The Croatian Defence Council was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized state that existed in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1996. The HVO was the main military force of the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started on 6 April 1992, following a number of earlier violent incidents. The war ended on 14 December 1995 when the Dayton accords were signed. The main belligerents were the forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, and the Republika Srpska, the latter two entities being proto-states led and supplied by Croatia and Serbia, respectively.