Operation Winter '94 began on 29 November 1994 in heavy snow and temperatures of . One hundred and thirty soldiers from the HV 126th Home Guard Regiment commanded by Brigadier Ante Kotromanović infiltrated behind VRS positions on the left flank of the front line (head of the initial north-west advance along the Livanjsko field and Mount Dinara, with most of the HV troops commanded by Gotovina against the VRS 9th Light Infantry Brigade. By 3 December, the advance gained around Donji Rujani, followed by a brief stabilization of the newly established line of contact.