WAR ACTIONS AROUND GRAHOVO AND GLAMOČ (1994–1995) AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIAN KRAJINA

Abstract

The area of Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoč had a majority Serb population until the outbreak of the Civil War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after the proclamation of the Republic of Srpska, it found itself within its borders. Between Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoč on one side of the Dinara and Knin on the other, there were strong historical ties, which gained particular importance during the wars that accompanied the collapse of socialist Yugoslavia. Until the end of 1994, Grahovo and Glamoč represented a reliable hinterland for the capital of the Republic of Serbian Krajina – Knin. However, at the end of 1994, Croatia began to gradually advance in the direction from Livno to Grahovo and Glamoč and to conquer the significant heights of Dinara, Šator and Staretina. The Croatian Army, supported by the forces of the Croatian Defense Council, in the offensive operations "Winter-94", "Jump-1" and "Jump-2", increasingly advanced through the Livanjsko Polje and occupied more and more strategically important heights on the Dinara. The culmination came at the end of July 1995, when Croatian troops occupied Grahovo and Glamoč and cut off the only transport link between Knin and Banja Luka and Belgrade. This proved to be a key precondition for Operation "Storm" in early August 1995 to capture the entire western part of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and thus deliver the final stroke. In this paper, we have attempted to show how important the armed actions around Grahovo and Glamoč in 1994–1995 were for the Republic of Serbian Krajina.