Operation Storm

In the summer 1995, Croatia carried out a large scale military operation called Oluja -- Storm -- the objective of which was to reclaim areas of Croatia held by rebel Serb forces. The operation officially lasted four days and effectively eliminated the wartime "Republika Srpska Krajina". It was the largest military operation in Europe since World War II.

Origins

After the final cease-fire of 1992, the Croatian army regrouped and entrenched. After Operation Medak pocket in September 1993, when they overran a small area in the mountainous region of Lika but caused an international incident in their retreat, they eventually started pursuing successful military advances against the Krajina Serbs.

Related Topics:
1992 - Operation Medak pocket - 1993 - Lika - Krajina

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The encroaching of the Serbian-held territory in Croatia and western Bosnia had begun in the mid 1994, with a series of dogged campaigns of the Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defense Council (HVO, in Bosnia and Herzegovina). NATO airstrikes in the area west of Br?ko were, in effect, insignificant.

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The incursion of Milo?evi?'s forces west of the Drina river was bound to collapse due to overtaxing the endurance capacity of his people when confronted with an organized and sustained ground troops' offensive. Exhausted by sanctions and overstretched, Serbian forces couldn't cover the majority of the front line, and their military defeat was only a matter of time.

Related Topics:
Milo?evi? - Drina

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