In 1918, the Croats,
Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia.
Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent
Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although
Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took
four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying
Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision,
the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to
Croatia in 1998. . LOCATION:
Southeastern Europe, bordering
the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia CLIMATE: Mediterranean and continental;
continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters;
mild winters, dry summers along coast BORDERS:
Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km,
Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and
Montenegro (south) 25 km, Slovenia 670 km