Operation Brana 94

Operation Brana 94 was the name of the operation of the joint forces of the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), which began on June 1, 1994,^[1] from the direction of Zavidović and with shorter interruptions that lasted until 5 July 1994. In the end, the Serbs, with far fewer soldiers, managed to defend Vozuća.^[2]

Operation Brana 94
Part of the Bosnian War
Date 1 June – 5 July 1994 Location Vozuća, Ozren, Republika Srpska Result Army of Republika Srpska victory ARBiH units failed to cut off Vozuća from the rest of Republika Srpska, so they retreated
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Vladeta Živković Nedeljko Suvajac	Refik Lendo Jasmin Šarić Fuad Ziklić Ibrahima Hukić Šerif Patković
Units involved
Army of Republika Srpska 2nd Ozren Brigade 43rd Prijedor Motorized Brigade Garda Panteri 1st Srbac Brigade Wolves of Vučjak	2nd Corpus 3rd Corpus Black Swans El Mudžahid
Strength
Around 3,000 soldiers	17,000 soldiers 500–700 volunteers
Casualties and losses
Unknown	over 200 killed

Operational Group Bosnia, led by Colonel Refik Lendo, with about 5,000 soldiers from three mountain brigades (318th Zavidovića under the command of Major Jasmin Šarić, 320th Zavidovića under the command of Major Fuad Zilkić, and 309th Kakanjska under the command of Major Ibrahim Hukić, which are standard held lines in that sector They were reinforced by strike formations from the Third Corps: the 7th Muslim Brigade under the command of Colonel Sherif Patković, El Mujahid Detachment. Special unit "Delta", sabotage unit "Asim Čamdžić", 303rd mountain unit led by Major Muhamed Begagić, 311th light unit from Kakanj under the command of Major Fadil Imamović, 314th mountain unit from Zenica under the command of Major Dževad Smajlagić, 330. no. unit from Nemila, two light brigades from the Tešnja region, the 3rd battalion of the IDG and the elite 120th brigade "Black Swans". All the mentioned military units came from the direction of Zavidović and the ethnically cleansed Gostović. They were supervised by the commander of the Land Army, General Rasim Delić, from the IKM branch in Brašljevina.^[3][4] In an effort to cover up the defeat, Muslim officers publicly displayed a reduced number of participants in Operation Brana 94, as US military experts estimate a total participation of 17,000 soldiers from both corps.^[5] The bulk of the initial attack of the 3rd Corps, whose headquarters was in Zenica, was concentrated on the positions of the Vučia Brigade of the VRS from Podnovlje in the area of Svinjašnica (from the Krivaja River to Podsjelovo), which was commanded by Captain Vladeta Živković, and on the Motajic Battalion in the Podvolijak area (from the Krivaja River to the village of Oštrića) under the command of Neđeljko Suvajc Pepe.

The Operation

As expected, the 3rd Corps, with units deployed in two echelons, first attacked the flanking positions held by members of the Fourth Ozren Brigade of the VRS and the Motajic Battalion.^[6] On the first day of the offensive, June 1, the elite "Black Swans" break through the Serbian defenses and occupy the Pavetin building above the village of Podvolijak. At the same time, members of the Zenica 314th broke out on Kamenička Premet, where the defender Ranko Todorović was killed, and members of the Zenica 303rd moved the Serbian defense to Podsjelova towards Nikolina Brdo. In the morning, at six o'clock, the hurricane started. Our fighters accepted the fight, gritted their teeth and resisted the attacks.I can only enter Vozuća if we all perish. Commanders Slavko Jelisić-Slavčija, Jezdimir Pantelić-Jezdara, Njago Njagomirović, Mladen Savić, Mirko Pantelić, Radenko Božičković, Zdenko Stanković-Zdenkara, Radenko Đurić visit each fighter and raise morale. The people of Vučija are dying, but they are not giving in.^[7] The car is on fire, shaking from the detonation. Shells filled with sulfur also fall. The wail of wounded civilians, deaths. The doctors, Danko in Stog and Sorak in Vozuća, have their hands full. They report that three trenches fell near Pepe, the Muslim army is advancing above Podvolijak. There is no calculation, he goes to help with the Strike Battalion and the Corps Police Platoon, aware that the Muslim forces are very close to the main road that means everything to us. I'm wounded. The fourth time. Suffering fierce blows, accepting "hand-to-hand" combat, the Vučija brigade was practically decimated, but did not give in. Human losses were irreparable. Dozens of fighters were seriously and lightly wounded in close combat, so this brigade was withdrawn from that part of the battlefield on June 14, after the agreed suspension of hostilities, and the light infantry brigade from Laktaš, under the command of lieutenant colonel Zoran Crnić, was reassigned to its place. And Pepin's battalion was replaced by the battalion of the 43rd Motorized Brigade. Appreciating the complexity of the situation, the command of the First Krajina Corps of the VRS sent the Second Battalion of the Serbian Brigade to this part of the battlefield at the beginning of June. In the following days, two more battalions arrived, so that on June 6, the entire Serb brigade, composed of young men from the villages of Podmotaji, Posavina and Lijevča polje, occupied a 20-kilometer defense area, from Popovo Osoj (Medići village), via Čukura to Kamenica.

The main operation began on 18 June, breaking the 10-day-old UN-sponsored cease-fire. The ARBiH plan called for a pincer movement with 2nd Corps troops attacking from the east and 3rd Corps troops from the west to link up in the middle of the 10-kilometer-wide salient. The initial advance took the VRS Ozren Tactical Group of “Doboj” Operational Group 9 by surprise and quickly penetrated Serb lines. Over the next week, Muslim troops continued the attack, gradually pushing through VRS defenses. By 26 June, ARBiH 2nd and 3rd Corps units were within 3 kilometers of linking up.^[8]

The VRS, however, was preparing a bold counterstrike, having shifted elite 1st Krajina and East Bosnian Corps units into the salient. By 1 July an initial counterattack had drawn ARBiH 3rd Corps elements away from their main axis. As the Muslim troops maneuvered to block the Serb thrust, the VRS allowed them to walk into an uncharted minefield upon which it had previously targeted artillery. The ARBiH casualties were heavy, and the shock of the action permitted the VRS reinforcements to counterattack and drive both 2nd and 3rd Corps forces back to their start lines by 5 July.^[9]

References

1. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.
2. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990-1995. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 485. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.
3. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.
4. Vasić Cinema (2023-12-19). "Vozuća: Odbrana i Pad (1992 - 1995.)". YouTube.
5. Tomić, Srđan (2023-12-01). "Borbe na Vozućoj u rejonu Stolići – Visić – Podvolujak". lpbr-prnjavor.info.
6. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 235, 485. ISBN 9780160664724.
7. "Srpske glave "vrijedile" do 3.000 maraka". rtvbn.com. 10 September 2020.
8. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990-1995. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 485. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.
9. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.