On This Day - What happened 27 June 1991 AD

In the afternoon of 27 June, the Slovenian TO (Slovenian Territorial Defence) shot down two YPA helicopters.

Further YPA troop movements took place in the early hours of 27 June. A unit of the YPA's 306th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, based in Karlovac, Croatia, crossed the Slovenian border at Metlika.

A few hours later, a column of tanks and armoured personnel carriers of the YPA 1st Armoured Brigade left their barracks at Vrhnika near the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, heading for the airport at Brnik.

In the early hours of 27 June the Slovenian leadership was told of the movements of the YPA. The military leadership of the Fifth Military District, which included Slovenia, was in telephone contact with Slovenian president Milan Kučan, telling him that the troops' mission was limited to taking over the border crossings and airport. A meeting of the Slovene presidency was hastily convened at which Kučan and the rest of the members decided on armed resistance.

Despite the confusion and fighting, the YPA nonetheless successfully accomplished much of its military mission. By midnight on 27 June it had captured all of the crossings along the Italian border, all but three crossings on the Austrian border and several of the new crossing points established along Slovenia's border with Croatia.

In June and July 1991, the short armed conflict in Slovenia.

The border crossings were a major source of revenue. In addition, by taking control of the borders, the Slovenians were able to establish defensive positions against an expected JLA attack. This meant that the YPA would have to fire the first shot. It was fired on 27 June at 14:30 in Divača by an officer of YPA.