Ten Day War/Slovenian Independence War – 10 Days
After the death of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito in 1980, tensions between the different regions of Yugoslavia surfaced. Tensions grew until 4 of the 6 regions of Yugoslavia decided to secede. Slovenia was one of the republics that sought their independence. In April 1990, Slovenia held the first democratic elections that was won by the DEMOS coalition.
On December 23, 1990, Slovenia held a referendum that passed with 88.5% of the electorate in favor of independence. The Slovenian government knew that the federal government in Belgrade might be opposed to Slovenian independence. In response to the elections, the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA) announced that the territories would no longer be responsible for their own defense. All the republics would be disarmed and made subordinate to the Yugoslav People’s Army.
The Slovenian government resisted and kept the majority of the Slovenian Territorial Defense equipment out of the Yugoslav People’s Army. From May to October 1990, 21,000 Slovenian defense forces were mobilized under a new command structure that the federal government was unaware of. By November 1990 the Slovenian forces had created a plan of attack against the Yugoslav People’s Army. They believed that using guerrilla style warfare was their best chance against the YPA’s superior firepower.
On June 25, 1991, Slovenia passed the act of independence and the next day the Yugoslav People’s Army mobilized toward Italy. Fighting officially began on June 27, and continued for ten days. With the Brioni Accord, Yugoslovia officially recognized Slovenian independence and the Slovenian police and armed forced were recognized as sovereign. Yugoslavian forces retreated out of Slovenia and both sides suffered only minimal casualties.