Young Man's Furious Plan After Operation Storm: 80,000 Soldiers

Ratko Mladić, the Serbian general, planned to launch Operation Vaganj-95 at 6 a.m. on August 5, 1995. The intention was to use approximately 80,000 soldiers from the Army of Republika Srpska and the Serbian Army of Krajina to retake Grahovo and Glamoč and capture Kupres and Livno, with the ultimate goal of unifying into a single state. However, the plan was thwarted because the Croatian Operation Storm began a day earlier.

This information about the offensive operation by Serbian forces against the Republic of Croatia and the liberated parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina is little known to the public. Mladić made the decision on August 1, 1995, to attack through Slunj and from the Ogulin area, with the aim of opening a rescue corridor about twenty kilometers wide toward Bihać.

Plan Revealed in Bosanski Petrovac

Mladić was aware that Croatian forces were preparing an attack on Knin, so he traveled there to encourage his Serbian comrades with promises of an imminent counterattack. At a gathering in Bosanski Petrovac on July 30, 1995, where military commanders of the two Serbian armies, led by Mladić and General Dušan Lončar from Knin, met, he outlined his intentions.

While explaining Operation Vaganj, he emphasized that actions must begin simultaneously in the east and the south. His words from the meeting are reported by Dnevno.hr:

"The units of the Drina, Eastern Bosnian, and Herzegovina Corps will immediately launch an attack down the Neretva Valley, toward Metković and the sea... to stretch the Ustasha forces across multiple locations, strike at the most vulnerable points, so that the Ustashas are forever forced to reconsider when they decide to go to war with the Serbs..."

Attack Carried Out Despite Defeat

Operation Vaganj 95, which ultimately ended in Serbian defeat, was by no means harmless. It began on August 13, 1991, near Grahovo, and intense fighting involving artillery, aviation, armor, and commandos lasted for three days.

The Bosnian Serb forces, whose strike units included the Second Drina Infantry Brigade, the 65th Protection Regiment, and the 10th Commando Detachment, attempted to seize the important Derale pass. The goal was to enter Grahovo and establish positions for further advances toward Livno and Knin.

On the very first day of heavy fighting, the Croatian Army suffered losses of 20 killed and 50 wounded. However, through stubborn defense and a swift counterattack launched before 9 a.m. that same day, Croatian forces proved their superiority over Serbian units and inflicted a defeat on them.