List of wars involving Croatia
This list of wars involving Croatia is expansive, spanning the nation's extended history to the 21st century. It encompasses armed conflicts involving ethnic Croats, Croatian citizens, and regular armies predating statehood since the Early Middle Ages. Many of these armed conflicts are reflected in the military history of Croatia.
The Armed Forces of Croatia combine the modern-day nation's Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as their Special Forces. This list reflects direct Croatian military involvement – in both combat and non-combat roles – within armed conflicts. In the latter capacity, military advisory and training missions have intermittently devolved into unofficial combat activity or battlefield deaths. Modern Croatia has never formally declared war since independence.
For the criteria of what may be permitted on this list, see notes section.
Key
- Victory
- Defeat
- Result of civil or internal conflict
- A treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, an unknown or indecisive result
- Ongoing conflict
Duchy of Croatia (7th century–925)
| Date | Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 620s–630s | White Croat conquest of Dalmatia | White Croats | Avar Khaganate | Victory |
| 7th century–925 | Croatian–Venetian wars | Narentines Duchy of Croatia |
 Republic of Venice |
Intermittent victories and defeats |
| 788-803 | Avar wars | Duchy of Croatia | Avar Khaganate | Victory |
| 799 | Siege of Trsat | Duchy of Croatia | Francia | Victory |
| 846–848 | Croatian-Byzantine War | Duchy of Croatia | Zadar under the Byzantine strategos | Victory |
| 854 | First Bulgarian-Croatian War | Duchy of Croatia |  First Bulgarian Empire |
Peace agreement |
| 871 | Conquest of Bari | .svg.png){kind=small} Holy Roman Empire Lombard principalities
Duchy of Croatia (Croatian fleet) |
Emirate of Bari | Victory |
| 895-925[1] | Hungarian invasions of Europe | Lower Pannonia | Hungarian tribes | Defeat
|
Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)
| Date | Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 925 | Hungarian Invasions of Croatia |  Kingdom of Croatia |
Hungarian tribes | Victory |
| 925–931 | Second Croatian-Bulgarian War | Kingdom of Croatia |
First Bulgarian Empire |
Victory |
| 968–1018 | Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria |  Byzantine Empire Kievan Rus' (until 969).svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Croatia
|
First Bulgarian Empire Kievan Rus' (970–971) Pechenegs |
Victory |
| 997–1000 | Third Croatian-Bulgarian War | Kingdom of Croatia |
First Bulgarian Empire |
Victory |
| c. 1040–1185 | Byzantine–Norman wars |  Kingdom of France.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Sicily Lombard duchies.svg.png){kind=small} Papal States
|
Byzantine Empire Republic of Venice Holy Roman Empire |
Victory |
| 1091–1102 | War of the Croatian Succession | Kingdom of Croatia
|
Kingdom of Hungary
|
Defeat
|
.svg.png){kind=small}
Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1527)
| Date | Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1108 | Hungarian war with the Holy Roman Empire | .svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Hungary
|
Holy Roman Empire  Duchy of Bohemia |
Victory |
| 1108–1126 | Hungarian-Bohemian wars | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Duchy of Bohemia |
Peace agreement |
| 1115–1119 | Croatian-Venetian War | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Republic of Venice |
Defeat |
| 1123 | Stephen II's intervention in the Kievan Rus' internal conflict | Kingdom of Hungary Iaroslav Sviatopolkovich |
Kievan Rus' |
Hungarian withdrawal |
| 1124–1125 | Croatian-Venetian War | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Republic of Venice |
Defeat |
| 1127–1129 | Byzantine-Hungarian War | Kingdom of Hungary Grand Principality of Serbia |
Byzantine Empire |
Peace agreement |
| 1132 | Hungarian-Polish War | Kingdom of Hungary  Margraviate of Austria |
 Kingdom of Poland |
Victory |
| 1136–1137 | Béla II's Balkan campaigns against Venice and the Byzantine Empire | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Byzantine Empire
|
Victory |
| 1146 | German-Hungarian War | Kingdom of Hungary |
.svg.png){kind=small} Duchy of Bavaria Margraviate of Austria |
Victory |
| 1149–1152 | Géza II's intervention in the conflict between the Principality of Galicia and Kievan Rus' | Kingdom of Hungary Kievan Rus' |
 Principality of Galicia |
Peace agreement |
| 1148–1155 | Hungarian-Byzantine wars | Kingdom of Hungary Grand Principality of Serbia |
Byzantine Empire |
Ceasefire |
| 1162–1165 | Hungarian civil war between Stephen III and his uncles Ladislaus and Stephen | Kingdom of Hungary .svg.png){kind=small} Holy Roman Empire |
Ladislaus and Stephen's army | Stephen III's victory |
| 1180–1185 | Hungarian-Byzantine war | Kingdom of Hungary |
Byzantine Empire |
Victory |
| 1188–1189 | Béla III's military campaign against Galicia | Kingdom of Hungary |
 Principality of Galicia |
Victory |
| 1197–1199 | Civil war between Emeric king and his brother Andrew II | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Andrew II's army | Emeric's victory |
| 1201–1205 | Emeric's Balkan wars | Kingdom of Hungary
|
 Second Bulgarian Empire.svg.png){kind=small} Banate of Bosnia
|
Croatian/Hungarian victories |
| 1202–1204 | Fourth Crusade | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade Republic of Venice |
Defeat |
| 1217–1218 | Andrew II's participation in the Fifth Crusade | Kingdom of Hungary
|
 Ayyubids |
Croatian/Hungarian withdrawal |
| 1235–1241 | Bosnian Crusade | Coloman of Galicia |
Banate of Bosnia |
Status quo ante bellum |
| 1241–1242 | First Mongol invasion of Hungary | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Mongols | Mongol withdrawal |
| 1243 | Venetian War for Zadar | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Republic of Venice |
Defeat |
| 1250–1278 | Hungarian-Bohemian wars | Kingdom of Hungary Holy Roman Empire |
 Kingdom of Bohemia.svg.png){kind=small} Duchy of Austria |
Victory |
| 1264–1265 | Internal conflict between Béla IV and his son Stephen V | Kingdom of Hungary
|
Stephen V's army | Stephen V's victory
|
| 1268 | Mačva War | Béla IV of Hungary |
.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Serbia |
Peace agreement |
| 1272–1279 | Feudal anarchy | Ladislaus IV king of Hungary Csák family |
Kőszegi family Gutkeled family |
Royal victory |
| 1277 | Stefan Dragutin-Stefan Uroš I conflict | Stefan Dragutin Kingdom of Hungary |
Stefan Uroš I | Stefan Dragutin's victory |
| 1277 | Hungary's war with the Vlach ruler Litovoi | Kingdom of Hungary |
Litovoi's army | Victory |
| 1282 | Cuman uprising | Kingdom of Hungary |
Cumans | Victory |
| 1285–1286 | Second Mongol invasion of Hungary | Kingdom of Hungary |
 Golden Horde |
Victory |
| 1291 | German-Hungarian War | Kingdom of Hungary |
Holy Roman Empire |
Victory |
| 1292–1300 | Andrew III's war with the Kőszegi family | Kingdom of Hungary |
Kőszegi family | Andrew III's victory |
| 1301–1308 | Hungarian interregnum, struggles for the country's throne | .svg.png){kind=small} Charles of Anjou Kingdom of Croatia
|
Kingdom of Bohemia Duchy of Bavaria Kőszegi family |
Victory
|
| 1310–1321 | Charles I's wars for centralizing power against Croatian and Hungarian aristocracy | Kingdom of Hungary |
Máté Csák
|
Royal victory
|
| 1322 | Feudal and dynastic conflicts in Croatia | Coalition of Croatian noblemen and Dalmatian coastal towns with support of the royal forces of king Charles I Robert | Mladen II Šubić of Bribir and his allies | Defeat of Mladen II |
| 1322–1337 | Hungarian-Austrian War | Kingdom of Hungary |
Duchy of Austria Holy Roman Empire Kőszegi family Babonić family |
Status quo ante bellum |
| 1321–1324 | Hungarian-Serbian War | Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Bosnia Stephen Vladislav II of Syrmia |
Kingdom of Serbia |
Defeat |
| 1330 | Hungarian-Wallachian War | Kingdom of Hungary |
.svg.png){kind=small} Wallachia |
Hungarian defeat at the battle of Posada |
| 1347–1349
1350–1352 |
Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great | Kingdom of Hungary
|
 Kingdom of Naples |
First campaign: Croatian/Hungarian victory Second campaign: Status quo ante bellum |
| 1345–1358 | Croatian-Venetian War | Kingdom of Hungary
|
 Republic of Venice |
Victory |
| 1345 | Hungarian war with the Golden Horde for Moldavia | Kingdom of Hungary |
Golden Horde |
Victory
|
| 1360–1369 | Louis I's Balkan wars against Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia and Bosnia | Kingdom of Hungary |
 Serbian Empire Second Bulgarian Empire
|
Temporary Hungarian victories |
| 1372–1381 | War 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 |
| 1384–1394 | Civil war between a part of the Hungarian nobility and Mary, Queen of Hungary and Emperor Sigismund | Kingdom of Hungary |
Horváti family | Emperor Sigismund's victory |
| 1366–1526 | Ottoman–Hungarian wars | .svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Hungary
|
Ottoman Empire Moravian Serbia |
Defeat
|
| 1411–1433 | Croatian-Venetian War | Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Croatia
|
Republic of Venice |
Defeat
|
| 1419–1434 | Hussite Wars | .svg.png){kind=small} Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of Hungary |
Hussites | Victory |
| 1428–1432 | War of the South Danube | Kingdom of Hungary Wallachia.svg.png){kind=small} Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
Ottoman Empire |
Ceasefire |
| 1437–1442 | Hungarian-Ottoman border conflicts, Ottoman raids in Southern Hungary and Transylvania | Kingdom of Hungary |
Ottoman Empire |
Victory |
| 1440–1442 | Civil war between Wladyslaw I and Ladislaus | Kingdom of Poland Hungarian nobles |
Cillei family and other Hungarian nobles | Peace agreement
|
| 1443–1444 | Long campaign | Kingdom of Hungary |
Ottoman Empire |
Hungarian withdrawal |
| 1458–1459 | Matthias I's war with Ján Jiskra | Kingdom of Hungary |
Jiskra's soldiers | Royal victory |
| 1458–1465 | War in Bosnia | Kingdom of Hungary |
 Ottoman Empire |
Inconclusive
|
| 1471–1476 | Matthias Corvinus' intervention in the Moldovian-Ottoman War | Kingdom of Hungary Moldavia |
Ottoman Empire |
Inconclusive
|
| 1480–1481 | Ottoman invasion of Otranto | Kingdom of Naples Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Hungary |
Ottoman Empire |
Victory |
| 1482–1488 | Austrian-Hungarian War | Kingdom of Hungary |
Holy Roman Empire |
Victory |
| 1490–1491 | War of the Hungarian Succession | Kingdom of Bohemia |
Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of Poland (the two countries were not allies) |
Inconclusive
|
| 1492–1493 | The Black Army's uprising | Kingdom of Hungary |
Black Army | Victory
|
| 1514 | Peasant revolt led by György Dózsa | Kingdom of Hungary |
Peasant rebels | Revolt suppressed |
| 1493–1593 | Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War | Until 1526: Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Hungary
From 1527: |
Until 1526: Ottoman Empire
From 1527: |
Inconclusive
|
Croatia within the Habsburg Monarchy (1527–1918)
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Kingdom of Yugoslavia, WWII and post-war Yugoslavia (1918–1991)
| Date | Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918-1920 | Revolutions and interventions in Hungary |  Czechoslovakia
.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Hungary
 France |
.svg.png){kind=small} Hungarian Republic
 Hungarian SR
|
Victory
|
| 1918–1919 | Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia |  State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1 December 1918) |
 Republic of German-Austria
First Austrian Republic (from 1919) |
Ceasefire
|
| 1919 | Christmas Uprising | Montenegrin Whites Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
.svg.png){kind=small} Montenegrin Greens_crowned.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Italy |
Victory
|
| 1920-1921 | Koplik War | Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
.svg.png){kind=small} Principality of Albania |
Mixed results
|
| 1921 | Albanian-Yugoslav Border War | Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
|
Principality of Albania |
Peace brokered by the League of Nations
|
| 1941 | Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia | Kingdom of Yugoslavia
|
.svg.png){kind=small} Germany Italy Bulgaria Hungary |
Defeat
|
| 1941–1945 | World War II in Yugoslavia | Allies:.svg.png){kind=small} Soviet Union Poland Czechoslovakia (from 1943).svg.png){kind=small} Tuva (until 1944)[5] Romania (from 1944)
Aerial role only: |
Axis powers: Nazi Germany[6] Romania (until 1944) Hungary Italy (until 1943) Bulgaria (until 1944) Axis puppet states: .svg.png){kind=small} Slovakia
|
Victory
|
| 1946-1949 | Greek Civil War | .svg.png){kind=small} Provisional Democratic Government of Greece
Supported by: |
Kingdom of Greece
Supported by: |
Defeat
|
| 1948-1954 | Albanian–Yugoslav conflict | .svg.png){kind=small} Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
|
.svg.png){kind=small} People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
Defeat
|
| 1975–2002 | Angolan Civil War |  MPLA
|
 UNITA
|
Victory
|
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Republic of Croatia (1991–present)
| Date | Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1995 | Croatian War of Independence |  Republic of Croatia
Supported by:
|
SFR Yugoslavia (1991–1992)
Supported by: |
Victory
|
| 1992–1995 | Bosnian War | .svg.png){kind=small} Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Supported by: |
SFR Yugoslavia (until 27 April 1992)
|
Stalemate
|
| 1992–1994 | Croat-Bosniak War |  Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
|
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Supported by:  Bosnian mujahideen Croatian Defence Forces (until 1993) |
Inconclusive
|
| 2001–2021 | War in Afghanistan | .svg.png){kind=small} Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
|
ISAF phase (from 2001):
Haqqani network (from 2002) RS phase (from 2015): |
Defeat
|
| 2003–2011 | Iraq War |  MNF–I:
(2003–2009) Supported by: among others (2004–2011) |
(2003–2011) | Inconclusive
|
| 2013–2017 | War in Iraq |  Iraq
|
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) |
U.S.-allied victory
|
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Notes
| Criteria for inclusion on these lists |
|---|
| 1. The Republic of Croatia has never formally declared war since declaring independence in 1990. The Croatian Constitution (Articles 17 and 101) grants the Croatian Parliament the sole constitutional authority to formally declare war with the Croatian President serving as commander-in-chief. To display a wider sense of the scope of Croatian involvement in wars this list focuses on military conflicts involving Croatia military regardless of formal declaration. |
| 2. There are several related articles that cover other forms of violence involving Croatia, such as terrorism in Europe or list of massacres during the Croatian War of Independence. |
| 3. These lists do not focus on small-scale rebellions, single terror attacks, riots, assassinations, labor wars, state wars, feuds, range wars, or gang wars, as much as military conflicts involving the Croatian military. |
| 4. These lists do not include conflicts where Croatia was exclusively providing military aid (weapons, ammunition, vehicles and other equipment), humanitarian aid, financial assistance or diplomatic support to other parties (e.g. Croatia and the Russo-Ukrainian war). It does include Croatian military non-combat activity that devolved into unofficial or unplanned combat activity or battlefield deaths. |
| 5. These lists may include operations involving capturing of military or merchant vessels and/or military personnel either from Croatia to another nation or enemy non-state actor; or from another nation or non-state actor to Croatia (e.g. Croatian capture of small group of Taliban rebels during the War in Afghanistan). |
| 6. This list does include combat and non-combat Croatian military activity within alliances such as NATO, the EU defence forces, or jointly with allies, e.g. alongside the United States in Operation Inherent Resolve. It does not include non-combat activity with nations with whom Croatia maintains military-to-military defence pacts (Albania and Kosovo). |
| Examples for criteria that are not included |
|---|
| Assassinations or assassination attempts: Assassination of Ivo Pukanić |
| Attacks on diplomatic missions: 2026 attack on Indian embassy in Zagreb |
| Humanitarian military operations: 2020 Zagreb earthquake military operation |
| Isolated terrorist attacks: 2020 St. Mark's Square shooting or 1995 Rijeka bombing |
| Anti-piracy or embargo enforcement military operations: Operation Atalanta or Operation Irini |
| NATO exercises and Croatian military exercises: Operation Sea Guardian or Operation Shield |
| NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activities: NATO Enhanced Forward Presence |
| Shows of force: Military aircraft fly-over after 2022 Zagreb Tu-141 drone crash |
| UN peacekeeping missions and Non-UN peacekeeping missions: Kosovo Force or UN Confidence Restoration Operation |
References
- ↑ Kristó, Gyula; Novák, György (1996). Hungarian history in the ninth century. Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely. p. 195. ISBN 978-963-482-113-7.
- ↑ Goldstein, Ivo (1995). Hrvatski rani srednji vijek. Historiae. Zagreb: Novi Liber [u.a.] p. 286. ISBN 978-953-6045-02-0.
- ↑ Fine, John Van Antwerp (1983). The early medieval Balkans: a critical survey from the sixth to the late twelfth century. Ann Arbor [Mich.]: The University of Michigan press. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-472-10025-5.
- ↑ Ágoston, Gábor (2009). "Hungary". In Ágoston, Gábor; Bruce Masters (eds.). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. pp. 256–7.
- ↑ Toomas Alatalu. Tuva: A State Reawakens. Soviet Studies, Vol. 44, No. 5 (1992), pp. 881–895.
- ↑ Germany's allies, in total, provided a significant number of troops and material to the front. There were also numerous foreign units recruited by Germany, notably the
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Spanish Blue Division and the 
Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism. - 1 2 Calic, Marie–Janine (2012). "Ethnic Cleansing and War Crimes, 1991–1995". In Ingrao, Charles W.; Emmert, Thomas A. (eds.). Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-55753-617-4. Footnotes in source identify numbers as June 2012.
- 1 2 "Spolna i nacionalna struktura žrtava i ljudski gubitci vojnih formacija (1991–1996)". Prometej.
- ↑ Šoštarić, Eduard (9 October 2006). "Croatians take Talibans hostage near Kandahar". arhiva.nacional.hr. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- ↑ "Republic of Croatia regrets that international efforts have failed to disarm Iraq of its weapons for mass destruction by peaceful and political means..." template.gov.hr. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ↑ "Barack Obama announces total withdrawal of US troops from Iraq". The Guardian. 21 October 2011.
- ↑ "The JRTN Movement and Iraq's Next Insurgency | Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". Ctc.usma.edu. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ↑ "ISIL's Egypt affiliate 'beheads Croatian hostage'". Al Jazeera. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ↑ "Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein Discusses Military and Security Cooperation with Croatian Minister of Defense". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of IRAQ. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ↑ Thomas, Mark. "Croatia's President Warns of Escalation in Iran Crisis, Orders Troop Withdrawal". www.thedubrovniktimes.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.