Croatia led by the fascist Ustaša regime, but with heavy Italian military presence. The Italians also relied heavily on local ethnic Serb militias (Chetniks) to maintain order and suppress partisan resistance. The entire area was the scene of the Croatian genocide campaign against the local Serb population. The Ustaša regime declared Knin the county seat of Bribir and Sidraga. After the Italian surrender in September 1943, German forces became the main factor in the region. As the war progressed and partisan forces liberated most of Dalmatia, with Germans pulling out and retreating northwards, Axis and partisan forces pitted against each other in Knin in a major battle in early December 1944. The 8th Dalmatian Corps sought to destroy the German, Ustaše and Chetnik formations in North Dalmatia and the city of Knin. With around 50,000 troops involved and more than 7,000 casualties on all sides, the Partisans liberated Knin on 9 December. Five Knin natives who fought in partisan ranks were proclaimed People's Heroes: Miro Višić, Jošo Durbaba, Boško Žunić, Stevo G. Opačić and Stevo S. Opačić. Socialist Yugoslavia Between 1945 and 1990, Knin saw rapid industrialization and modernization, becoming a centre of a wider region. Una railway was opened in 1948 and Knin-Zadar railway in 1967, making Knin train station one of the most important and busiest hubs in Croatia. Croatian War of Independence From October 1990, eight months before Croatia declared independence (25 June 1991) from Yugoslavia, Knin became the main stronghold for the Serbs in the Knin region, eventually becoming the capital city of the unrecognized self-declared Republic of Serbian Krajina in 1991. The leaders of Krajina were Knin locals: Milan Martić and Milan Babić, both convicted for ethnic cleansing of Croats and other non-Serbs from Krajina by ICTY. Widespread acts of murder and violence, detention and intimidation became pervasive throughout the RSK territory from 1992 to 1995. During that time 93.9% of Croats were expelled from the town and municipality of Knin. Serbs held the town until Croatian forces captured it during Operation Storm on 5 August 1995. The date is today marked as a Victory Day in Croatia. In February 2015, during the Croatia–Serbia genocide case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed the Serbian lawsuit claim that Operation Storm constituted genocide ruling that Croatia did not have the specific intent to exterminate the country's Serb minority, though it reaffirmed that serious crimes against Serb