Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Creation and composition

The Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed on 15 April 1992 during the early days of the Bosnian War.^[3] Before the ARBiH was officially created, a number of paramilitary and civil defense groups were established. The Patriotic League (PL) and the local Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (TORBIH) were the official army while paramilitaries such as the Zelene Beretke (Green Berets) and Crni Labudovi (Black Swans) units were also active. Other irregular groups included Bosnian mafia groups, as well as collections of police and former Yugoslav People's Army soldiers.

The army was formed in poor circumstances, and suffered from a very limited supply of arms. Critical deficiencies included tanks and other heavy weaponry. The first commander of the army was Sefer Halilović.

1992

In 1992, the ARBiH was losing most of the battles and consequently 70% of Bosnia was under Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), later Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), control. Sarajevo was under siege. The ARBiH had defended Sarajevo with light weaponry. The army was surrounded and the transfer of supplies was hard, if not impossible.

1993

1993 saw no major changes in the front lines against Serbs. Instead, this year marked the start of the Croat–Bosniak War in Central Bosnia and in Herzegovina, notably the Mostar region. Pressured and contained by heavily armed Serb forces in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia, ethnic Croat militia forces – the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) – shifted their focus from defending their parts of Bosnia from Serbs to trying to capture remaining territory held by the Bosnian Army. It is widely believed that this was due to the Karađorđevo agreement reached between presidents Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tuđman to split Bosnia between Croatia and Serbia. In order to accomplish this Croatian forces would have to defeat the Bosnian Army, since the territory that they wanted was under Bosnian government control. The HVO with great engagement from the military of the Republic of Croatia and material support from Serbs, attacked Bosniak civilian population in Herzegovina and in central Bosnia starting an ethnic cleansing of Bosniak populated territories, such as in the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing.

Vastly under-equipped Bosnian forces, fighting on two fronts, were able to repel Croats and gain territory against them on every front. At this time, due to its geographic position, Bosnia was surrounded by Croat and Serb forces from all sides. There was no way to import weapons or food. What saved Bosnia at this time was its vast industrial complex (steel and other heavy industry), which was able to switch to military production. After a short but bloody war, and once Croats realized that their partnership with Serbs would not bring them any territorial gains, they agreed to the U.S. leadership's "Washington Treaty" peace agreement. From that point on, Croat and Bosnian government forces fought as allies against Serbs.

1994

A renewed alliance between the HVO and the ARBiH was agreed upon, with the objective of forming a strong force that could fight the much stronger and better equipped VRS. This was the time of frequent peace negotiations.

1995

Despite the loss of several enclaves, notably Srebrenica, 1995 was marked by HVO and ARBiH offensives and later by NATO intervention. Following the Split Agreement, the Croatian Army, with cooperation from the ARBiH and the HVO, launched a series of operations: Flash, Summer '95, Storm and Mistral 2. In conjunction, Bosnian forces launched operations like Sana. Bosnian and Croat armies were on the offensive in this phase, captured all of western Bosnia, and the Serb capital Banja Luka was seriously threatened, until peace negotiations stopped further bloodshed.

From August to December 1995, Serb forces were defeated and driven out of the majority of Croatia and western Bosnia, and the ethnic Serb population fled from these parts.

Following the second Markale massacre, NATO intervention was launched, which destroyed much of the VRS infrastructure in just a few days (Operation Deliberate Force). The war ended with the signing of the Dayton Accord.

Pre-war

Name	Headquarters	Information
TO RBIH	Sarajevo	The Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (Teritorijalna odbrana Bosne i Hercegovine (TO BiH) were the first official armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the Bosnian War. Which eventually transformed into the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Patriotic League	Sarajevo	The Patriotic League was the first paramilitary unit of Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4] Formed in March 1991.
Zelene beretke	Sarajevo	The "Green Berets" were a paramilitary organization founded in Sarajevo in early 1992. They were integrated into the newly founded Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second part of 1992.
Black Swans (special forces)	Sapna, Konjic	The Black Swans (Bosnian: Crni Labudovi) were a special forces unit in the Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Corps

Military police and special forces

Bosnian general staff

• Alija Izetbegović (the Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces)
• Hasan Efendić (first commander of the Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Sefer Halilović (Chief of Staff of the Main Staff and Commander of the Bosnian Army, 1992–1993)
• Rasim Delić (Commander of Main Staff and Commander of the Bosnian Army, 1993–1995)
• Jovan Divjak (deputy of the ARBIH commander, 1992–1995)
• Stjepan Šiber (deputy of the ARBIH commander, 1992–1995)

Infantry weapons of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Assault rifles and machine guns

Name	Origin	Type	Notes
MG42[5]	Germany	Machine gun	World War II-spec model
Zastava M53[5]	Yugoslavia	Machine gun	Provided from old JNA barracks, large numbers.
M2 Browning machine gun[5]	United States	Machine gun	Captured
DShK[5]	Soviet Union	Machine gun	Captured and smuggled
NSV machine gun[5]	Soviet Union	Machine gun	Captured, in smaller numbers
M48 Mauser[5]	Yugoslavia	Bolt-action rifle	Some used as sniper rifles, fitted with ZRAK 4x32 telescopic sight
PAP M59/66[5]	Yugoslavia	Semi-automatic rifle	In large numbers, used as sniper rifles or by paramilitary
Zastava M72[5]	Yugoslavia	Assault rifle	In large numbers
Zastava M76[5]	Yugoslavia	Sniper rifle	Captured/smuggled
Heckler & Koch MP5[5]	West Germany	Submachine gun
AK-47 and derivatives[5]	Soviet Union	Assault rifle	In large numbers, mostly Romanian copies
Zastava M70[5]	Yugoslavia	Assault rifle	In large numbers
Škorpion vz. 61[5]	Yugoslavia	Submachine gun	Designed M84 Škorpion
Dragunov Sniper Rifle[5]	Soviet Union	Sniper rifle	Smuggled
G3[5]	West Germany	Assault rifle	In low numbers
Zastava M84[5]	Yugoslavia	Machine gun	In large numbers
Zastava M80[5]	Yugoslavia	Assault rifle
Thompson submachine gun[5]	United States	submachine gun	In low numbers (all provided from old JNA barracks)

Pistols

Pistol	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
TT pistol[5]	Soviet Union	Pistol
CZ-99[5]	Yugoslavia	Pistol

Infantry anti-tank weapons

Name	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
M80 Rocket Launcher	Yugoslavia	Rocket Launcher		64 millimetres (6.4 cm)
M79 Osa	Yugoslavia	Rocket Launcher		90 millimetres (9.0 cm)
AT-3 Sagger	Soviet Union	Anit-tank missile
HJ-8	China	Anti-tank missile	Baktar-Shikan, HJ-8E	Was supplied to ARBiH in 1993-1995
RPG-7	Soviet Union	Rocket-propelled grenade
M90	Yugoslavia	Rocket launcher		120 millimetres (12 cm)

Artillery

Artillery	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
D-30[5]	Soviet Union	Howitzer	D-30J	Captured
BM-21 Grad[5]	Soviet Union	Multiple rocket launcher	BM-21 Grad/RM-70
M-63[5]	Yugoslavia	Multiple rocket launcher	M-63 Plamen
M-77[5]	Yugoslavia	Multiple rocket launcher	M-77 Oganj
M-87[5]	Yugoslavia	Multiple rocket launcher		Few
Type 63 multiple rocket launcher[5]	China	Multiple rocket launcher		Large numbers

Main battle tanks

Tanks	Origin	Type	Notes
T-34[5]	Soviet Union	Main battle tank	46 tanks
M-84[5]	Yugoslavia	Main battle tank	Captured, 3 vehicles.
T-55[5]	Soviet Union	Main battle tank	60 tanks
PT-76[5]	Soviet Union	Light tank
M47 Patton[5]	United States	Main battle tank	13

Armored personnel carriers

APC	Origin	Notes
BVP M-80[5]	Yugoslavia
OT M-60[5]	Yugoslavia
BOV (APC)[5]	Yugoslavia	From police and captured from the VRS.
BRDM-2[5]	Soviet Union	~3 vehicles

Self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery

System	Origin	Notes
ZSU-57-2[5]	Soviet Union	<10 vehicles
M53/59 Praga[5]	Czechoslovakia	<5 vehicles

Anti-aircraft artillery

System	Origin	Notes
Bofors 40 mm[5]	Sweden
ZU-23-2[5]	Soviet Union	Mainly used against ground targets.

Self-propelled artillery

System	Origin	Notes
2S1 Gvozdika[5]	Soviet Union	(captured 1994-95)
M36 tank destroyer[5]	United States
M18 Hellcat[5]	United States