Key Facts
- Start date
- 5 May 1995
- End date
- 10 June 1995
- Duration
- ~36 days
- VRS operation codename
- Operation Flame-95 (Operacija Plamen-95)
- HVO alternate name
- Operation Revenge (Operacija Osveta)
- Heaviest fighting
- 15 May 1995, VRS breach near Vidovice village
Strategic Narrative Overview
The VRS operation, codenamed Operation Flame-95, ran from 5 May to 10 June 1995 with combat of varying intensity, punctuated by lulls of two to seven days. The fiercest engagement occurred on 15 May when VRS forces broke through HVO defences near Vidovice, but the HVO, bolstered by Croatian Army artillery firing from north of the Sava River, contained the breach and recovered the lost ground.
01 / The Origins
During the Bosnian War, the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) launched an offensive in spring 1995 to seize the town of Orašje and its surrounding area along the south bank of the Sava River. Controlling Orašje, a Bosnian Croat enclave in northern Bosnia, would have consolidated VRS territorial holdings and eliminated a Croatian Defence Council (HVO) salient in the region.
03 / The Outcome
The offensive ended with the front line unchanged from its position at the start of the battle, constituting a defensive success for the HVO. The failure of the VRS to take Orašje highlighted the erosion of the Bosnian Serb military advantage that had existed at the war's outset in 1992; by 1995 the HVO and allied forces had largely matched VRS capabilities in heavy weapons and organisation.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.