Siege of Smoluća

The siege of Smoluća was conducted by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) of an enclave around Smoluća in Bosnia and Herzegovina between June and late August 1992 during the Bosnian War. The ARBiH isolated the pocket during early fighting of the war, cutting off electricity and telephone communications. Local Bosnian Serb forces established defences around the perimeter of the enclave, which was subjected to shelling and infantry attacks resulted in heavy casualties among the defenders and civilians. To relieve the enclave, the East Bosnian Corps tasked Operational Group "Doboj" reinforced by the "Panthers" – the light motorised special brigade of the East Bosnian Corps. The Bosnian Serb troops attacked on 26 August, reaching the defenders within three days but sustaining heavy casualties in the process. The defenders and population were evacuated, and the ARBih plundered and burned the town.

Siege of Smoluća
Part of the Bosnian War
Date June 1992 – 28 August 1992 Location Smoluća Gornja, Bosnia and Herzegovina Result Army of Republika Srpska relieved defending forces and evacuated 7,000 civilians from the enclave, then withdrew
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Ljubomir Todorović	unknown
Units involved
Army of Republika Srpska	Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Casualties and losses
About 73 soldiers and 200 civilians killed, and 200 wounded	Unknown

Background

Smoluća Gornja is a small village in the Lukavac municipality near Lukavac in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, nearly 2,200 lived there, nearly all being Bosnian Serbs. Tinja Donja is a village of the Srebrenik municipality. According to the 1991 census, nearly 1,600 lived there, and most of them were Bosnian Serbs.

The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) cut off a pocket around Smoluća in June 1992 after fighting in the Bosnian War began, and besieged it. The surrounded enclave had about 7,000 residents.

Siege

The commander of the local Serb forces in the enclave was Ljubomir Todorović. Under his command, local forces established a line of defence consisting of trenches and dugouts around the town. The besieging ARBiH troops cut off the electricity supply and telephone lines, isolating the enclave from surrounding areas. They also shelled the town and launched infantry attacks on the defending troops. By mid-August, about 73 of the defenders and 200 civilians in the pocket had been killed, and another 200 wounded.

The relief of those living in the enclave was entrusted to Colonel Dragutin Ilić's East Bosnian Corps by General Ratko Mladić. Preparations of the operation were carried out quickly, and after a two-day approach march, on 26 August the Bijeljina Light Infantry Brigade attacked the besieging ARBiH forces and within three days had broken through to the enclave, having driven a ten kilometre corridor through to the town. The evacuation of the enclave was commenced that evening, and within two days the 7,000 people remaining in the pocket had been evacuated to the Ozren area despite heavy shelling. During the relief operation, 23 soldiers of the East Bosnian Corps were killed, and 150 were wounded. After the withdrawal of the Serb forces and population, ARBiH troops plundered the town and burned it down.

Following the VRS withdrawal from the town, the frontline between the two forces ran along the Spreča River.

References

• "Nacionalni sastav stanovništva Republike Bosne i Hercegovine 1991. (str. 73)" [National composition of the population of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991] (PDF). fzs.ba (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 24 November 2024.