Operation Tekbir '95

Operation Tekbir '95
Part of the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War
ARBiH Offensive Operations in the Sarajevo Region, 15–22 June 1995
Date 15 – 28 June 1995 Location Sarajevo and surroundings, BiH Result Army of Republika Srpska victory The VRS repels the ARBiH offensive in Sarajevo No major territorial changes
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Ratko Mladić	Rasim Delić
Strength
ARBiH claim: 17,500 soldiers 41 guns 132 mortars 24 tanks	ARBIH claim: 46,163 soldiers 43 guns 406 mortars 19 tanks
Casualties and losses
200 killed and 600 wounded	1,000 killed and 3,000 wounded

The Bosnian offensive on Sarajevo in 1995 (codenamed Operation Tekbir '95) was a military offensive executed by Bosnian Muslim forces (ARBiH) against Serb forces (VRS) in an attempt to break the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. The Bosnian Muslim forces were superior in manpower, but not in heavy weapons, key items for Trench Warfare. This lack of weapons eventually led to commander Rasim Delić to stop the offensive due to heavy losses.

Start of the Offensive

As fighting in Sarajevo gradually widened in 1995, Bosnian Muslim forces launched a large-scale offensive in the area. In response to the attack, the Bosnian Serbs seized heavy weapons from UN-guarded depots, and began shelling their targets. As a response fo these actions, the UN commander, Lt. General Rupert Smith, requested NATO air strikes. NATO honored the request on 25 May and on 26 May 1995 and bombed a Serb ammunition dump near Pale. The mission was carried out by USAF F-16s and Spanish Air Force EF-18A Hornets armed with laser-guided bombs. During this attack, the Serbs then took 377 UNPROFOR member as hostages and used them as human shields for a variety of targets in Pale, forcing NATO to end its strikes.

Course of the Offensive

The Bosnian Muslim forces initially had many successes: the 1st Corps attacked and captured Debelo Brdo, Cemerska and Route Viper, pushing the Serbs back. However, in a counterattack led by Colonel general Ratko Mladić the Serbs managed to recapture most of the land, including Cemerska, Trnovo and Stup. The ARBiH attacks were stopped because of the huge losses: 1,000 men killed and 3,000 wounded.