of the ZNG until 3 August, when he resigned over Tuđman's refusal to authorise attacks against JNA barracks. After Špegelj's resignation, command of the ZNG was entrusted to General Anton Tus. Transition to the Croatian Army In mid-September the regional commands were replaced by six operational zones, headquartered in Osijek, Bjelovar, Zagreb, Karlovac, Rijeka and Split. The zones possessed uneven strength; those in Slavonia and Dalmatia were heavily equipped, and the Zagreb zone had twice the average troop strength. After capturing a stockpile of weapons during the Battle of the Barracks, the ZNG expanded to 60 reserve brigades and independent battalions by the end of October (in addition to the four all-professional guards brigades). Although each brigade was planned to have 1,800 troops, in reality their size varied from 500 to 2,500. Three named special-forces battalions were also established within the ZNG (in addition to the Zrinski Battalion): the Frankopan, Kralj Tomislav and Matija Vlačić Battalions. On 20 September Parliament enacted the Defence Act, specifying that the ZNG and the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV) comprised the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. At the same time, the armed forces were formally subordinated to the Ministry of Defence rather than the Ministry of the Interior. The legislation also designated the TO reserve units as a constituent part of the ZNG reserve force. The following day the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia was established, headed by Tus. On 8 October (the day Croatia declared its independence) the Defence Act was amended, with the ZNG redefined as a part of the HV. ZNG reserve units became the HV reserve, named the Home Guard (Domobranstvo), leaving the ZNG an all-professional force. The ZNG was renamed the HV on 3 November 1991. Service ZNG units participated is a number of significant battles in the early part of the war, attempting to hold back Yugoslav forces. These include the battles of Gospić, Šibenik and Zadar, where the ZNG defended cities in Lika and along the Dalmatian coast against the JNA and its allies. The ZNG also took part in the battles of Vukovar and Osijek in eastern Slavonia, defended Dubrovnik and contributed to the capture of the JNA barracks and Operation Hurricane-91 (an attempt to push the JNA out of western Slavonia. Legacy The HV continued to grow, numbering about 200,000 troops by the end of 1991.