1995 Pale air strikes

Pale air strikes
Part of Operation Deny Flight
Spanish EF-18
Date 25–26 May 1995 Location Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina Result Army of Republika Srpska victory VRS takes 377 UNPROFOR hostage NATO forced to stop airstrikes
Belligerents
NATO United States Spain	Republika Srpska
Commanders and leaders
Leighton W. Smith	Ratko Mladić
Units involved
USAF Ejercito del Aire	Sarajevo-Romanija Corps
Strength
F-16s EF-18As	Unknown

On 25 and 26 May 1995, NATO conducted air strikes against positions of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) at Pale, as part of Operation Deny Flight, during the Bosnian War.

Events

While NATO was planning its new strategy, the ceasefire expired, and as predicted, fighting resumed. As the fighting gradually widened, Bosnian government forces (the ARBiH) launched a large-scale offensive in the area of Sarajevo. In response to the attack, Bosnian Serb forces (the VRS) seized heavy weapons from a UNPROFOR-guarded depot and began shelling targets. As a retaliation for these actions, the UN commander, Lt. General Rupert Smith requested NATO air strikes. NATO obliged, and on 25 and 26 May 1995, bombed two VRS ammunition depots at Pale. The mission was carried out by USAF F-16s and Spanish Air Force EF-18As armed with laser-guided bombs. On 26 May, the Serbs seized 377 UNPROFOR hostages in retaliation and used them as human shields for a variety of targets in Bosnia, forcing NATO to end its strikes.

Aftermath

Facing a second hostage crisis, General Smith and other top UN commanders began shifting strategies. UNPROFOR began to redeploy its forces to more defensible locations, so that they would be harder to attack or take hostage. More importantly, General Michael Rose established the UN Rapid Reaction Force, a heavily armed unit with more aggressive rules of engagement, designed to take offensive action if necessary to prevent hostage-taking and enforce peace agreements.

See also

• Banja Luka incident
• Gorazde airstrikes
• Airstrike on Udbina Air Base
• Scott O'Grady

Sources

• Beale, Michael (1997). Bombs over Bosnia: The Role of Airpower in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery: Air University Press. OCLC 39892597.
• Bucknam, Mark (2003). Responsibility of Command. Maxwell Air Force Base: Air University Press. ISBN 1-58566-115-5. OCLC 52199670.
• Burg, Steven L.; Shoup, Paul S. (1999). The War in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ethnic Conflict and International Intervention (2nd ed.). M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3189-3.
• Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans, 1991–2000. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-290-3.
• "Operation Deny Flight". AFSOUTH Fact Sheets. NATO Regional Headquarters Allied Forces Southern Europe. Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
• Phillip Corwin (1999). Dubious Mandate: A Memoir of the UN in Bosnia, Summer 1995. Duke University Press. pp. 19–. ISBN 0-8223-2126-2.
• "CONFLICT IN THE BALKANS: THE OVERVIEW; AFTER 2D STRIKE FROM NATO, SERBS DETAIN U.N. TROOPS". NY Times.