Page 211 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
peacekeeping mission in Bosnia to NATO’s Implementation Force (IFOR) in the winter of 1995 when the British participation in IFOR was codenamed Operation RESOLUTE, a mission that would last approximately 12 months. The whole NATO mission was named, Operation JOINT ENDEAVOUR.
The Implementation Force was a NATO-led multi-national peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20th December 1995 to 20th December 1996 and that was ahead of it transitioning into a follow-on Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR). The stated mission of SFOR was to:
“deter hostilities and stabilise the peace, contribute to a secure environment by providing a continued military presence in the Area Of Responsibility (AOR), target and co-ordinate SFOR support to key areas including primary civil implementation organisations, and progress towards a lasting consolidation of peace, without further need for NATO-led forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
The United Kingdom originally deployed a compact Army Headquarters staff, commanded by a Brigadier, based in a former JNA barracks at Divulje near Split. The main manoeuvre forces were an Infantry Battle Group (based in Bosnia); supported by an Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron, a Combat Engineer Squadron and a Logistics Support Unit. The British contribution to UN Protection Force also included the deployment of Royal Navy ships patrolling the Adriatic Sea and RAF aircraft supporting the troop movements in Croatia. This force was increased in size over the course of the UN peacekeeping mandate in the Former Yugoslavia up until August 1995 when the British force was steadily drawn down.
As part of UNPROFOR 2, the UK agreed to join the UN force to protect humanitarian convoys in Bosnia. The first British Battalion (BRITBAT) was the Cheshire Regiment which deployed with its armoured vehicles in October 1992 through the Croatian port of Split, eventually headquartering itself in a school on the outskirts of the town of Vitez in the Lašva Valley. The Battalion went on to have operating bases in Gornji Vakuf and Tuzla. The British contingent also comprised a logistics base at Tomislavgrad and was expanded with the addition of another Battalion group in March 1994.
The first BRITBAT’s time in Bosnia was not without controversy and its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bob Stewart, very publicly lost his composure and impartiality after his Unit
discovered the remains of Muslim civilians who had been massacred by Croats in the village of Ahmici in April 1993.
Although essentially present in a peacekeeping role, British Units were quickly drawn into the conflict taking casualties from the outset – a Warrior tracked armoured vehicle driver was shot and killed by a sniper, whilst driving on duty in Gornji Vakuf on 13th January 1993. Indeed, British Armed Forces were to serve nearly 15 years in Bosnia and, as a consequence, saw more than fifty comrades killed and many more wounded. Tragically, the appalling road and weather conditions in Bosnia and Croatia, were also responsible for many of the deaths and injuries. BRITBAT, and its supporting sub-units, stood firmly against the military and environmental challenges and consequently won praise by becoming the guardians of the only functioning main supply route into Bosnia’s core and ultimately Sarajevo and Tuzla. The maintenance of the mountain Routes ‘Triangle’ and ‘Diamond’ remained a critical combat engineering task.
However, despite intense diplomatic efforts by the European Union to effect peace following the commencement of war, the conflict continued and intensified to such an extent that the UN then intervened. This intervention was two-fold, firstly by the imposition of multi-lateral sanctions and, secondly, by the authorisation of a number of peacekeeping Operations. As previously mentioned UNPROFOR was promulgated in 1992 to enforce the peace in Croatia and Bosnia and was conferred extended authority to deliver human- itarian assistance and provide protection for so-called ‘safe areas’ to separate the various ethnic groups and to afford them a level of protection.
Involvement in the multi-lateral peacekeeping and conflict missions mandated by the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO), dictated that British Forces were actively involved in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia from the mid-1990s. However, the UN mandate was inadequate and ineffectual – a fact emphasised in the aftermath of the Srebrenica Massacre of July 1995. Exhausted by economic sanctions and under the threat of further action from NATO, the combatants agreed to bring the war to an end under the Dayton Peace Accords of 21st November 1995.
UK Forces subsequently formed part of the post-conflict mission initially mandated under UN Security Council Resolution 1031 (1995). For the RAVC it was the equivalent of a call-up. The Edict commissioned the formation of a military
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