Offensive Operation Corridor 92

map of operation corridor 92


order of battle

the vrs deployed 40,800 troops @ beginning of operation corridor 92, , force increased 54,660 end of initial phase of offensive. vrs tasked 1st krajina corps main effort of offensive, organized 4 tactical groups, 16th krajina motorized brigade, , operational group doboj. corps , operation under command of general momir talić. rsk contributed troops offensive. volunteer force of 780 troops, composed of special units of ministry of interior, arrived in june , these forces commanded directly rsk interior minister, milan martić.

the hvo , hv had 20,000 troops in region @ outset of vrs offensive, troop levels declined 5,000 october. initially, these units organized operational group sava , operational group eastern posavina. mid-may organised operational group eastern posavina, commanded colonel vinko Štefanek, , subordinated slavonian field command in Đakovo commanded hv major general petar stipetić. hvo units included 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th , 109th brigades. troops included elements of large number of hv units: bulk of 108th infantry brigade based in slavonski brod, , parts of 139th brigade , 3rd guards brigade. hv units slavonia , central croatia engaged: fragments of 109th, 111th, 123rd , 127th brigades based in vinkovci, rijeka, požega , virovitica, several osijek-based units. around 200 members of croatian defence forces (hos) engaged on front, operating independently or under command of 108th hv brigade. croat forces acquiered weapons hv logistics base in slavonski brod. on 15 may 1992, united nations issued resolution 752, demanding withdrawal of hv units bosnia , herzegovina. presence of hv units objected foreign observers, on 7 july 1992 croatian defence minister gojko Šušak issued order volunteers deployed bosnia , herzegovina.

the vrs leadership estimated total strength of opposing forces @ 25,500 troops. in estimate included 110th , 111th brigades of hvo usora , Žepče, 3 brigades of arbih gradačac, maglaj , tešanj. although these units not involved in fighting in posavina, tied part of vrs forces on own positions. besides manpower, vrs held advantage in armaments. while croat forces had 47 combat vehicles, 35 of tanks (9 t-34s, 22 t-55s , 4 m-84s), vrs had 163 combat vehicles, including 3 pt-76s, 18 t-34s, 71 t-55s , 24 m-84s. vrs held advantage in artillery pieces well.

timeline

map of vrs capture of bosanski brod in october 1992

on 24 june, 1st krajina corps of vrs began offensive codenamed operation corridor 92. first objective break through hvo , hv-held positions between modriča , gradačac, , link east bosnian corps. secondary effort consisted of attacks towards derventa , bosanski brod. first objective achieved after 2 days of heavy combat on 26 june. afterwards, vrs advanced towards modriča , captured town on 28 june. secondary advances, facing considerably stiffer resistance hvo , hv, gained little ground.

the second phase of offensive launched on 4 july. comprised vrs advances towards derventa, bosanski brod , odžak, aiming reach sava , thereby border croatia, north of 3 towns. derventa captured on 4–5 july , vrs continued roll hvo , hv troops. on 12 july, vrs captured odžak , arrived @ riverside near town 2 days later. time, vrs troops had advanced 10 15 kilometres (6.2 9.3 miles), , reached position within 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of bosanski brod. hvo , hv reduced bridgehead around town.

in august , september, vrs launched several attacks against bosanski brod bridgehead little gain. in mid-september, hvo , arbih deployed near brčko, further east, attacked same east–west road vrs aimed secure through operation corridor 92. counterattack managed capture section of road south of orašje, @ eastern end of brčko corridor. however, vrs restored control of road thereafter.

another push against bosanski brod launched on 27 september. advance had moderate success, until 4 october when vrs rebalanced forces, changing sector of bridgehead against 1st krajina corps concentrated. move managed disrupt hvo , hv defences , vrs achieved breakthrough, capturing bosanski brod on 6 october. in response, hv , hvo withdrew troops , equipment in orderly fashion, , bridge spanning sava between town , slavonski brod demolished on 7 october.