Battle of Kupres (1994)

The 1990 revolt of the Croatian Serbs was centered on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around the city of Knin,[1] parts of Lika, Kordun, Banovina regions and in eastern Croatian settlements with significant Serb populations.[2] These areas were subsequently named the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK). The RSK declared its intention of political integration with Serbia and was viewed by the Government of Croatia as a rebellion.[3] By March 1991, the conflict escalated to war—the Croatian War of Independence.[4] In June 1991, Croatia declared its independence as Yugoslavia disintegrated,[5] followed by a three-month moratorium on the decision,[6] thus the decision came into effect on 8 October.[7] A campaign of ethnic cleansing was then initiated by the RSK against Croatian civilians and most non-Serbs were expelled by early 1993. By November 1993, less than 400 and 1,500–2,000 ethnic Croats remained in UN protected areas Sector South[8] and Sector North respectively.[9]

As the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) increasingly supported the RSK and the Croatian police was unable to cope with the situation, the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) was formed in May 1991. The ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army (HV) in November.[10] The establishment of the military of Croatia was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo introduced in September.[11] The final months of 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, culminating in the Battle of the barracks,[12] the Siege of Dubrovnik,[13] and the Battle of Vukovar.[14]

In January 1992, the Sarajevo Agreement was signed by representatives of Croatia, the JNA and the UN, and fighting between the two sides paused.[15] Ending the series of unsuccessful ceasefires, United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed to Croatia to supervise and maintain the agreement.[16] The conflict largely passed on to entrenched positions, and the JNA soon retreated from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a new conflict was anticipated,[15] but Serbia continued to support the RSK.[17] HV advances restored small areas to Croatian control—as the siege of Dubrovnik was lifted,[18] and in Operation Maslenica.[19] Croatian towns and villages were intermittently attacked by artillery,[20] or missiles.[2][21]

As the JNA disengaged in Croatia, its personnel prepared to set up a new Bosnian Serb army, as Bosnian Serbs declared the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 January 1992, ahead of the 29 February – 1 March 1992 referendum on independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina—which would later be cited as a pretext for the Bosnian War.[22] Bosnian Serbs set up barricades in the capital, Sarajevo and elsewhere on 1 March, and the next day the first fatalities of the war were recorded in Sarajevo and Doboj. In the final days of March, the Bosnian Serb army started artillery attacks on Bosanski Brod, and the HV 108th Brigade crossed the border adjacent to the town in reply.[23] On 4 April, Serb artillery began shelling Sarajevo.[24] Even though the war originally pitted Bosnian Serbs against non-Serbs in the country, it evolved into a three-sided conflict by the end of the year, as the Croat–Bosniak War started.[25] By that time, the Bosnian Serb army—renamed Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) after the Republika Srpska state proclaimed in the Bosnian Serb-held territory—controlled about 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[26] That proportion would not change significantly over the next two years.[27] Republika Srpska was involved in the Croatian War of Independence in a limited capacity, through military and other aid to the RSK, occasional air raids launched from Banja Luka, and most significantly through artillery attacks against urban centres.[28][29]

Kupres, objective of Operation Cincar and Autumn-94

Following a new military strategy of the United States endorsed by Bill Clinton since February 1993,[30] the Washington Agreement was signed by Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1994. The agreement ended the Croat–Bosniak War[31] and established the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[32] The political settlement allowed the ARBiH and the HVO to deploy additional troops against the VRS in a series of small-scale attacks designed to wear down the Bosnian Serb military, but the attacks claimed no territorial gains before October.[33] The ARBiH adopted an attrition warfare strategy relying on its numerical superiority compared to the VRS, which suffered from manpower shortages. This strategy aimed for limited advances, without support of heavy weapons and means of transport—unavailable to the ARBiH at the time.[34]

In March–November 1994, the ARBiH conducted a series of attacks with relatively limited objectives, attacking the VRS at the Vlašić Mountain, the Stolice Peak of the Majevica Mountain and Donji Vakuf, as well as in the area between Tešanj and Teslić, near Brčko, Kladanj, Sarajevo, on the Bjelašnica and the Treskavica Mountain, Gračanica, Vareš, Konjic and Doboj. Further efforts were made, together with the HVO, against the VRS near Nevesinje in September–November, but most of the offensives made little or no gains. At the same time, VRS attacks north of Sarajevo were successfully repulsed.[35] It was hoped by the ARBiH General Staff that the VRS could not muster sufficient reserves to hold off the simultaneous, relatively limited attacks.[36] Little territory changed hands as a result of the ARBiH offensive by the end of October, but the VRS shortage of troops worsened.[33]

Kupres was of interest to the ARBiH and the HVO, albeit for different reasons. The HVO wanted to reverse April 1992 loss of the town, home to a significant Croat community before the war, and to control the Tomislavgrad–Bugojno–Šipovo road. The ARBiH advance towards Kupres was planned as a secondary axis of its offensive towards Donji Vakuf, 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the northwest, codenamed Autumn-94.[37] The ARBiH wanted to deny the VRS a supply route passing through Kupres in order to weaken VRS defence around Donji Vakuf.[38]

It is not clear how the ARBiH and the HVO coordinated before their advance to Kupres. Most probably, the two forces' commands agreed on a simultaneous offensive against Kupres, without revealing actual battle plans to their counterparts. The HVO's contribution in the offensive, codenamed Operation Cincar, was planned jointly by the HVO and the HV.[39]

Initially, the ARBiH committed 3,130 troops to its secondary axis—the thrust towards Kupres.[40] They were organized with the 370th Mountain Infantry Brigade on the right flank of the 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) front manned by the ARBiH 7th Corps southwest of Bugojno, and the 307th Mountain Infantry Brigade on the left flank of the ARBiH effort.[41] In the primary attack axis zone, the ARBiH grouped about 5,600 additional troops, facing an estimated 4,800 VRS soldiers around Donji Vakuf. Kupres itself and the surrounding plateau were defended by approximately 2,700 VRS troops,[40] assigned to the 7th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Krajina Corps,[42] supported by corps-level artillery and armour.[43] The bulk of the HVO force consisted of troops contributed by the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd Guards Brigades, supported by the Bosnian Croat special police and the 60th Guards Airborne Battalion "Ludvig Pavlović". Although participation of the HV in the battle was denied by Croatia, it is thought to have likely occurred.[39] Specifically, the 1st Croatian Guards Brigade is thought to have taken part in the battle,[44] and Bosnian Croat reports pertaining to the battle specify the Zrinski Battalion of the brigade as taking part in the operation.[45] The ARBiH 7th Corps was commanded by Brigadier General Mehmed Alagić, while the HVO Tomislavgrad Corps, formally in control of Operation Cincar, was commanded by Colonel Josip Černi.[46] The VRS 2nd Krajina Corps was under command of Colonel Radivoje Tomanić.[47]

The ARBiH significantly shortened its positions held opposite the VRS and captured 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) of territory,[63] while the HVO captured nearly 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) of the area around Kupres.[64] Battle losses of the ARBiH amounted to 41 killed in action and 162 wounded troops.[63] By 3 November, 4 HVO troops were killed and 15 wounded,[61] and further 3 soldiers died and 5 were wounded in a VRS counter-attack near Zlosela at 11 am on 4 November.[45]

The Battle of Kupres was the first concrete result of the renewed Bosniak–Croat alliance in the Bosnian War,[65] and the advance to Kupres was the first military effort coordinated between the ARBiH and the HVO since the Washington Agreement.[55][66] Following the victory, morale of the ARBiH and the HVO soared. Further advantages for them were the recapture of initiative from the VRS and full control of the Split–Livno–Kupres–Bugojno road, allowing improved logistics of the ARBiH and the HVO in the area, as well as greater volume of transport of arms and ammunition,[63] especially after the United States unilaterally ended the arms embargo against Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 1994.[67] The move in effect allowed the HV to supply itself as the arms shipments flowed through Croatia.[32] Finally, the outcome of the Battle of Kupres secured the right flank of the Livanjsko field, which became especially significant later that month when Operation Winter '94 was launched by the HV and the HVO northwest of Livno in order to draw off a part of the force besieging Bihać and prevent capture of Bihać by the VRS.[31] The battle is considered to be a significant contribution to subsequent success of the HV in the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War.[68]

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