Osprey ELI 146 The Yugoslav Wars 02 Bosnia Kosovo and Macedonia 1992 2001.pdf

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Elite

SPREY

PUBLISHING

The Yugoslav Wars (2)

Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia 1992–2001

Dr N Thomas & K Mikulan

•

Illustrated by D Pavlovic

Elite • 146

The Yugoslav Wars (2)

Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia 1992–2001

Dr N Thomas & K Mikulan

Consultant editor

Mar tin Windrow

•

Illustrated by D Pavlovic

THE YUGOSLAV WARS (2)

BOSNIA, KOSOVO & MACEDONIA

1992–2001

Two elderly Bosnian TO privates

photographed before 1992, in

distinctive grey-blue uniforms

introduced in Bosnia in the 1980s

and worn until replacement by

JNA olive-grey or camouflage

uniforms. Note the red cloth star

on the front of the sidecap, and

a Bosnian flag on the left side –

a red patch, with the old flag

of Communist Yugoslavia at top

left. (Unless specifically credited

otherwise, all photos reproduced

in this book are from the authors’

collection)

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

n 2 December 1945, President Tito proclaimed the Federative

People’s Republic of Yugoslavia as a one-party state, with

Bosnia-Herzegovina as one of six constituent republics.

Islam

was officially discouraged, but from 1968 Bosnian-Moslems were

regarded as an ethnic group.

By mid-1990 three communal parties had succeeded the Communist

Party in Bosnia. Alija Izetbegovic’s Bosnian-Moslem (‘Bosniac’) SDA

wanted to preserve Bosnia; the Bosnian-Croat HDZBiH aimed, after Feb

1992, for secession and annexation to

Croatia; and Radovan Karadzic’s

Bosnian-Serb SDS planned secession

and annexation to Serbia.

The SDA won Bosnia’s first free

elections in December 1990, and on

20 December Izetbegovic took power

as president, heading an SDA-

SDS-HDZBiH coalition government.

However, in September 1991 Karadzic

declared Bosnian-Serb autonomy,

obtained Yugoslav People’s Army

(JNA) intervention to ‘protect’ the

Bosnian-Serbs, and from mid-1991

began to smuggle in weapons from

Serbia. Izetbegovic had no wish to

remain in a Serbian-dominated rump

Yugoslavia following the independence

of Croatia, and called a national

referendum which recommended

independence. President Izetbegovic

proclaimed the Republic of Bosnia-

Herzegovina on 3 March 1992.

In spring 1991 Bosnia had a

population of 4,354,911, of whom

44 per cent were Bosnian-Moslems,

1 For a brief introduction to the historical background of the

South Slav lands pre-1945, see Elite 138,

The Yugoslav Wars (1):

Slovenia & Croatia 1991–95.

For the sake of brevity, Bosnia-Herzegovina will be referred to

simply as ‘Bosnia’ hereafter in this text.

2 Note that throughout this text, distinct communities within a

republic or province are described by this order of words, e.g.

‘Bosnian-Moslems’ meaning Moslems living in Bosnia.

31 per cent Bosnian-Serbs, 17 per cent Bosnian-Croats, and 8 per cent

other minorities. Of Bosnia’s 109 districts, 28 had a majority of

Bosnian-Moslems, 31 of Bosnian-Serbs, 14 of Bosnian-Croats, and

36 districts had no majority. Formerly Bosnia spoke Serbo-Croat, but now

split into separate entities speaking three languages: Serbian (Cyrillic

alphabet), Croatian, and Bosnian (Latin alphabet).

The Serbian Autonomous Regions (SAOs) were established from

September 1991, and on 9 January 1992 united into the Serbian

Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, later Republic of Srpska

(Republika

Srpska).

The Bosnian-Croats established two regions in western

Herzegovina and Posavina in November 1991, and by April 1992 united

them in the Community of Herceg Bosna (28 August 1993, ‘Republic’).

The Bosnian-Moslem Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina under

Izetbegovic was therefore restricted to central Bosnia (with four

Bosnian-Croat enclaves) and the Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Zepa and

Gorazde enclaves.

BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY

Te r r i t o r i a l D e f e n c e F o rc e

Brigadni general

Atif Dudakovic,

ABiH 5 Corps commander, 1994,

wearing a green beret, and the

first pattern breast rank badge

without gold edging (see chart

on page 56, item 5). The beret

badge is the same coat-of-arms

on crossed swords as in the rank

insignia, in a gold wreath.

General Dudakovic’s successful

defence of the Bihac Pocket in

north-west Bosnia from April

1992 to October 1995 was an

impressive achievement; he later

commanded the Bosnian

Federation Armed Forces.

In 1988 the Yugoslav Army had placed the Bosnian provincial

Territorial Defence Force under 1 Military District (Belgrade), and

reduced its strength by two-thirds to 86,362 in Dec 1991. This Bosnian

Teritorijalna odbrana

(TO), commanded by Bosnian-Serb generals,

comprised nine regions. Each region

(okrug)

controlled about

12 districts (totalling 109), with a light artillery battery, a pontoon

engineer company, sometimes an AA battalion, and two to six

1,800-strong TO brigades (26 in total); each brigade had four company-

or battalion-sized detachments

(odred).

Bosnian-Moslem capacity to defend themselves was weakened by

Izetbegovic’s vain attempts to retain good relations with the JNA, and

he naively gave control of the TO to the Bosnian-Serb SDS in the

coalition government. On 19 Dec 1990 the SDA, alarmed by the SDS’s

secessionist attitudes, discussed forming a military organization; and in

Mar 1991 Sefer Halilovic formed the Patriotic League (Patriotska

liga

–

PL) as an independent Bosnian army, with the same territorial

organization as the TO. The PL received training at Croatian Special

Police centres, and by Mar 1992 claimed 98,000 trained troops –

more than the shrinking TO – organized in 9 regions and 103 (out of

109) districts.

On 1 Nov 1991 the JNA, Bosnian-Serb and Serbian paramilitary

militias began attacking Bosnian-Moslem and Bosnian-Croat towns and

villages including Sarajevo, and on 3 Mar 1992 fighting started in

Bosanski Brod. On 4 Apr Izetbegovic ordered general mobilization;

and on 8 Apr he transformed the Sarajevo TO command into the GHQ

of the

Teritorijalna odbrana Republike Bosne i Hercegovine

(TORBiH),

appointing the Bosnian-Moslem Col Hasan Efendic as commander.

Colonel Stjepan Siber, a Bosnian-Croat, became chief-of-staff, and Col

Jovan Divjak, a Bosnian-Serb, his deputy. Seven out of nine TO Regional

HQs joined the TORBiH (Banja Luka and Doboj refused), bringing in

73 districts with Moslem and Bosnian-Croat majorities; 36 with Bosnian-

Serb majorities refused. The TORBiH was formally established on

15 Apr, when all Patriotic League units joined the force.

In April 1992 the TORBiH’s 75,000 strength included about

7,500 Bosnian-Serbs and 7,500 Bosnian-Croats, while about 30 per cent

of the officers were Bosnian-Serbs or Bosnian-Croats. The Bosnian

Presidency forces were reorganized into four regions (Bihac, Sarajevo,

Tuzla and Zenica) and two tactical groups (TGs) controlling TO,

PL and newly formed units. There were soon 26 brigades (named after

districts), plus a Special Forces unit, a number of independent

battalions and detachments, and military police, armoured and mixed

artillery battalions – a hastily organized and woefully under-armed

force. A brigade

(brigada)

had an establishment of 1,500 but often

only a true strength of about 500, short of all kinds of weapons and

with minimal artillery, armour, signals or engineer equipment. The

1st and 2nd TGs were formed in unsuccessful attempts to lift the siege

of Sarajevo.

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