MILITARY AND WAR HISTORY MUSEUM

      4. gardijska brigada osnovana je 28. travnja 1991. godine u jeku priprema za ustrojavanje ZNG-a, nakon samog početka rata u Republici Hrvatskoj. Brigada je bila sastavljena od dragovoljaca i veće skupine mladih redarstvenika koji su izašli iz središta za izobrazbu postrojbi za posebne namjene MUP-a u Lučkom i Kumrovcu. Preustrojem Hrvatske vojske 4. brigada je postala temelj osnutku nove 4. brigade u čiji sastav su ušli svi njeni pripadnici i dio pripadnika 7. GBR. Vojarna Dračevac je preustrojem označena neperspektivnom, a Četvrta je iseljena u Knin i Benkovac. Moto brigade je "In hoc signo vinces" (U tom znaku pobjeđuješ).

      The 4th Guards Brigade was established on April 28, 1991, in the midst of preparations for the formation of the ZNG, after the very beginning of the war in the Republic of Croatia. The brigade was composed of volunteers and a larger group of young police officers who came out of the training center for special forces of the Ministry of the Interior in Lučko and Kumrovec. With the reorganization of the Croatian Army, the 4th Brigade became the basis for the establishment of a new 4th Brigade, which included all its members and some members of the 7th GBR. The Dračevac barracks was marked as unpromising by the reorganization, and the fourth was moved to Knin and Benkovac. The motto of the brigade is "In hoc signo vinces" (In that sign you win).

      Znak 4. gardijske brigade 1994. godine likovno je preoblikovao Božo Kokan, kada su znakovi svih gardijskih stilski ujednačeni u kružnom okviru crvene boje (prema crvenim beretkama pripadnika brigade) sa zlatnim pleterom, zadržavajući temeljne elemente iz ranijeg simbola, lavove s mačevima, šahirani štit i slogan na vrpci.

      The emblem of the 4th Guards Brigade was redesigned by Božo Kokan in 1994, when the emblems of all Guards were stylistically uniform in a red circular frame (according to the red berets of the brigade) with gold plait, retaining the basic elements of the earlier symbol, lions with swords, checkered shield and the slogan on the ribbon.

      Znak je pravokutan, unutar crveno-bijelo šahiranog obruba prikazuje tri žuta okrunjena stilizirana lava u prolazu, glava okrenutih prema gledatelju (takve se figure u heraldici nazivaju leopardi), dva gornja koračajući jedan prema drugome i donji ispod njih u sredini korača prema desno, a svaki drži uzdignuti mač. Ispred njih u dnu štit je šahiranog hrvatskog grba, a oko njega se pruža u dva reda crvena vrpca na kojoj je ispisano "In hoc signo vinces". U zaglavlju iznad lavova crni je natpis "4. gardijska", a dolje "brigada". Znak je nastao početkom 1992. godine, a kao autorica navodi se D. Martinović.

      Tri okrunjene leopardove glave prastari je grb Dalmacije, a uključen je kao glavni element znaka postrojbe s obzirom na to da se brigada mobilizirala na širem području Splita. U znaku su prikazani cjeloviti lavovi, a ne samo glave, a koračaju jedan prema drugome kao simbol zajedništva. Uzdignuti su mačevi koje drže simboli aktivne obrane. Latinski slogan "U ovome znaku ćeš pobijediti", a pojavljuje se na mnogim vojnim simbolima još od vremena cara Konstantina, koji je prije bitke na Milvijskom mostu 312. godine, ugledao Kristov monogram na nebu, prepoznao ga kao znak božanske zaštite i providnosti.

dr. sc. Željko Heimer, "Hrvatski vojnik" broj 431, 09/2013.

      4th Guards Brigade, also known as The Spiders (Pauci) was a brigade of the Croatiann Army which took part in the War for Independence. It was active until a 2008 reorganization when it was merged into the Motorized Guard brigade. The brigade was named after one of its commanders, general Andrija Matijaš Pauk, who was killed by Serb forces in Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 9 October 1995, during Operation Southern Move, the last action of the Croatian army in the war. The 4th Guards Brigade took his nickname for the unit soon after. Pauk means "spider" in Croatian.

      Following a reorganization in the Croatian Army, the 4th Brigade has become part of the Motorized Guard brigade as the 2nd Motorized Battalion "Spiders". The Motorized Guard Brigade is also composed of other several brigades, the 1st Guards Brigade (the "Tigers"), the 2nd Guards Brigade (the "Thunders") and the 9th Guards Brigade (the "Wolves").

      4. gardijska brigada je tek poslije rata dobila naziv "Pauci". Prije toga su njeni pripadnici bili poznati pod imenom "pripadnici 4. gardijske brigade". Pauk je nadimak Andrije Matijaša, a nadimak proistječe iz toga šta je to bio radio pozivni znak oklopne bojne kojoj je on bio zapovjednik (nisan siguran kad, mislim u akciji Maslenica).

      Što se 4. brigade tiče neki su je zvali Lavovi, jer su mislili da su u grbu 3 lava (misleći valjda na Mletačke s krilima kojih ima po Dalmaciji). Zapravo je u grbu grb Dalmacije (3 leoparda) i natpis IN HOC SINGO VINCES što je biblijski citatat kad je u snu bizantinski car Konstantin, koji se borio postati rimskim carem, vidio križ ispod kojeg je pisao ovaj tekst. On je pobjedio i postao car i ukinuo progon kršćana.

      Pauci su uvijek bili oklopna bojna 4. brigade po svom vođi Andriji Matijašu Pauku, koji je zaslužio poštovanje i divljenje mnogih. Njegovom pogibijom 1995. odali su mu priznanje prekrivanjm grba brigade paukovom mrežom.

      4th Guards Brigade was renamed "Spiders" only after the war. Prior to that, its members were known as "members of the 4th Guards Brigade". Spider is the nickname of Andrija Matijaš, and the nickname comes from the fact that it was the call sign of the armored battalion of which he was the commander (I'm not sure when, I mean in the Maslenica operation).

      As for the 4th Brigade, some called it the “Lions”, because they thought that there were 3 lions in the coat of arms (probably referring to the Venetians with wings that are found in Dalmatia). In fact, the coat of arms has the coat of arms of Dalmatia (3 leopards) and the inscription IN HOC SINGO VINCES, which is a biblical quote when in a dream the Byzantine emperor Constantine, who was fighting to become Roman emperor, saw the cross under which he wrote this text. He won and became emperor and abolished the persecution of Christians.

      Spiders have always been the armored battalion of the 4th Brigade under its leader Andrija Matijaš Pauk, who deserved the respect and admiration of many. With his death in 1995, he was honored by covering the brigade's coat of arms with a spider's web.

Ovaj mi je tekst dostavljen na papiriću u poštanki kaslić bez ikakvih drugih objašnjenja. Ipak sam ga uvrstio jer mislim da to zaslužuje.