THE TROUBLE IN BOSNIA

Bosnia-Herzegovina, the central-most state in the former Yugoslav nation, is a melting pot of all the diverse Yugoslavian cultures.  Serbians, Croatians and Balkan Muslims each control their respective regions of Bosnia–a close association that has bred discontent punctuated with spates of ethnic bloodletting.  Bosnian Serbs, the minority sect, perceive themselves to be the victims of Croat and Muslim (Bosniacs) hatred, factions who likewise mistrust each other.  Thus, when Bosnia-Herzegovina struck for independence from Yugoslavia in January 1992, the Europe was reluctant to extend recognition until a referendum could determine which sect would control the new nation.  The minority Bosnian Serbs boycotted this referendum out of fear of being voted into subjugation by their rivals.  As a result, the Bosnian Muslims gained control of the new nation.  Official recognition by Europe and the US came on 7 April 1992.  This left only Serbia and Montenegro as the remaining provinces within the original Yugoslavian republic.

Bosnian independence further piqued Yugoslavian (Serbian) anger, not just at the loss of another province, but because their blood kin, the Bosnian Serbs, were now at risk for ethnic reprisals.  The Yugoslav Army assailed Bosnia in an attempt to open corridors to Bosnian Serb enclaves.  International economic sanctions shortly prompted the withdrawal of this (largely Serbian) Army, but not before the Bosnian Serbs had been well armed and trained.  Bosnian Serbs now took over the fighting on their own, particularly around the capital of Sarajevo.

The United Nations intervened in this morass, endeavoring to broker a ceasefire while undertaking to protect and feed the innocent.  United Nations personnel quickly found themselves in harm’s way.  To care for casualties among the UN forces, a US Army mobile surgical hospital was set up at UN Camp Pleso, near the airport in Zagreb.  Staffing for this hospital rotated between US Army, Navy, and Air Force medical personnel.  From March to August 1994, Navy Fleet Hospital 6, staffed from NMC San Diego, ran this facility.

Numerous failed ceasefires culminated, in February of 1994, with Bosnian Muslims and Croats forming the “Bosnian Federation,” an alliance against the better-armed Serbs.  The ensuing stalemate led all parties to the negotiating table at the Dayton Peace Proximity Talks in 1995.  This accord assigned enforcement to NATO in the form of a Stabilisation Force (SFOR).  SFOR was replaced in December 2004 with the more permanent “EUFOR Althea,” whose tripartite governance and peacekeeping activities continue today.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  12 JUL 22

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Covey, D.C.  “Another First-Hand View of the Former Yugoslavia”.  Proceedings of the USNI, Vol 122 (6), June 1996, p. 61.

Grun, Bernard.  The Timetables of History, 3^rd ed.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1991.

Hamilton, J. Bruce.  “Navigating the Balkan Crisis”.  Proceedings of the USNI, Vol 122 (6), June 1996, pp. 54-60.

Mazower, Mark.  The Balkans: A Short History.  New York, NY: Modern Library, 2002.

NATO SFOR website.  www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf.htm, 16 June 2004.

Spencer, Christopher.  “The Former Yugoslavia:  Background to Crisis”.  Canadian Institute for International Affairs, Vol 50 (4), Summer 1993, p. 7.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  Initial NATO enforcement of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) produced at Dayton was through an Implementation Force (IFOR), which gave way to the SFOR.

The post The Trouble in Bosnia appeared first on Today in Naval History.

                                               THE 10-DAY WAR

The culturally diverse and ethnically proud peoples of eastern Europe’s Balkan region have been subjected to domination for centuries.  Between 600-650 AD, Slavics from further east gained control, in particular, Yugoslavs moved into Serbia, pushing Serbs and Croats into the area that is now Bosnia.  A succession of Slavic empires flourished over the following centuries culminating in the Austro-Hungarian empire that dominated eastern Europe until the turn of the 20^th century.  Encouraged by their strong alliance with Hungary, the Austrians unilaterally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, much to the displeasure of the people there.  Six years later on 28 June 1914, Serbian nationals exacted revenge when the Austrian crown prince, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo, the region’s largest city.  Angry Austrians accused Serbia of fomenting the assassination, and the Austrian Army marched defiantly into that latter country.  The event set off a cascade of dominoes among European nations having mutual defense treaties that resulted in World War I.

The end of WWI saw the collapse of Austro-Hungary and the expulsion of the Turks, who had used the opportunity of the war to occupy the Balkans.  The Republic of Yugoslavia was formed.  But from it’s start, the diversity of languages, cultures and creeds sparked regional clashes.  Most deeply divided were the Croats and Serbs, who perpetrated unspeakable atrocities against each other and were still fighting when the Nazis overran the region in 1941.  Hitler supported the Croats and Balkan Muslims against the Serbs allied with emerging Communists under Marshal Josip Tito.  Indeed, throughout the Balkans, European turmoil took a back seat to intersectional fighting.  Following the Nazi capitulation, Tito gained control and reforged the Yugoslavian republic.  The states of Slovenia and Croatia to the north, and Macedonia and Montenegro to the south became united with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  From his Communist headquarters in Belgrade (in the Serbian region), the iron-fisted Tito and his Yugoslavian Army (largely Serbian) squelched any further fighting.

Tito’s death in 1980 reignited the centuries-old conflicts.  The northernmost state of Slovenia was the first region to rebel, formally declaring independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991.  The same day neighboring Croatia also seceded, followed shortly by Macedonia, the remotely mountainous southernmost province.  The Yugoslav Army vented its spleen on Slovenia, invading the new nation in what became known as the “10-day War.”  Only European mediation and Yugoslavian exhaustion brought the short war to a cease fire and Slovenian victory on this day.  The newly born nations of Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia were internationally recognized in early 1992.

Continued tomorrow…

Covey, D.C.  “Another First-Hand View of the Former Yugoslavia”.  Proceedings of the USNI, Vol 122 (6), June 1996, p. 61.

Grun, Bernard.  The Timetables of History, 3^rd ed.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1991.

Hamilton, J. Bruce.  “Navigating the Balkan Crisis”.  Proceedings of the USNI, Vol 122 (6), June 1996, pp. 54-60.

Mazower, Mark.  The Balkans: A Short History.  New York, NY: Modern Library, 2002.

NATO SFOR website.  www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf.htm, 16 June 2004.

Spencer, Christopher.  “The Former Yugoslavia:  Background to Crisis”.  Canadian Institute for International Affairs, Vol 50 (4), Summer 1993, p. 7.

The post The 10-Day War appeared first on Today in Naval History.