List of wars involving Croatia

The following is an incomplete list of wars fought by Croatia, by Croatian people or regular armies during periods when independent Croatian states existed, from the Early Middle Ages to the present day. The list gives the name, the date, combatants, and the result of these conflicts following this legend:

Seal of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia
  Croatian victory
  Croatian defeat
  Another result (e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive)

Duchy of Croatia (7th century–925)

DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
7th century–925Croatian–Venetian warsNarentines
Duchy of Croatia
Republic of VeniceIntermittent victories and defeats
799Siege of TrsatDuchy of CroatiaFranciaVictory
846–848Croatian-Byzantine WarDuchy of CroatiaZadar under the Byzantine strategosVictory
854First Bulgarian-Croatian WarDuchy of Croatia First Bulgarian EmpirePeace agreement
871Conquest of Bari  Holy Roman Empire
Lombard principalities

Duchy of Croatia (Croatian fleet)

Emirate of BariVictory

Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)

DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
c. 925Hungarian Invasions of Croatia Kingdom of CroatiaHungarian tribesVictory
925–931Second Croatian-Bulgarian War Kingdom of Croatia First Bulgarian EmpireVictory
968–1018Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria Byzantine Empire
Kievan Rus' (until 969)
Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Croatia

Principality of Duklja

First Bulgarian Empire
Kievan Rus' (970–971)
Pechenegs
Victory
997–1000Third Croatian-Bulgarian War Kingdom of Croatia First Bulgarian EmpireVictory
c. 1040–1185Byzantine–Norman wars Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Sicily
Lombard duchies
Papal States

Kingdom of Croatia Raška and Duklja

Byzantine Empire
Republic of Venice
 Holy Roman Empire
Victory
1091–1102War of the Croatian Succession Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of HungaryDefeat
DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
1108Hungarian war with the Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

 Holy Roman Empire
Duchy of Bohemia
Victory
1108–1126Hungarian-Bohemian wars Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Duchy of BohemiaPeace agreement
1115–1119Croatian-Venetian War Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Republic of VeniceDefeat
1123Stephen II's intervention in the Kievan Rus' internal conflict Kingdom of Hungary
Iaroslav Sviatopolkovich
Kievan Rus'Hungarian withdrawal
1124–1125Croatian-Venetian War Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Republic of VeniceDefeat
1127–1129Byzantine-Hungarian War Kingdom of Hungary
Grand Principality of Serbia
Byzantine EmpirePeace agreement
1132Hungarian-Polish War Kingdom of Hungary
Margraviate of Austria
Kingdom of PolandVictory
1136–1137Béla II's Balkan campaigns against Venice and the Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Byzantine Empire

Republic of Venice

Victory
1146German-Hungarian War Kingdom of Hungary Duchy of Bavaria
Margraviate of Austria
Victory
1149–1152Géza II's intervention in the conflict between the Principality of Galicia and Kievan Rus' Kingdom of Hungary
Kievan Rus'
Principality of GaliciaPeace agreement
1148–1155Hungarian-Byzantine wars Kingdom of Hungary
Grand Principality of Serbia
Byzantine EmpireCeasefire
1162–1165Hungarian civil war between Stephen III and his uncles Ladislaus and Stephen Kingdom of Hungary
 Holy Roman Empire
Ladislaus and Stephen's army

Byzantine Empire

Stephen III's victory
1180–1185Hungarian-Byzantine war Kingdom of Hungary Byzantine EmpireVictory
1188–1189Béla III's military campaign against Galicia Kingdom of Hungary Principality of GaliciaVictory
1197–1199Civil war between Emeric king and his brother Andrew II Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Andrew II's armyEmeric's victory
1201–1205Emeric's Balkan wars Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Second Bulgarian Empire
Banate of Bosnia

Grand Principality of Serbia

Croatian/Hungarian victories
1202–1204Fourth Crusade Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade
Republic of Venice
Defeat
1217–1218Andrew II's participation in the Fifth crusade Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of CroatiaArchduchy of Austria
Latin Empire

AyyubidsCroatian/Hungarian withdrawal
1235–1241Bosnian Crusade Coloman of Galicia Banate of BosniaStatus quo ante bellum
1241–1242First Mongol invasion of Hungary Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

MongolsMongol withdrawal
1243Venetian War for Zadar Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Republic of VeniceDefeat
1250–1278Hungarian-Bohemian wars Kingdom of Hungary
 Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of Bohemia
Duchy of Austria
Victory
1264–1265Internal conflict between Béla IV and his son Stephen V Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Stephen V's armyStephen V's victory
  • Stephen V gets Eastern Hungary as a duchy
1268Mačva War Béla IV of Hungary Kingdom of SerbiaPeace agreement
1272–1279Feudal anarchy Ladislaus IV king of Hungary
Csák family
Kőszegi family
Gutkeled family
Royal victory
1277Stefan Dragutin-Stefan Uroš I conflictStefan Dragutin
Kingdom of Hungary
Stefan Uroš IStefan Dragutin's victory
1277Hungary's war with the Vlach ruler Litovoi Kingdom of HungaryLitovoi's armyVictory
1282Cuman uprising Kingdom of HungaryCumansVictory
1285–1286Second Mongol invasion of Hungary Kingdom of Hungary Golden HordeVictory
1291German-Hungarian War Kingdom of Hungary  Holy Roman EmpireVictory
1292–1300Andrew III's war with the Kőszegi family Kingdom of HungaryKőszegi familyAndrew III's victory
1301–1308Hungarian interregnum, struggles for the country's throne Charles of Anjou
Kingdom of Croatia

Duchy of Austria
Máté Csák's army
László Kán's army

Kingdom of Bohemia
Duchy of Bavaria
Kőszegi family
Victory
  • Charles I becomes Croatian and Hungarian king
1310–1321Charles I's wars for centralizing power against Croatian and Hungarian aristocracy Kingdom of HungaryMáté CsákRoyal victory
  • Centralization of the Hungarian Kingdom
1322Feudal and dynastic conflicts in CroatiaCoalition of Croatian noblemen and Dalmatian coastal towns with support of the royal forces of king Charles I RobertMladen II Šubić of Bribir and his alliesDefeat of Mladen II
1322–1337Hungarian-Austrian War Kingdom of Hungary Duchy of Austria
 Holy Roman Empire
Kőszegi family
Babonić family
Status quo ante bellum
1321–1324Hungarian-Serbian War Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Bosnia
Stephen Vladislav II of Syrmia
Kingdom of SerbiaDefeat
1330Hungarian-Wallachian War Kingdom of Hungary WallachiaHungarian defeat at the battle of Posada
1347–1349

1350–1352

Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Kingdom of NaplesFirst campaign: Croatian/Hungarian victory
Second campaign: Status quo ante bellum
1345–1358Croatian-Venetian War Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Republic of VeniceVictory
1345Hungarian war with the Golden Horde for Moldavia Kingdom of Hungary Golden HordeVictory
  • Liberation of Moldavia under Mongol rule
1360–1369Louis I's Balkan wars against Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia and Bosnia Kingdom of Hungary  Serbian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire

Wallachia
Kingdom of Bosnia

Temporary Hungarian victories
1372–1381War of Chioggia Padua
Kingdom of Hungary
Republic of Genoa
Duchy of Austria
Republic of Venice
Milan
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Cyprus
Paduan military victory, practically status quo ante bellum
1384–1394Civil war between a part of the Hungarian nobility and Mary, Queen of Hungary and Emperor Sigismund Kingdom of HungaryHorváti family

Kingdom of Naples

Emperor Sigismund's victory
1366–1526Ottoman–Hungarian wars Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Croatia

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

 Wallachia

 Moldavia

Serbian Despotate

Ottoman Empire
Moravian Serbia
Defeat
1411–1433Croatian-Venetian War Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Croatia

Duchy of Milan

Republic of VeniceDefeat
1419–1434Hussite Wars Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of Hungary
HussitesVictory
1428–1432War of the South Danube Kingdom of Hungary
Wallachia
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Ottoman EmpireCeasefire
1437–1442Hungarian-Ottoman border conflicts, Ottoman raids in Southern Hungary and Transylvania Kingdom of Hungary Ottoman EmpireVictory
1440–1442Civil war between Wladyslaw I and Ladislaus Kingdom of Poland
Hungarian nobles
Cillei family and other Hungarian noblesPeace agreement
  • Wladyslaw is accepted as Hungarian king
1443–1444Long campaign Kingdom of Hungary Ottoman EmpireHungarian withdrawal
1458–1459Matthias I's war with Ján Jiskra Kingdom of HungaryJiskra's soldiersRoyal victory
1458–1465War in Bosnia Kingdom of Hungary Ottoman EmpireInconclusive
  • A part of Bosnia is occupied by the Ottoman Empire
1471–1476Matthias Corvinus' intervention in the Moldovian-Ottoman War Kingdom of Hungary
Moldavia
Ottoman EmpireInconclusive
  • After initial Hungarian and Moldavian victories, Hungary stopped supporting Moldavia
  • Stephen III of Moldavia becomes a vassal of the Ottoman Empire
1480–1481Ottoman invasion of Otranto Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Hungary
Ottoman EmpireVictory
1482–1488Austrian-Hungarian War Kingdom of Hungary Holy Roman EmpireVictory
1490–1491War of the Hungarian Succession Kingdom of Bohemia Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of Poland (the two countries were not allies)
Inconclusive
  • The Bohemian king, Wladislaus won over the Polish army and got the Hungarian throne
  • Wladislaus is defeated by the Holy Roman Empire, which reconquered Vienna and the other parts of Austria
1492–1493The Black Army's uprising Kingdom of HungaryBlack ArmyVictory
  • Destruction of the Black Army
1514Peasant revolt led by György Dózsa Kingdom of HungaryPeasant rebelsRevolt suppressed
1493–1593Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman WarUntil 1526:
Kingdom of Croatia
Kingdom of Hungary

From 1527:
 Habsburg monarchy

Until 1526:
Ottoman Empire

From 1527:
Ottoman Empire

Inconclusive
  • Expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was stopped in Battle of Sisak 1593.
DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
1573Croatian–Slovene Peasant RevoltCroatian, Styrian and Carniolan nobility

Uskoks

Croatian and Slovenian peasant rebelsPeasant defeat
1593–1606Long Turkish War Holy Roman Empire

Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Croatia
Transylvania
 Wallachia
 Moldavia
 Spain
Zaporozhian Cossacks
Serbian Hajduks
 Papal States
Tuscany
Knights of St. Stephen
Duchy of Ferrara
Duchy of Mantua
 Duchy of Savoy

Ottoman Empire
Crimean Khanate
Nogai Horde
Inconclusive
1618–1648Thirty Years' WarImperial alliance:Anti-Imperial alliance:Peace of Westphalia
  • Some sources claim that Swedish Emperor Gustavus Adolphus was killed by Croatian cavalrymen during the Battle of Lützen
1663–1664Austro-Turkish War Holy Roman Empire

 Piedmont-Savoy

Kingdom of Croatia

Kingdom of Hungary
League of the Rhine:

 Baden-Baden

 Swabia

 Kingdom of France

Ottoman EmpireAustria and allies military victory
Ottoman commercial and diplomatic victory[1]
1683–1699Great Turkish War Holy Roman Empire

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Tsardom of Russia

Kingdom of Croatia
Kingdom of Hungary
Republic of Venice
Duchy of Mantua
 Spanish Empire
Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro
Serbian rebels
Greek rebels
Bulgarian rebels

Ottoman EmpireVictory
1716–1718Austro-Turkish War Habsburg monarchy  Ottoman EmpireVictory
  • Treaty of Passarowitz
1788–1791Austro-Turkish War Habsburg monarchy  Ottoman EmpireInconclusive
1803–1815Napoleonic Wars Austrian Empire French Republic (1792–1804)
First French Empire (1804–1815)
Victory
  • Congress of Vienna
1848–1849Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Austrian Empire

 Russian Empire

Kingdom of HungaryVictory
1866Third Italian War of Independence Principality of Liechtenstein

Austrian Empire

Kingdom of ItalyMilitary Victory, Diplomatic Defeat
  • Austria cedes Venetia to France, and France than cedes it to Italy
1878Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina Austria-Hungary Bosnia Vilayet
Ottoman Empire (not openly)
Victory
  • Occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1899–1901Boxer RebellionEight-Nation Alliance:

United Kingdom
 Russia
 Japan
France
 United States
 Germany
Italy
 Austria-Hungary

Boxers
 Qing dynasty
Victory
1914–1918World War ICentral Powers:
 Austria-Hungary

 Germany
 Ottoman Empire
 Bulgaria

Allied Powers:
 Russia
 France
 British Empire
 Serbia
 Montenegro
 Belgium
 Japan
 Italy
 Portugal
 Romania
 United States
 Hejaz
 Greece
 Brazil
Siam
Defeat

Kingdom of Yugoslavia, WWII and post-war Yugoslavia (1918–1991)

DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
1918-1920Revolutions and interventions in Hungary  Czechoslovakia

 Kingdom of Romania

 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

Republic of Prekmurje


Kingdom of Hungary
 France
Hungarian Republic
Hungarian SR

Slovak SR

Victory
1918–1929Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1 December 1918)
Republic of German-Austria

 Carinthia


First Austrian Republic (from 1919)
Ceasefire
1919Christmas Uprising Montenegrin Whites
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Montenegrin Greens
 Kingdom of Italy
Victory
  • The uprising was put down
1920-1921Koplik War Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Principality of AlbaniaMixed results
  • Yugoslavs are forced to withdraw due to international pressure
  • United Kingdom insists on slight adaptations in the regions of Debar, Prizren and Kastrati in the interest of Yugoslavia
1921Albanian-Yugoslav Border War Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

Kingdom of Greece

Republic of Mirdita

Principality of AlbaniaPeace brokered by the League of Nations
  • Recognition of Albanian sovereignty and borders
  • Mirdita rebels disbanded
1941Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia Kingdom of Yugoslavia  Germany
 Italy
Bulgaria
Hungary
Defeat
1941–1945World War II in YugoslaviaAllies:
 Soviet Union
Poland
Czechoslovakia (from 1943)
Tuva (until 1944)[2]
 Romania (from 1944)

Bulgaria (from 1944)
 Finland (from 1944)

Yugoslav Partisans

Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (1943–1945)

Aerial role only:
Free France (1943–1945)
United Kingdom (1941)
United States (1944)

Axis powers:
 Nazi Germany[3]
 Romania (until 1944)
 Hungary
 Italy (until 1943)
 Bulgaria (until 1944)
Axis puppet states:
 Slovakia

Government of Nation Salvation
 Independent State of Croatia


Co-belligerents:
 Finland (until 1944)

Victory
1946-1949Greek Civil War Provisional Democratic Government of Greece

Supported by:  Soviet Union  People's Socialist Republic of Albania  Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia

 Kingdom of Greece

Supported by: United Kingdom
United States

Defeat
  • Hellenic Army victory
  • 100,000 ELAS fighters and communist sympathizers serving in DSE ranks were imprisoned, exiled, or executed
1948-1954Albanian–Yugoslav conflict  Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia  People's Socialist Republic of AlbaniaDefeat
  • Albanian victory
1975–2002Angolan Civil War MPLA

SWAPO MK  Cuba  East Germany  Soviet Union  Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

UNITA

FNLA FLEC  South Africa  Zaire

Victory
  • Withdrawal of all foreign forces in 1989
  • Dissolution of the armed forces of FNLA
  • Participation of UNITA and FNLA, as political parties, in the new political system, from 1991 and 1992 onward, but civil war continues
  • Immediate peace agreement and dissolution of the armed forces of UNITA in 2002
  • Resistance of FLEC continued beyond 2002

Republic of Croatia (1991–present)

DateConflictCombatant 1Combatant 2Result
1991–1995Croatian War of Independence  Republic of Croatia

Supported by:

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994–1995) Military Professional Resources Inc.[4](1994–1995)

SFR Yugoslavia (1991-1992)

Republic of Serbian Krajina
 Republika Srpska
Supported by:
FR Yugoslavia (1992-1995)

Victory
1992–1995Bosnian War Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia  Republic of Croatia

Supported by:
NATO (bombing operations, 1995)

SFR Yugoslavia (until 27 April 1992)

AP Western Bosnia
Republika Srpska
Republic of Serbian Krajina
Supported by:
FR Yugoslavia

Stalemate
1992–1994Croat-Bosniak War Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia


Supported by:
 Republic of Croatia

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina


Supported by:
Bosnian mujahideen Croatian Defence Forces (until 1993)

Inconclusive
2001–2021War in Afghanistan Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

NATO

ISAF phase (from 2001):

Taliban

Islamic Jihad Union

Haqqani network (from 2002)

al-Qaeda


RS phase (from 2015):

ISIL-KP

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

Pakistani Taliban

Defeat

References