Mala Kladuša offensive
The Mala Kladušan offensive were series of fighting between NOZB and ARBiH to re capture villages east of Velika Kladuša. These offensive was after successful Operation Spider in which Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia was re-established. The task was to eliminate 5th Corps from the Mala Kladuša-Podzvizd region.[1][2][3]
| Mala Kladušan offensive | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Bosnian War and Inter-Bosnian Muslim War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Province of Western Bosnia Army of the Republika Srpska |
 Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Fikret "Babo" Abdić Franko Simatović "Frenki" |
 Atif Dudaković Izet Nanić Jasmin Kulenović † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
 National Defence of the APZB 1st Krajina Corps Red Berets Arkan Tigers |
ARBiH 5th Corps | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
5000 soldiers 1500 soldiers |
Unknown | ||||||||
Background
[edit]NOZB and VRS 3 months after the first fall of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in Operation Tiger (1994) launched Operation Spider with the aim of re-establishing Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia and recapture of Velika Kladuša. And this task was completed on 17 December 1994, when NOZB returned Velika Kladuša under its control.
The units of the 5th Corps moved from city fighting to fighting in the mountainous environment in the villages south of Velika Kladuša, which was an aggravating aspect of the battle because the Serbian forces were finally able to intensively use artillery, which they could not use during the city fighting. Between December 18 and January 9, there was no significant fighting.
The offensive
[edit]On January 10, the shooting intensified. During fighting on Prokres Hill, commander of the 5th Corps of the ARBIH, Jasmin Kulenović "Havarija", was killed.[4][5][6] Despite the announcement of a cease-fire in January 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, fighting continues. In the area of Velika Kladuša, the battles of the 5th Corps of the ARBiH with the remnants of Abdić's army and a small group of Serbian elite soldiers "Red Berets" continued.[7][8] The fighting through January was hard-fought and in slow-motion because ARBiH has well established that position.[9]
Until end of February, the "Red Berets" carried out strong attacks and cleared troops of the 5th Corps in the northern part around Podzvizd. During March the fighting for Podzvizd and Mala Kladuša is reactivated. The NOZB succeeded in liberating villages on the western side of Vrnograč including Mala Kladuša and Podzvizd, on 21 March they have fully fulfilled that task. After that, NOZB focuses on the recapture of Vrnograč under the code name Operation Vrnograč.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990-1995. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.
- ^ "HercegBosna.org • Pogledaj temu - Gradjanski rat izmedju muslimana?". hercegbosna.org.
- ^ "ОДБРАМБЕНО-ОТАЏБИНСКИ РАТ 1991-1995". odbrambeno-otadzbinskirat.blogspot.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-08-26.
- ^ "Jasmin Kulenović Havarija, borac čiji su nadimak četnici dobro upamtili". stav.ba. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ uskvijesti.ba (2024-01-08). "10. januara 2024-te je 29-ta odisnjica od pogibije Jasmina Kulenovica-Havarije; k.dira 5.IDC". uskvijesti.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "Godišnjica pogibije istaknutog pripadnika Petog korpusa Armije Republike Bosne i Hercegovine Jasmina Kulenovića Havarije obilježena je danas u organiz". Grad Bihać (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "Covert Operations: Unravelling Serbian Officials' Links To Paramilitaries – Analysis". Balkan Insight. June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Bosnia - Ceasefire Violated In Bihac". YouTube. July 21, 2015.
- ^ Bosnia, Archive of Western. "Archive of Western Bosnia". Archive of Western Bosnia. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990-1995. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.