Military force of the Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War (1992-95)
The
Army of Republika Srpska
(
Serbian
:
Во?ска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske
; ВРС/
VRS
), commonly referred to in English as the
Bosnian Serb Army
,
[4]
was the
military
of
Republika Srpska
, the self-proclaimed Serb
secessionist
republic, a territory within the newly independent
Bosnia and Herzegovina
(formerly part of
Yugoslavia
), which it defied and fought against. Active during the
Bosnian War
from 1992 to 1995, it continued to exist as the armed forces of RS, one of two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina, until 2006 when it was integrated into the
Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Forces of the VRS engaged in several campaigns, including
Operation Corridor 92
,
Operation Vrbas '92
,
Operation Bura
, and
Operation Spider
; they were also involved in the
siege of Sarajevo
, as well as the
Srebrenica massacre
.
Personnel
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A typical uniform of a VRS member during the 1990s
The Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) was founded on 12 May 1992 from the remnants of the
Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) of the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
from which
Bosnia and Herzegovina
had seceded earlier in 1992. When the
Bosnian War
erupted, the JNA formally discharged 80,000
Bosnian Serb
troops. These troops, who were allowed to keep their heavy weapons, formed the backbone of the newly formed Army of the Republika Srpska.
[5]
Aside from being made up largely of ethnic Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the VRS also included ca. 4,000 foreign
Orthodox Christian
volunteers. 700 of whom came from
Russia
, and 300?800 from
Bulgaria
.
[6]
[7]
100
Greeks
also volunteered to fight on the side of the Bosnian Serbs, forming the
Greek Volunteer Guard
which allegedly participated in the
Srebrenica massacre
.
[8]
Post-war status and abolishment
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After the war, the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina had two armies, that of the VRS and the
Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(AFBiH). AFBiH was itself composed of two elements, the ARBiH and HVO. The two armies functioned without a common command, on the principle of "non-intervention in the affairs of the other".
Bisera Turkovi?
noted that it was 'therefore questionable whether in say a foreign attack on Sarajevo [...the VRS] would defend this capital city'. The existence of the two separate armies was one of the factors impeding civil-military relations development.
[9]
The VRS conducted demining.
[10]
In 2003 the army began to integrate into the
Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. In 2005 a fully integrated unit of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats was deployed to augment the US-led coalition forces in
Iraq
.
[3]
On 6 June 2006, it was fully integrated into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by the Ministry of Defence of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
[11]
Leadership
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The supreme commander of the VRS was General
Ratko Mladi?
,
[13]
later indicted at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) for genocide, as were some other high-ranking Serb officers. Mladi? was
arrested in Serbia
on 26 May 2011.
Military operations
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Special units
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]
- Panthers Guard Special Brigade
(Garda Panteri) (
Специ?ална бригада Гарда Пантери
), East-Bosnian Corps
- Wolves from the Drina, or Drina Wolves (
Вукови са Дрине
), Drina Corps
- Special Unit "Mando" (
Специ?ална ?единица "Мандо"
), East-Bosnian Corps
- Special Unit "Osmaci" (
Специ?ална ?единица "Осмаци"
), Drina Corps
- Serb Guard Ilid?a (
Српска Гарда Или?а
), Sarajevo-Romanija Corps
- White Wolves (
Бели Вукови
)
Organization
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Territorial organization of the VRS
Oath-taking Ceremony in 2001 at the Manja?a Military Range
The
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
stated that:
"In July 1995, the Armed Forces of the Republika Srpska were under the command and control of the Commander-in-Chief,
Radovan Karad?i?
. His headquarters was in Pale.
[14]
Within the framework of the VRS, immediately subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, was the Main Staff of the VRS, headquartered in Han Pijesak and commanded by General Ratko Mladic. It was the responsibility of the Commander of the Main Staff to issue regulations, orders and instructions regarding the implementation of orders by the Commander-in-Chief, and to discharge the command duties delegated to him by the Commander-in-Chief. The Main Staff of the VRS consisted of staff officers and staff support personnel, as well as some specialised military units such as the 65th Protection Regiment, designed to provide protection and combat services for the Main Staff; and the 10th Sabotage Detachment, a unit trained for operations behind enemy lines and other special combat assignments.
The vast majority of the fighting force of the VRS itself was divided into six geographically-based Corps, all subordinate to, and under the command of, General Mladic and, in turn, the Commander-in-Chief, Radovan Karadzic. In July 1995, the six Corps were the Drina Corps, the 1st Krajina Corps, the 2nd Krajina Corps, the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, the Hercegovina Corps and the East Bosnia Corps."
1993
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1995
[
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2001
[
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- 1st Corps ? Banja Luka
- 3rd Corps ? Bijeljina
- 5th Corps ?
Sokolac
- 7th Corps ? Bile?a
Equipment
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Tanks and armoured vehicles
[
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]
M-84
main battle tank of VRS
T-34
Towed artillery
[
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D-30
M-46
ZiS-3
Self-propelled artillery
[
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MLRS
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]
M-77 Oganj
MLRs of VRS
ATGM
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Antitank guns
[
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Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns (SPAAG)
[
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ZSU-57-2
MANPADs and SAMs
[
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Infantry weapons
[
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Pistols
[
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Assault rifles
[
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Battle rifles
[
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Submachine guns
[
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Machine guns
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Sniper rifles
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Anti-tank weapons
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Republika Srpska Air Force
[
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Formerly known as
Ratno Vazduhoplovstva i Protiv Vazdu?na Odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske
or
RV i PVO RS
. Beginning on 1 June 2004, the
Republika Srpska
Air Force was officially called,
Prvi Puk Vazduhoplovstva i Protiv Vazdu?na Odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske
, also known as
1st Aviation Regiment and Air Defence Force of the Republic of Srpska's Army
.
See also
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References
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Books
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