Operation Tiger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This September 2007 may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (September 2007)

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.
You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (September 2007)

For other uses, see Operation Tiger (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Croatian Army's 1992 operation to deblockade Dubrovnik.

Operation Tiger

Part of the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Western Bosnia is the light green canton in the middle

Date	August 4 – August 7, 1995
Location	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Result	Decisive Bosnian victory

Belligerents

- Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH)

Republic of Western Bosnia

Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK)

Republika Srpska (VRS)

Commanders

Atif Dudaković (ABiH)^[1]

Fikret Abdić leader of the Republic of Western Bosnia

v • d • e War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Siege of Sarajevo – Foča massacres – Sarajevo ambush – Tuzla ambush – Višegrad – Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing – Ahmići – Neretva '93 – Banja Luka – 1st Markale – Bøllebank – Amanda – Tuzla – Mrkonjić Grad – Srebrenica massacre – Summer '95 – *Tiger* – Storm – 2nd Markale – NATO bombing – Mistral – Sana

Operation Tiger was a military action carried out simultaneously with Operation Storm in the summer of 1995, by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) against the also Bosnian autonomous zone of the Republic of Western Bosnia and its leader Fikret Abdić and his Serbian backers the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK) and the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS). The battle was a huge success for the beleaguered ABiH which was able to rout Fikret Abdić's forces and regain the territory lost to Republic of Western Bosnia.

1 Background
- 1.1 Republic of Western Bosnia
- 1.2 5th Corps
2 Secret plan
3 Aftermath
4 References

[edit] Background

In early 1990s saw the existence of a western "Muslim" enclave held by Bosnian government forces, under the leadership of the legendary ABiH commander, Atif Dudaković. The region was fortunate that even having some Croatian population in southwest, was able to avoid the internecine fighting between the once allies of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) forces and government Bosnian ABiH forces that plagued central Bosnia. This unfortunately was about the only thing the western enclave had going for it.

In addition to being totally surrounded by Serbian forces with the Croatian Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK) to the west and the Bosnian Republika Srpska (VRS) to the east the Western enclave forces had to deal with another party the cult like Republic of Western Bosnia with its leader Fikret Abdić.

[edit] Republic of Western Bosnia

Main article: Western Bosnia

The Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian: Autonomna Pokrajina Zapadna Bosna, Аутономна Покрајина Западна Босна) was a de facto independent entity that existed in the Western enclave of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1993 and 1995. The capital city of Western Bosnia was Velika Kladuša (located in territory of present day Una-Sana Canton). In 1993 the one time president of the giant Agrokomerc company, Fikret Abdić, decided to carve out a little state for himself and succeeded in recruiting enough followers to make his dreams a reality. Abdić was able to hold power over his mini-state by using cult like propaganda techniques over his followers and Serbian arms and military training. Local residents of Velika Kladusa treated Abdic "like a god" and "were ready to do whatever he said."^[2]

“	Talking to his autonomist followers was much the same as speaking with cult converts anywhere in the world: a wooden dead-end dialogue hallmarked by the absence of individual rationale and logic.	”
	— Anthony Loyd^[1]

[edit] 5th Corps

Even though it was totally surrounded by Serbian forces and constantly harassed by Abdić's followers, the western enclave protected by the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (five infantry brigade strong) was able to hold its own and achieve some success partly thanks to the leadership of Atif Dudaković. By the summer of 1994, Dudaković had developed a plan in hopes of eliminating the autonomist Republic of Western Bosnia.

[edit] Secret plan

The plan was a ruse with great risks but if successful would spell the end of Abdić's kingdom.

[edit] The trap is laid

The plan was hatched out by Dudaković and the commander of the 5th Corps 502nd Brigade Hamdo Abdić (no relation to Fikret Abdić)^[1]. In total secrecy Hamdo approached Fikret Abdić as a dissatisfied military commander willing to sell his services and treachery to Fikret Abdić for the right price. Fikret Abdić was suspicious but decided to take the risk and gave Hamdo a large monetary sum and promised if fighting broke out he would support Hamdo's coup attempt^[1]. Hamdo promptly informed Dudaković who ordered that all aid workers be confined to quarters and that large fires be started using piles of tires to create the allusion of burning building. Then Dudaković told his dumbfounded troops to fire in the air as if they were fighting an invisible enemy^[1].

[edit] Bait is taken

Fikret Abdić and his Serbian backers looking from a distance seeing the smoke and gun fire while listening to rattled aid workers yelling over their radio channels for extraction bought the whole ruse. They promptly sent in their best weapons, troops and officers to support the coup^[1].

[edit] Trap is sprung

Lulled into a trap Dudaković and the still loyal 5th corps were able to quickly force the surrender of Fikret Abdić's forces and seize their badly needed weapons. The Serbian VRS and VSK turned out Fikret in rage and what was left of his demoralized forces had to face an attack by Dudaković's 5th corps that quickly left them routed and on the run^[1].

[edit] Aftermath

map of Operation Storm

The Republic of Western Bosnia was soon dissolved, its forces defeated and its territory was incorporated into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (present day Una-Sana Canton). Fikret Abdić was arrested and after the war he was convicted for acts of war crimes against civilian Bosniaks that stayed loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina charged him with the deaths of 121 civilians, three POWs and the wounding of 400 civilians in the Bihać region. Croatia, where he had taken refuge, refused to extradite him, but did put him on trial there. In 2002 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in the area of the "Bihać pocket”.^[3] In 2005 the Croatian Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 15 years.^[4]

The Serb Krajina Republic or (RSK) in Croatia was destroyed when the Croatian Ground Army (HV), with assistance from the 5th Bosnian Corps, routed the RSK army in Operation Storm, of which Operation Tiger was a part. This enabled major counterattacks by both Croatian and Bosnian forces in Western Bosnia, resulting in Croatian Operation Mistral and Bosnian Operation Sana. Further offensives were ended by the signing of the Dayton Agreement, largely thanks to the pressure from those operations and the NATO bombardment of Bosnian Serbs.

The Serbian population of those areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina fled east, to Banja Luka and as far as Vojvodina and Kosovo. United Nations estimated there were 150,000-200,000 refugees just from Croatia (see article for full information). Number of refugees from western Bosnia is unknown.