Siege of Varaždin Barracks

The siege of Varaždin Barracks, also referred to locally as Varaždin's days of war (Croatian: Varaždinski dani rata), was the blockade and capture of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) barracks and other facilities in and around the city of Varaždin during the Croatian War of Independence. The blockade began on 14 September 1991, quickly escalated into fighting, and ended on 22 September with the surrender of the JNA garrison. It was part of the Battle of the Barracks—an effort by Croatian armed forces to isolate JNA units based at barracks in Croatia, or capture the barracks to provide arms for Croatia's nascent army.

The besieging force outnumbered the JNA garrison in Varaždin, which was divided among several barracks, storage depots and other facilities, but the JNA possessed substantially greater firepower. The balance shifted in favour of the Croatian forces after smaller JNA posts were captured in the first few days of the siege, until only one barracks along with the headquarters of the JNA 32nd Corps remained under JNA control. At that point, the commander of the 32nd Corps, Major General Vladimir Trifunović, and the civilian authorities in Varaždin agreed that the remaining JNA forces in the city would surrender, but all those wishing to leave would be permitted to do so, leaving their weapons behind.

The capture of the 32nd Corps' weapons was the most significant achievement of the Battle of the Barracks, and greatly augmented the capabilities of the Croatian military. After he left Croatia, Trifunović was indicted for war crimes by Croatia, tried in absentia and convicted for the combat deaths of six Croatian soldiers and the wounding of dozens of Croatian citizens before and during the siege. He was also prosecuted by Yugoslav authorities for treason, but subsequently pardoned. In 2013, he requested a re-trial on his Croatian war crimes conviction, but died before proceedings could commence.