Battle of Kupres (1994)

Battle of Kupres

Map of Operations Autumn-94 and Cincar

Date	20 October – 3 November 1994
Location	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Result	ARBiH and HVO victory

Belligerents

Bosnia and Herzegovina

ARBiH
HVO

Croatia

Republika Srpska

Commanders and leaders

Josip Černi

Radivoje Tomanić

Casualties and losses

ARBiH:
41 killed, 162 wounded;
HVO:
4 killed, 15 wounded

Unknown

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Battle of Kupres (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Bitka za Kupres) was a battle of the Bosnian War, fought between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) on one side and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on the other from 20 October to 3 November 1994. It marks the first tangible evidence of the Bosniak–Croat alliance set out in the Washington Agreement of March 1994, brokered by the United States to end the Croat–Bosniak War fought between the ARBiH and the HVO in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ARBiH and the HVO were not coordinated at first, rather they launched separate operations aimed at capture of Kupres.

The ARBiH offensive, codenamed Autumn-94 (Jesen-94), started on 20 October, with the primary aim of advancing from Bugojno towards VRS-held Donji Vakuf, supported by a secondary attack towards Kupres aimed at disruption of the VRS defences and threatening a supply route to Donji Vakuf. The primary attacking force soon ground to a halt, shifting the focus of the operation to Kupres, where substantial reinforcements were deployed to ensure a gradual advance of the ARBiH. On 29 October, the HVO decided to attack, as it considered the ARBiH had directly threatened the strategic Kupres plateau. The HVO launched its offensive, codenamed Operation Cincar (Operacija Cincar), on 1 November. Following a brief lull in the ARBiH advance, thought to be brought on by a variety of causes and a direct request by the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović to the ARBiH to cooperate with the HVO, commanding officers of the two forces met to coordinate their operations for the first time since the Washington Agreement. Kupres itself was captured by the HVO on 3 November 1994.

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