Operation Summer '95 - Operation Timeline

Operation Timeline

Šibenik Zadar Gospić Knin Udbina Bihać Banja Luka Livno Kupres Grahovo Glamoč Drvar Jajce Mrkonjić Grad Šipovo Drniš Benkovac Croatia:
HV-controlled, HV gains in Operation Summer '95,
RSK-controlled
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
HV/HVO controlled since
before 24 July 1995, Operation Summer '95
VRS-controlled, ARBiH-controlled

Operation Summer '95 started on at 5 am on 25 July. The HV 7th Guards Brigade advanced northwest along Livno–Bosansko Grahovo road towards the primary objective of the offensive—the town of Bosansko Grahovo. A composite company drawn from the HV 114th Infantry Brigade attacked VRS positions on the right flank of the advance. Even though the 7th Guards Brigade managed to move forward by about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles), it had to suspend its effort as the 114th Brigade company could not defeat the VRS entrenched defences on Marino Brdo to cover the 7th Brigade's right flank. The VRS defences were well prepared all along the frontline attacked by the HV and the HVO, and especially so in the Bosansko Grahovo area, where fortifications, shelters and covered trenches were prepared in several lines of defences and obstacles, including minefields.

The same day, the HV/HVO force advancing towards Glamoč—the secondary objective of the offensive—also met strong resistance of the VRS troops. The HV 81st Guards Battalion advancing southeast from the Šator Mountain to the rear of Glamoč broke forward defences of the VRS 3rd Serbian Brigade. However, it paused its push after less than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) as its right flank came into jeopardy as the HV and the HVO units to their right were held back by the VRS determined defence. The 1st Croatian Guards Brigade (1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug - HGZ), the Bosnian Croat special police and the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Guards Brigade were blocked by the VRS holding a fortified position on a mountaintop between the Šator Mountain and Glamoč, while the 2nd and the 3rd Guards Brigades of the HVO attacking the VRS 5th Glamoč Brigade southwest of Glamoč made hardly any progress. The HVO 60th Guards Airbourne Battalion and the 22nd Sabotage Detachment attacked in Kujača Hill southeast of Glamoč, but they also made marginal gains only.

On 26 July, Gotovina deployed the 2nd Battalion of the 9th Guards Brigade to the Bosansko Grahovo axis. The battalion outflanked the VRS force blocking the HV 114th Infantry Brigade composite company and attacked the VRS defences from their rear. Even though the HV could not advance more than 1 kilometre (0.62 miles), the move was sufficient to allow the HV 7th Guards Brigade to press on with their attack and push the VRS back by 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) that day, reaching within 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) from Bosansko Grahovo. The imminent threat to the town sitting astride the most significant route between the Republika Srpska and the RSK capital of Knin, became an urgent matter to the RSK. The 2nd Guards Brigade of the RSK Special Units Corps was ordered to disengage from the ARBiH 5th Corps in Bihać pocket area and move to Bosansko Grahovo to defend the town. He also ordered a battalion of RSK police to bolster the defence in the area. While the police battalion declined to deploy claiming that the General Staff had no authority over the police, the RSK 2nd Guards Brigade did not reach Bosansko Grahovo in time to contribute to the defence.

On the second day of the operation, the HV 1st Guards Corps and the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Guards Brigade outflanked the VRS mountaintop position between the Šator Mountain and Glamoč that blocked them the previous day, allowing the HV 81st Guards Battalion to advance further 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) and threaten to interdict a road used by the VRS to supply Glamoč from the north. In order to secure the high ground south of Glamoč, Gotovina released the 1st Battalion of the HV 1st Guards Brigade, supported by an anti-terrorist unit of the HV 72nd Military Police Battalion, from the reserve and used them to attack VRS positions on the 1,600-metre (5,200 ft) Vrhovi Mountain. The HVO units continued their attack towards Glamoč, achieving little progress. The HVO 2nd Guards Brigade only managed a 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) advance towards Glamoč. By the end of its second day, Operation Summer '95 was suffering from delays.

On 27 July, Gotovina reinforced the Bosansko Grahovo axis by deploying the 4th Guards Brigade on the right flank. The brigade broke through the VRS defence in its sector, advancing about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), arriving within 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) of Bosansko Grahovo. Advances in Glamoč area were still being achieved at a slow pace. The Croatian Air Force took part in the attack the same day, using two MiG-21s to conduct airstrikes designed to disrupt road network around Glamoč. The airstrikes were in violation of a no-fly zone imposed by the UN and enforced by NATO as Operation Deny Flight.

The VRS defences around Bosansko Grahovo were defeated by the HV 4th and the 7th Guards Brigades on 28 July, and the two HV brigades captured the town that day. At the same time, the HV 81st Guards Battalion and the 1st HGZ, supported by the special police, moved north of Glamoč, reaching its outskirts and cutting the main route between the town and the rest of Bosnian Serb-held territory. After the HV threatened the VRS positions in Glamoč from their rear, defence of the town became less determined—and the HVO 2nd Guards Brigade, the 60th Guards Airbourne Battalion and the 22nd Sabotage Detachment broke through the VRS defences. Glamoč was captured on 29 July by HVO troops attacking from the south.