Slobodan+Milosevic+&+The+Croatian+War+of+Independence


 * Serbia-Croatian War and Slobodan Milosevic:**

**Background:**

Also known as the Croatian War of Independence, the battle was between Croatian forces, and the Yugoslav Peoples Army, controlled by Serbia. Forces loyal to the Croatian government pushed for their independent sovereignty from Yugoslavia. The Serbians, of course, wanted to keep Croatia in it. Serbia sought to push the Croatian boundaries back and conquer as much land as possible. The tension between Croatia and Serbia is still dangerously high today.

**The Results:**

Initially, Serbia tried to contain Croatia within Yugoslavia by obtaining military control of the entire state. Terribly failing to do so, a cease-fire in January of 1992 was set in order. Croatia was officially recognized as her own sovereign state. However, the fighting had not yet ended, and Serbia was not willing to accept Croatia as independent just yet. Serbia re-sent troops into Croatia hoping to regain authority and control over the newly formed republic. In response to Serbia’s action, Croatia launched two major offensives. Codenamed Operacija Bljesak (Operation Flash) and Operacija Oluja (Operation Storm), the plans were put into action. The success of these operations respectively ended the war in Croatia’s favour.

**Operation Flash:**

Conducted and initiated May 1st 1995, Operation Flash efficiently removed a majority of the Serbian army from Croatia. Croatia was able to regain approximately 500 square kilometers of territory back from region known as Western Slavonia. The operation resulted in a decisive victory for the Republic of Croatia. However, Operation was the smaller prelude to Operation Storm that would soon follow.

**Casualties:**

Croatia deployed 7,200 hundred men, losing 42 soldiers with another 162 wounded. Serbia on the other hand, lost men ranging from 180-280 troops, and, had 1,500 captured from the 8,000 that were originally deployed. The troop numbers, weapons, and casualties are much slimmer in this operation as to that of Operation Storm.

**Operation Storm:**

The large-scale military operation codenamed Operation Storm was carried out on August 4th 1995. A joint operation conducted by the Croatian Armed Forces, and the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the objective was to gain back control parts of Croatia that had been occupied by Serbia since 1991. Croatian troops swiftly tore through Serbian defensive lines and captured the entire region in 4 days. The Operation was the biggest European land offensive since World War II.

**Casualties:**

Croatian forces deployed approximately 150,000 troops; followed by large numbers of artillery, aircraft, combat helicopters, and tanks. Out of that number, approximately 185 soldiers were killed, and over 1,100 wounded. Serbia however, lost over 500 soldiers, and approximately 2,500 were wounded from there rough 100,000 troops. As a result of these battles, hundreds of thousands of civilians were either refugee, wounded, or even killed. **Slobodan Milosevic:** Slobodan Milosevic was elected the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1989. Milosevic was very popular amongst the Serbian people and lead a new form of government, Communism. However, Yugoslavia was at a state of war and unrest through his three terms as President. Controversies with NATO, and battles between separatist states like Croatia were ongoing. Milosevic was infamous for his brutal yet effective tactics with his military. He maintained his power by silencing political opponents, and controlling the media. Slobodan Milosevic had political opponents killed, people had few rights, and the criminal code protected presidents of federal institutions. In 1998, ongoing conflict between Serbia and ethnic Albanians of Kosovo deteriorated into a conflict of arms. Milosevic followed up with initiating an ethnic cleansing of the Albanians living in Kosovo. Hundreds of thousa nds of Albanians were driven out of the state, including many raped and murdered. Mass murders and mass graves were also reported and linked to the cleansing. Two years after, Serbia had numerous defeats; Croatia gained independence and Yugoslavia was falling apart. Milosevic was defeated in the Presidential election in September of 2000 by the opposition leader. Milosevic was arrested for war crimes in connection to the wars with Croatia, Bosnia, and most importantly Kosovo. Slobodan Milosevic was placed on trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, an organization formed by the United Nations Security Council. At trial, Milosevic pleaded not guilty to any of the 66 counts of war crimes he faced, including the charge of genocide. He continually denied the courts jurisdict ion and the trial was repeatedly delayed. On March 11, 2006, Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his jail cell.

Video: The video provides a brief background and view of the tactics and strategy used in the massive Operation Storm. media type="youtube" key="JF0BEhhssaI" height="315" width="420" = =

**Resources:** [] [] [] [] //Law in Action// - Law 12 Textbook