The 1st Croatian Guards Corps (Croatian: 1. hrvatski gardijski zbor) was a special formation of the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV) directly subordinated to the Ministry of Defence rather than the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and reporting directly to the President of Croatia. The corps was established in 1994 by the amalgamation of various HV special forces. The 2,500-strong unit was organised into the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade (1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug – HGZ), a multi-purpose special forces combat unit, and four battalions tasked with ensuring the security of the President of Croatia and carrying out ceremonial duties. The HGZ took part in a number of military operations during the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War. It was disbande