The first artillery attack against ZNG units in Erdut occurred on 25 July, when 24 mortar rounds were fired by the JNA from the Serbian province of Vojvodina on the opposite bank of the Danube.
Shortly after the bombardment, as the Croatian Serb TO and Serbian Volunteer Guard (SDG) paramilitaries attacked the police station in Dalj, the Croatian police requested the JNA's assistance in terminating the TO attack.