| Operation Spider | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theBosnian War andIntra-Bosnian Muslim War | |||||||
 Army movements during Operation Spider | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Western Bosnia Republika Srpska Republic of Serbian Krajina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Franko Simatović[3][1][2]Jovica Stanišić[1][2]Mile Novaković | Atif DudakovićIzet NanićJasmin Kulenović | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|  Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
| ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
5,000 2,500 500 | 10,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unkown | ||||||
 | |||||||
Operation Spider (Serbo-Croatian:Operacija Pauk, Операција Паук) were a series of military actions in northwestern Bosnia that began in November 1994 and continued until December 1994.[1][2] It was a combined effort ofRepublika Srpska and theRepublic of Serb Krajina to recover the territory of theAutonomous Province of Western Bosnia (APZB), which was a key ally of the Serbs.Franko Simatović[1][3][2] andJovica Stanišić[1][2] commanded the offensive. The Bosnian central government had previously overrun and seized the territory. The offensive ended in aSerb victory and the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia remained in existence until the fall of its key ally, theRepublic of Serbian Krajina, and the subsequent end of the war.[4]
TheArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH)5th corps, under Bosnian generalAtif Dudaković[5] and Hamdija Abdić,conducted an offensive into the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia on August 21, 1994, and completely overrun the entire province on August 22, 1994. During this offensive, around 40,000Muslims loyal toFikret Abdić fled to the Republic of Serbian Krajina.[6]Fikret Abdić, the former president of the APZB, had already fled toCroatia (Republic of Serbian Krajina), where he stayed until his province was liberated and restored.
AfterAbdić’s forces had been defeated and dispersed from their “capital” in August, most of his supporters and former soldiers fled into theRSK, settling in refugee camps inUN Sector North, southeast ofKarlovac. On 8 November,UN observers noted that theSVK had begun recruiting able-bodied Muslim males from among the refugees. The SVK was reforming some 4,000–5,000 ofAbdić’s troops into three brigades: 1st Velika Kladuša, 2nd Cazin, and 3rd Vrnograč Brigades. On 10 November, the new formations began taking up positions along theRSK border nearVelika Kladuša.[7]
In actual command of these puppet troops was a newly formed Operational Group “Pauk” (Spider) commanded bySVK Major GeneralMile Novaković and Serbian State Security Department (RDB) Colonel “Raja” Bozović, a veteran special operations officer.[8] A key deputy of RDB chiefJovica Stanišić,Franko Simatović “Frenki”, oversaw Novaković and Bozović’s work. To stiffen theAbdić units—as well as alliedSVK ground forces—Novaković and Božović could call on a bevy of eliteYugoslav Army, Serbian RDB andSerbian Volunteer Guard (SDG) troops.”* Elements of the VJ’s 63rd Airborne Brigade/ Corps of Special Units, plus Simatovic’s “Red Beret” special operations unit, as well as elements of the SDG—probably about 500 troops combined—were to provide the spearhead for the APWB attack.[9]
On 16 November, this new army attacked across the border towardVelika Kladuša.Abdić’s reconstructed force amounted to some 4,000 to 5,000 troops, bolstered by about 2,500SVK troops in two tactical groups and some 500Yugoslav Army and Serbian RDB/MUP special operations troops, under the command ofSVK Major GeneralMile Novaković and Serbian RDB Colonel “Raja” Bozović.[8] The few 5th Corps formations put up a stiff defense as the Serb/NOZB forces lapped around bothARBiH flanks on the north and south sides ofVelika Kladuša in an attempt to pinch it off.[10]
During the first two weeks of December,SVK/NOZB forces led by the Serbian special operations troops hammered5th Corps positions and inched forward against a tenacious defense. The Serb commanders’ objective remained to force theARBiH from the town with a pincer movement rather than a frontal assault. On 15–16 December the joint Serb/NOZB units seized key high ground overlooking the main5th Corps supply line into the town. This forced the remainingARBIH troops to withdraw to avoid being cut off. By 17 DecemberVelika Kladuša was under Serb/NOZB control. Although battles were to continue throughout the enclave for over a week—until the implementation of the nationwide cease-fire negotiated by former US PresidentJimmy Carter—the fall ofVelika Kladuša was the last major action of the campaign.[11]
The aftermath of this operation left the 5th Corps still encircled by the APZB, the Republic of Serbian Krajina, and the Republika Srpska. This encirclement continued untilOperation Storm, when the Republic of Serbian Krajina—a key ally to the APZB—was defeated in August 1995, marking a huge turning point for theBosnian War andCroatian War of Independence. The APZB had no strength to take on theBosnian Army, and were completely overrun by the5th Corps in just one day, withVelika Kladuša being taken whenOperation Storm ended on August 7, 1995.[12]
Operation Spider and Operation Storm left many towns forever destroyed and ruined, most of which were on the frontlines of the conflict. There are about 8 ruined towns in the area: 3 next to Bihać, 1–2 next to Velika Kladuša, and 2–3 in the middle of the area.[13]
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