The battle took place around numerous JNA posts in Croatia , starting when Croatian forces blockaded the JNA barracks, weapons storage depots and other facilities. The Battle of the Barracks was an escalation of the conflict between Croatian authorities and Croatian Serbs who openly revolted in August and the JNA's efforts to preserve the Yugoslav federation. At the same time, Croatia made moves towards achieving independence from Yugoslavia.
The Battle of the Barracks briefly preceded the start of the JNA's campaign in Croatia —itself amended in early September to add relief of the blockaded barracks to the operation plans. This provided the Croatian forces with a sizable number of weapons—including tanks, hundreds of artillery pieces and a large supply of small arms and ammunition—which proved crucial in defending against JNA advances in the early stage of the Croatian War of Independence.
Some of the JNA facilities were surrendered without fighting, while there was armed resistance to the takeover in others. In some places, this caused civilian casualties because the barracks were situated in urban areas.
Legal charges of abuse or killing of captured JNA personnel and charges of war crimes against the civilian population were filed in Croatia, but most defendants remain at large. The pullout was completed by 4 January , except in areas around Dubrovnik and on the islands of Vis and Lastovo.
The JNA maintained its presence there until the summer of The Government of Croatia viewed the area as a breakaway region. At the beginning of , Croatia had no regular army. To bolster its defence, Croatia doubled police personnel to about 20, The most effective part of the force was 3,strong special police deployed in twelve battalions and adopting military organization of the units.
