Battle of Vrbanja Bridge

French VAB UNPROFOR armoured personnel carriers during the Siege of Sarajevo

Date	27 May 1995
Location	Vrbanja Bridge, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Result	French United Nations peacekeepers retake observation post VRS withdraw

Belligerents

Army of Republika Srpska (VRS)

UNPROFOR

French Army

Commanders and leaders

Unknown

Erik Sandahl
Francois Lecointre

Strength

14 men
1 × stolen French armoured personnel carrier

100 men
6 × ERC 90 Sagaie armoured cars
several VAB armoured personnel carriers

Casualties and losses

4 killed, 3 wounded
and 4 captured

3 killed, 10 wounded
and 10 taken hostage (later released)

The Battle of Vrbanja Bridge was an armed confrontation which occurred on 27 May 1995 between United Nations (UN) peacekeepers from the French Army and elements of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). It occurred after the VRS seized French-manned United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) observation posts on both ends of the Vrbanja Bridge crossing of the Miljacka river in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. Upon seizing the bridge, the VRS took the French peacekeepers hostage. A platoon of 30 French peacekeepers subsequently re-captured the bridge with the support of 70 French infantrymen and direct fire from armoured vehicles, in an action which saw the first French Army bayonet charge since the Korean War. During the French assault, elements of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) opened fire on the VRS-held observation posts, accidentally wounding one French hostage.

Two French soldiers were killed during the battle, 10 were wounded, and one died of wounds later that day. VRS casualties were four killed, three wounded and four captured. Following the battle, VRS forces were observed to be less likely to engage French UN peacekeepers deployed in the city.

Vrbanja Bridge was located in no-man's-land during the Siege of Sarajevo (1992–96). It was surrounded by tall buildings, which made it a target of sniper-fire from the beginning of the Bosnian War. On 5 April 1992, six protestors were shot on the bridge by Serb snipers. Two women, Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić, died as a result, and are considered the first victims of the siege by Bosniaks and Croats.

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