on 29 October , when the ZNG captured the village of Bair , northeast of Novska . On that day alone , 28 ZNG troops were killed . Two days later , the ZNG launched Operation Swath - 10 against the northern portion of the TO - held portion of western Slavonia , and a follow - up attack on 10 – 12 December . On 3 November , the ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army ( " Hrvatska vojska " – HV ) . Novska – Lipik area . Operation Hurricane - 91 made little progress by mid - November , when the HV made very modest advances , amounting to several hundred metres towards the villages of Medari and Gorice , approximately west of Nova Gradiška . Bair changed hands twice more by 15 November . The same day , the HV captured the village of Popovac Subocki , and the following day it captured the villages of Brezovac and Livađani — all situated in the area between Bair and Lipik . On 18 November , the HV improved its position in the region by capturing the village of Lovska , north of Bair , and again the next day after it captured the Trokut Motel on the Novska – Lipik road . On 28 November , the HV launched Operation Papuk - 91 , targeting the area north of Pakrac , adjacent to the AOR assigned to the Posavina OG . Efforts of the Posavina OG in the Novska – Lipik area were supported by HV units and special police subordinated to the Pakrac Operational Group ( OG ) . On 5 December at 10 am , the Pakrac OG attacked TO and JNA positions in Lipik , about southwest of Pakrac , and the villages of Dobrovac and Kukunjevac to the west of Lipik , situated along the Novska – Lipik road . The Croatian special police entered Lipik that afternoon , but the town was not brought under full control until 11 am the following day when the HV also captured Kukunjevac . On 7 December the Pakrac OG captured Dobrovac , while the Posavina OG units advanced from Bair towards Dobrovac , capturing the village of Korita . The two operational groups linked up in the Novska – Lipik area as the HV captured Jagma on 8 December and the villages of Subocka and Gornje Kričke on 9 December . On 10 – 13 December , the HV launched an unsuccessful attack aimed at capturing a portion of Pakrac which remained under control of the JNA . Nova Gradiška area . Within Operation Papuk - 91 , 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 on 10 December . The advance improved the safety of the Nova Gradiška – Požega road and secured the right flank of the Nova Gradiška axis of the operation . On 12 December , the HV intercepted and captured a reconnaissance – sabotage group near the village of Cernička Šagovina , northwest of Nova Gradiška . On 19 December , the HV captured the village of Mašićka Šagovina on the southern slopes of Psunj , advancing west towards the Okučani – Lipik road by about . The HV sustained significant losses in fighting to take control of the village from the White Eagles paramilitaries — 13 killed and about 20 wounded soldiers . On 22 December , the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia requested the Osijek Operational Zone to prepare three brigades for possible deployment as reinforcements in Operation Hurricane - 91 . The request was prompted by information that the JNA reinforced a day earlier , receiving additional 36 M - 84 and 28 T - 55 tanks , 20 artillery pieces and 800 troops . On 23 December , the HV made a poorly coordinated attempt to capture the village of Trnava , halfway between Nova Gradiška and Okučani . The attack was not successful , but the defending force withdrew the next day . Okučani – Pakrac area . Even though Croatian President Franjo Tuđman called off the offensive on 26 December under international pressure , the fighting continued . The JNA counterattacked in the plains along the Sava River on 26 December . The counterattack was sustained until 3 January 1992 , inflicting HV heavy casualties . As the Operation Papuk - 91 completed , the HV units subordinated to the Pakrac OG advanced to the villages of Kraguj , Japaga and Šeovica on 26 – 27 December 1991 , outflanking the southern parts of Pakrac held by the JNA and the TO . The JNA employed the reinforcements it received to counter the threat . On 28 December , the JNA recaptured the two villages and threatened the Pakrac – Požega road . The same day , the HV retreated from Kraguj to the village of Kusonje to defend the road . On 29 December , the 127th Infantry Brigade suffered a loss of 12 killed or captured as it performed reconnaissance of positions held by the JNA and the TO on the Psunj Mountain , in the villages of Brusnik and Lipovac . The unit failed to advance later on . On 30 December , the HV launched sub - operation Širinci ' 92 west of Nova Gradiška . The HV briefly captured the village of Širinci , advancing west from Mašićka Šagovina and moving within of the Okučani – Lipik road . The JNA quickly pushed the HV out of Širinci the same day . West of Pakrac , the HV successfully defended Kusonje against a fresh attack and continued a mop - up along the Pakrac – Požega road , capturing the village of Prgomelje near Pakrac the same day . On 3 January 1992 , the HV unsuccessfully tried to advance to the village of Donja Šumetlica , south of the road . It managed to recapture Širinci just before a general ceasefire negotiated to implement the Vance plan came into effect that day , and further offensive activities were halted . Aftermath . In Operation Hurricane - 91 , the HV sustained a loss of 184 dead , 595 wounded , while 25 soldiers were captured by the JNA as prisoners of war and one went missing in action . The HV captured a total of of western Slavonia — around Novska and around Nova Gradiška containing 28 settlements . The JNA and the forces supporting it in the area suffered a loss of 516 killed and 516 wounded . Furthermore the JNA lost seventeen tanks , three armoured personnel carrier s , seventeen other vehicles , two howitzers , four recoilless gun s , six mortars , four anti - aircraft gun s , and 1 aircraft . Three 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 the JNA - held Baranja region in eastern Croatia . The HV failed to meet its objectives . This is attributed to several factors , including fatigue caused by the prolonged fighting while the units committed to the battle were not cycled to allow them rest . Furthermore , the HV was confronted with a shortage of ammunition ( especially artillery munitions ) , poor intelligence on the opposing forces , and inadequate communication systems . Breakdown of the communications system forced the HV to rely primarily on runners to transmit information . The offensive was punctuated by numerous local ceasefires , slowing down its progress , already made difficult by cold weather as the air temperature dropped to . Ultimately , the comprehensive ceasefire was agreed , halting all fighting in Croatia . It came into force at 6 pm , on 3 January 1992 . There are opposing views on a possible outcome of the offensive had there been no ceasefire implemented on 3 January . Some sources claim the JNA forces in the region were on the brink of defeat , while others dispute this . Approximately of western Slavonia around Okučani remained outside HV control . The area , containing a portion of the Zagreb – Slavonski Brod motorway between the villages of Paklenica and Dragalić , was captured by the HV in Operation Flash in May 1995 . Some sources conflate Operation Hurricane - 91 and elements of Operation Papuk - 91 , presenting the latter as a part of Operation Hurricane - 91 , specifically including the December 1991 advance of the 123rd Infantry Brigade made on the northeastern slopes of the Psunj mountain . Operation Hurricane - 91 is commemorated annually at the site of the Trokut Motel north of Novska , where a monument listing names of 314 Croatain troops killed in defence of Novska throughout the war is located . 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 ceasefire of 3 January allowed 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 .