Story Highlights
- historical event: The defenders of Vukovar slowed down a large enemy force for 3 months during the battle, and thus gave the rest of Croatia time to organize, and this was to prove extremely important for the successful defense of the country later on.
On this day the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), backed up by Serbian volunteer units, entered Vukovar after several months of siege. The defenders of the Mitinca city district surrendered at around 15:30. Some veteran groups continued to fight in some parts of the city. All organized resistance ended only two days after the entry of the JNA, on November 20. During the Battle of Vukovar more than 90% of the buildings were destroyed. The enemy engaged tens of thousands of soldiers, some estimates say even about 80,000 enemy soldiers during the final operations.
In such circumstances, the Vukovar defenders managed to defend the city for almost three months. During this period, 86 children and thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed. The defenders slowed down a large enemy force for 3 months during the battle, and thus gave the rest of Croatia time to organize, and this was to prove extremely important for the successful defense of the country later on.
