THE POCKET-93 MILITARY-POLICE OPERATION - TACTICAL LEVEL ANALYSIS

Agresijom Jugoslavenske narodne armije i srpskih pobunjenika 1991. godine na hrvatske gradove, naselja i sela započeo je rat u Hrvatskoj. Kao posljedica agresije na Republiku Hrvatsku već 1991. godine formirana su bojišta. Jedno od vrlo aktivnih je bilo Ličko bojište gdje je nakon niza priprema izvedena brza i učinkovita Vojno-redarstvena operacija "Džep 93". Operacija je izvedena 9. rujna 1993., a imala je za cilj u taktičkom smislu osloboditi dio okupiranog područja Republike Hrvatske, otkloniti dio topničke ugroze od grada Gospića, uništiti izvidničko-diverzantske baze neprijatelja, skratiti bojišnicu i stvoriti vlastite slobodne snage. Jedan od važnijih ciljeva bio je pokazati sposobnost Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske za provedbu napadne operacije i time neprijatelju dati do znanja da se njegove neprijateljske vojne aktivnosti više neće nekažnjeno tolerirati. Autori su na temelju arhivske građe i recentne literature analizirali vojno-redarstvenu operaciju "Džep 93" te njezin taktički i operativni značaj.The war in Croatia began with the aggression of the Yugoslav People’s Army and Serbian rebels in 1991 on Croatian towns, settlements and villages. As a consequence of the aggression against the Republic of Croatia, battlefields were formed as early as 1991. One of the most active was the Lika battlefield where, after a series of preparations, the quick and effective military-police operation called Pocket-93 was carried out. The operation was carried out on 9th September 1993, and its goal was to tactically liberate a part of the occupied territory of the Republic of Croatia, to eliminate part of the artillery threat from the town of Gospić, to destroy the enemy’s reconnaissance and sabotage bases, to shorten the frontline and to create its own free forces. One of the more important goals was to demonstrate the ability of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia to carry out an offensive operation and thereby let the enemy know that their hostile military activities would no longer be tolerated with impunity. Based on archival material and recent literature, the authors have analysed the Pocket-93 military-police operation and its tactical and operational significance