June 28th, clipping her wings

[Betonov]

During the night a lot of Yugoslav (JNA) soldiers surrendered or deserted to Slovenian troops (TO). Border Crossings were still in JNA hands, but were all surrounded. Relief forces were moving slow as they were constantly harrased by TO ambushes, angry civilians and baricades after baricades.


JNA tank breaking a baricade and JNA soldiers surendering

6:45 TO forces suround Holmec border crossing (Slovenia-Austria) and border post. At 8:00 TO begins to retake the crossing and after almost 3 hours it falls to TO forces. 91 JNA soldiers are taken prisoner. One JNA soldier is shot by his own officer after he wishes to surrender. Also 3 JNA soldiers are kiled in front of a news team while carrying a white flag. From which side the shots came we still don't know. 10:45 Holmec is in TO hands.


Holmec border crossing

Slovenias biggest international airport, Brnik, is still in TO hands and surounded by JNA tanks. 10:30 JNA jets attack the airport to destroy the fleet of Slovenias only airline company, to clip the countries wings. The missiles also hit the parking-lot, killing two Austrian reporters. The damage to the airport was minimal. The world started to symphatize with Slovenia as attacks on civil aviation is considered an act of terrorism.


Brnik airport

During the entire dayJNA jets continued to bomb baricades, constructed from trucks, to help the ground troops break trough. Because most truckers refused to leave their trucks (most truck were un-volunteraly used in the baricades) as they were worried about the safety of the cargo, the death toll with truckers exceded the death toll of combatants on both sides combined.
A legend of the war, major Lisjak, managed to retake Rozna Dolina (Slovenia-Italy) border crossing, destroying 3 tanks and taking 93 prisoners. 5 tanks captured were quickly redeployed into TO forces.


Rozna Dolina, burning tanks and captives

JNA forces managed to take Gornja Radgona (border town with Austria) and attack civilian targets. Local civilians use molotovs to destroy suply trucks. Before the evening the entire JNA unit surendered. Most other border crossings were still in JNA hands and cut off. Suplies and reinforcements were airlifted using red cross helicopters (a violation of international law). TO forces created killing fields from landing sites.
President Kucan flew to Zagreb (Croatia) for talks with the European community. Yugoslav national assemby had a meeting with the generals (only the asembly could vote for a total mobilisation). Generals needed the full might of JNA to crush Slovenia. The vote never came. The Yugoslav president Millosevich had different plans.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Betonov

After yesterday's pictures of the truck barricade, I wondered how tank vs truck would look like. Now I have the answer.
Do you have a link to any footage of this scene, as this is clearly a video still? I wonder if the thing on the tank's front is a fire from a molotov cocktail, a light or sparks.

Anyway, again an interesting read, very immersive, reads like a live report.
So I am looking forward how the story continues and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Slovenia wins it's independence . Go Slovenia!

[Oberon]

Indeed, thank you very much for doing these Betonov, I had no idea about this part of history, I guess most eyes were on Moscow at this time.

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by Penguin

After yesterday's pictures of the truck barricade, I wondered how tank vs truck would look like. Now I have the answer.
Do you have a link to any footage of this scene, as this is clearly a video still? I wonder if the thing on the tank's front is a fire from a molotov cocktail, a light or sparks.

Anyway, again an interesting read, very immersive, reads like a live report.
So I am looking forward how the story continues and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Slovenia wins it's independence . Go Slovenia!

I actaully took most of these images from a documentary: Slovenija na barikadah (Slovenia on baricades). There's the entire film on youtube, couldnt find an english version though. I'll post the link and this certain scene with the tank breaking a truck is at 3:55 mark. And at 3:17 there's a tank rolling by with the damage from breaking the baricade (could be the same tank). And those are sparks, yes.

Just don't expect a Hollywood ending

LINK:

just found this video, the captions are some overly patriotic sentences writen by someone who was born after 1991, but you have a lot of scenes when tanks are breaking trough baricades
LINK:

[Gerald]

Thank you for telling and shared history,

[the_tyrant]

The story is really interesting
I had no idea about the events that happened before reading your posts
thanks

[Penguin]

Thanks for the video links, Betonov!
I remember few of these pictures, I think most of the stuff shown in germany was from the conflict at the border, I remember the burned station - however the summer 91 was quite intense for me, so I can't remember everything

Check out 4:54 in the first video, looks like the tank is chasing the Zastava 600! I would have shat my pants if I was sitting in this car!

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Check out 4:54 in the first video, looks like the tank is chasing the Zastava 600! I would have shat my pants if I was sitting in this car!

ahhhh, the good old Fico My friend owns one. Not a car to take long summer drives, whoever sits in the back sits on the engine

[Respenus]

Two years ago, I managed to find an English documentary on our war on YouTube, but it has apparently since been deleted.

I also wish to thank Betonov for doing his duty here on SubSim. At least one Slovenian here who shows his colours. Surprisingly, I saw the documentaries some time ago, just for the sake of it.

I don't know if we have any Croatian members here. I'm certain they could tell an even more interesting story, and an even more horrible one. We were the lucky ones, with Germany and the Vatican on our side, there was little the EEC could had done outside accepting our declaration. It should be mentioned however that the Austrians had already positioned troops on their border, expecting a massive influx of refugees and from talking with some family friends, the media, of course, painted a much lighter picture of the whole conflict. People were scarred ****less, and we couldn't had resisted the full force of the JNA. There was one more element in our favour. Besides the patriotism of fighting for our freedom and an excellently executed media campaign, the JNA was full of new recruits, who didn't go through the whole indoctrination cycle and so they surrendered more easily.

All of this from reports of course, I was 2 at that point in time and don't remember a bloody thing.

[Betonov]

...and we couldn't had resisted the full force of the JNA.

True true. The war would be a bloody one if certain events weren't already put in motion. I'll put what's (in my opinion) the biggest reason why the war was won so quickly on my conclusion, the last entry for this dairy. Sometime in july. And it might be shocking to some

For a good read on the death of Yugoslavia, read Warren Zimmerman: Origins of a catastrophe (Respensus, pri nas je naslov Seme pogube). It really was an eye opener for me, details all the political procceses in the background

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Respenus

I don't know if we have any Croatian members here. I'm certain they could tell an even more interesting story, and an even more horrible one.

I am no Croatian, but I can confirm this. I don't know if the stories are more interesting, but I definitely heard many horrible stories. This doesn't mean that the Slovenians didn't see horrors, too. But the fighting in Croatia was much longer, the crazy **** going on much more confusing and the hatred on all sides much more intense.

Originally Posted by Respenus

We were the lucky ones, with Germany and the Vatican on our side, there was little the EEC could had done outside accepting our declaration.

Remember that Germany also accepted Croatia's independence quite fast, but this didn't do much to stop the war there from happening.
But definitely the whole EU has failed to handle the breakup of Yugoslavia - military and political. If the JNA would have gone berserk in your country the Eu would have done ****.

Originally Posted by Respenus

It should be mentioned however that the Austrians had already positioned troops on their border, expecting a massive influx of refugees

Can't say much about the refugee topic, but I remember that Austria was also quite alarmed when JNA fighter planes violated it's airspace when attacking Slovenia.

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Can't say much about the refugee topic, but I remember that Austria was also quite alarmed when JNA fighter planes violated it's airspace when attacking Slovenia.

Plus artilery shells were over-shooting their targets and hitting Austrian soil. I'm surprised Austria didn't mobilised

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Plus artilery shells were over-shooting their targets and hitting Austrian soil. I'm surprised Austria didn't mobilised

I think that much of Austria's behaviour in this conflict is owned to the historic component, the Austro-Hungarian empire. I think they feared the reaction of the Yugoslavian public if they would have fired in this conflict. That it would look like "Oh, the austrian imperialists want to dictate the fate of this region again"
-btw when did they recognize Slovenia as an independent country?

[Respenus]

Originally Posted by Penguin

I think that much of Austria's behaviour in this conflict is owned to the historic component, the Austro-Hungarian empire. I think they feared the reaction of the Yugoslavian public if they would have fired in this conflict. That it would look like "Oh, the austrian imperialists want to dictate the fate of this region again"

It should be noted however that Otto von Habsburg was highly supportive of our cause. Of course, he was the president of the Paneuropean Union, but still, the AH Empire was there to support us

As for the official dates, I don't know and they aren't generally known. It took some time for the rest of the EEC members to accept us. If not sooner, then during our ascension to a member of the UN.

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by Penguin

-btw when did they recognize Slovenia as an independent country?

Austria, january 15th, 1992