Battle of Gospić Battle of Gospić ( ) was fought in and around Gospić , Croatia , as a part of the Croatian War of Independence , from 29 August until 22 September 1991 . The battle pitted the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( JNA ) stationed in five barracks in the town and paramilitaries of the Serbian Guard against the Croatian National Guard ( ZNG ) and the police forces based in Gospić and sent as reinforcements from other parts of Croatia . Initially , the JNA , supported by its artillery , controlled the eastern part of Gospić in a conflict that was fought as a static battle within the city . As the Croatian forces captured several JNA storage depots and barracks — in what was later known as the Battle of the Barracks — on 14 September , the balance started to shift as the ZNG received captured weapons . In consequence , the remaining JNA barracks in Gospić were captured by 20 September and the JNA and the Serbian Guard were pushed back out of the town . The battle followed escalating ethnic tensions in the Lika region , including attacks on Croatian civilians in Lovinac , an attack on a Croatian police checkpoint in Žuta Lokva , and comparably small - scale fighting at the Plitvice Lakes and the Ljubovo Pass on the Gospić – Plitvička Jezera road . The remainder of 1991 saw further deterioration of the situation in the region , resulting in war crimes agains Serbs and Croats in Gospić and Široka Kula massacre s . Military conflict in the region continued through further fighting which produced little territorial changes , before a more lasting ceasefire was produced by the Sarajevo Agreement of 2 January 1992 . Background . In August 1990 , an insurrection took place in Croatia centred on the predominantly Serb - populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around the city of Knin , as well as in parts of the Lika , Kordun , and Banovina regions , and settlements in eastern Croatia with significant Serb populations . The areas were subsequently named SAO Krajina ( Serb Autonomous Oblast ) and , after declaring its intention to integrate with Serbia , the Government of Croatia declared it to be a rebellion . By March 1991 , the conflict escalated into the Croatian War of Independence . In June 1991 , Croatia declared its independence as Yugoslavia disintegrated . A three - month moratorium followed , after which the decision came into effect on 8 October . The SAO Krajina , renamed Republic of Serbian Krajina ( RSK ) on 19 December , then initiated a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Croatian civilians . As the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( JNA ) increasingly supported the SAO Krajina and the Croatian Police was unable to cope with the situation , the Croatian National Guard ( ZNG ) was formed in May 1991 . The development of the military of Croatia was hampered by a UN arms embargo introduced in September , while the military conflict in Croatia continued to escalate — the Battle of Vukovar started on 26 August . Prelude . An already tense situation in the Lika region , following the 1 April Plitvice Lakes incident , when the first fatalities of the Croatian War of Independence occurred , deteriorated further in June when Croatia reaffirmed its sovereignty through a parliamentary declaration . The deterioration reflected itself through a rise of violent incidents , setting up of unauthorized road checkpoints and occasional small arms fire . On 22 June , three policemen were abducted on the road between Gospić and SAO Krajina - controlled Gračac , and a series of attacks on the Croatian police occurred in various parts of Lika , including Gospić , on 27 – 28 June . In July 1991 , the JNA started to openly confront the Croatian police and the ZNG in Lika . On 1 July , Plitvice police station was surrounded by the JNA , and on 6 July , two ZNG troops were killed and another two wounded in a JNA ambush near Gospić . Further escalation of the fighting was seen at the Ljubovo pass on the Gospić – Korenica road , where the JNA and SAO Krajina troops fought and pushed the ZNG back on 28 – 29 July . Ethnic violence continued to escalate when Serb paramilitaries abducted and killed five Croatian civilians from Lovinac in southern Lika on 5 August , and a police checkpoint in Žuta Lokva was attacked . In early August , the JNA moved a company of the 4th Armoured Brigade , previously deployed to the Ljubovo pass , to Gospić , in order to reinforce its garrison in the town — the 236th Proletarian Motorized Brigade ( a brigade in name only , the 236th was actually only a company - sized unit ) . The SAO Krajina troops attacked and captured the Plitvice police station on 30 August . As the successful capture of Plitvice became imminent , and as the ZNG pulled out of Lički Osik , located north of Gospić , on 31 August , the SAO Krajina and the JNA shifted their focus in Lika to Gospić itself , where Serbs comprised 38 . 4 % of the total population of 12 , 000 . Order of battle . The JNA forces consisted of the garrison of the " Stanko Opsenica " barracks in Gospić — 70 officers and 200 soldiers , and four smaller JNA facilities in the town . The garrison was supported by Serbian Guard paramilitaries led by Đorđe Božović . The paramilitary unit deployed to Gospić from Serbia using JNA transportation , fielding 128 troops , according to an interview with the commanding officer of Territorial Defence in southern Lika in 1991 . The JNA units based in Gospić following a reorganization in 1990 were the 236th Motorized Brigade and the 1st Brigade of the 35th Partisan Division , both subordinated to the Rijeka Corps . Prior to the reorganization , Gospić was garrisoned by the 10th Proletarian Infantry Regiment — a B - class unit required to maintain only 15 % of wartime troop levels . In the reorganization process , the 10th Regiment was amalgamated with the 9th Proletarian Infantry Regiment to form the 236th Motorized Brigade . The JNA garrison in Gospić was formally commanded by Colonel Petar Čavar , however effective command was taken over by his chief of staff , Yugoslav Counterintelligence Service Major Relja Tomić . In early September , Croatian forces in Gospić comprised 427 troops , largely drawn from police forces based in Gospić , Rijeka and Zabok , volunteers from Gospić , Zagreb and Senj as well as Croatian Defence Forces troops . The ZNG force in Gospić consisted of the 118th Infantry Brigade . The brigade started to form around the ZNG 58th Independent Battalion on 14 August — but it would not be fully assembled until after October . In addition , the brigade failed to establish cooperation with the Karlovac Corps , to which it was formally subordinated . By mid - September , the brigade comprised two battalions — one of them comprising four companies and the other one three . The 118th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mirko Norac , while the head of the Croatian police in Gospić was Ivan Dasović . Timeline . The JNA and the Serb paramilitary force started artillery bombardment of Gospić from positions held in the village of Divoselo and the JNA Jasikovac Barracks on 29 August 1991 . Intensity of the artillery attacks increased significantly towards mid - September , causing significant damage in Gospić . A SAO Krajina report of the attack estimated that more than 50 % of structures in the city were damaged . At the outset of the battle , the JNA and the paramilitaries pushed the Croatian force out of the eastern part of Gospić . On 5 September , Croatian forces captured JNA Major General Trajče Krstevski , along with three armoured personnel carrier s ( APCs ) and 32 soldiers , when he attempted to reach JNA barracks that were isolated in the centre of the town . The next day , an exchange of prisoners of war ( POWs ) was successfully negotiated . The Croatian commanders in Gospić declined a request that the APCs also be returned — contrary to the instructions of Croatian authorities in Zagreb . Following the capture of Krstevski , the JNA artillery bombardment was stepped up , averaging 1 , 100 artillery shells per day . Nonetheless the second week of the battle produced a stalemate , without any changes of lines of control . The ZNG and Croatian police planned to cut power , water and communications to all JNA facilities in the government - controlled part of Croatia on 14 September . In Gospić , this action was brought forward to 13 September , the same day that the ZNG captured a JNA storage facility . This provided the Croatian troops with 14 , 000 rifles and a substantial quantity of antitank weapon s . The move provided sufficient arms and ordnance for Croatian forces to match the JNA in the town . The JNA barracks in Perušić and Kaniža Barracks in Gospić were captured the following day . The bulk of the JNA garrison in Gospić surrendered on 18 September , following three days of fighting for the Stanko Opsenica Barracks . An infantry attack aiming to support the JNA garrison was successfully repelled by Croatian forces on 16 September in the Divoselo area , where Božović was killed . After the city centre became relatively secure , the Croatian forces extended their offensive , capturing the Jasikovac Barracks and relieving two Croatian - held pockets in villages of Ribnik and Bilaj by 20 September . As the JNA surrendered , the Serb forces retreated from the eastern parts of Gospić to a line in front of Medak , as the Croatian forces completed mopping up in Gospić by 22 September . Aftermath . Croatia captured approximately 300 JNA officers and soldiers , who were taken to Rijeka after their capture . They were later exchanged for Croatian POWs captured by the JNA in the Battle of Vukovar and elsewhere in Croatia . A large quantity of small arms and ammunition was captured as well as seven tanks and twelve mortars . After the battle , the artillery bombardment of Gospić continued from positions around Divoselo and Lički Čitluk , approximately south of Gospić . Comparably small scale fighting in Lika continued until January 1992 as the belligerents sought to improve their positions on the ground , especially around Gospić and Otočac . A further Croatian advance to the south was stopped by the JNA and the SAO Krajina forces on 23 September defending a JNA storage depot in Sveti Rok using an infantry battalion and the Krajina Express armoured train . The JNA fully secured the depot and captured Lovinac on 26 September . By the end of September , Croatian defensive positions around Otočac were shored up , allowing minor attacks — largely in area of village of Drenov Klanac . In late October and early December , fighting was intensified around Divoselo near Gospić , but no territory changed hands . The intensity of artillery bombardment of Gospić peaked on 1 November 1991 , when 3 , 500 artillery shells struck the town . In December , the JNA Knin Corps proposed to the JNA General Staff to advance from Gračac in an attempt to capture Gospić and Otočac , but signing of the Sarajevo Agreement and ceasefire of 2 January 1992 largely halted further fighting , until the commencement of Operation Medak Pocket in September 1993 . The continuing military confrontation in the region was accompanied by escalation of ethnic violence , culminating in war crimes against civilians committed by military authorities in Gospić and the SAO Krajina military in the area around Lički Osik in October 1991 . In Gospić , approximately 50 Serb civilians were taken from the town and killed in the surrounding fields . The individuals responsible for the event , later known as the Gospić massacre , were prosecuted by Croatian judiciary . This resulted in the conviction , in 2003 , of Norac and two other defendants to 12 years in prison . The killings in the Lički Osik area , known as the Široka Kula massacre , targeted 40 civilians , largely Croats but also Serbs suspected of supporting Croatia . In 2011 , a court in Belgrade , Serbia , convicted four former SAO Krajina militiamen for killing of four Serbs and a Croat in Široka Kula .