Battle of Košare

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Battle of Košare
Part of the Kosovo War
Košare outpost, destroyed during the Kosovo War
Date 9 April–10 June 1999 Location Košare, Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia (FR Yugoslav-Albanian border) 42°27′0.22″N 20°12′12.64″E / 42.4500611°N 20.2035111°E / 42.4500611; 20.2035111Coordinates: 42°27′0.22″N 20°12′12.64″E / 42.4500611°N 20.2035111°E / 42.4500611; 20.2035111 Result Kumanovo Agreement KLA forces capture the border outpost of Košare between FR Yugoslavia and Albania,[1][2] but unable to make further advances[3]
Belligerents
KLA Albanian Army NATO	Yugoslav Army Russian volunteers
Commanders and leaders
Agim Ramadani † Sali Çekaj † Anton Quni Rrustem Berisha Wesley Clark	Ljubinko Đurković
Units involved
3rd Operative Group GO-3 (later renamed to 138th Brigade "Agim Ramadani")[4]	Priština Corps Units 549th Motorized Brigade 53rd Border Battalion 2nd Battalion of the 125th Motorized Brigade 63rd Parachute Brigade
Strength
136–156 men (initial)[5][6] 2,600 men (May) artillery and tanks NATO B-52 and A-10	300 men (initial) 4,000 men (May)
Casualties and losses
114 killed[7] (7 by NATO friendly fire;[a] 3 foreign volunteers)[9][10] 423 wounded[6]	107 killed[11] (16 by NATO)[12] 1 killed[13]
Košare Location of Košare in Kosovo

The Battle of Košare (Serbian: Битка на Кошарама, romanized: Bitka na Košarama; Albanian: Beteja e Kosharës) was fought during the Kosovo War between the FR Yugoslav Forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the latter supported by the NATO air forces and Albanian Army. The battle was fought around Košare on the border between FR Yugoslavia and Albania from 9 April until 10 June during the NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia.

The KLA sought to enter Kosovo from Albania and cut off of the communication routes of the Yugoslav Army. KLA insurgents managed to take the Košare outpost and a number of surrounding border areas following a massive artillery barrage by the Albanian Army and NATO airstrikes of Yugoslav strategic sites, but after days of fighting they were unable to break through the Yugoslav Army's second line of defense.^{[citation needed]}

Background

According to U.S. intelligence and military officials, NATO provided air support to the KLA, while NATO and the Clinton administration denied providing direct support to the KLA,^{[14][failed verification]} with one Western official expressing concern of a KLA military dictatorship being established in Kosovo.^[15] The KLA was also supported by artillery from the Albanian Army.^{[16][unreliable source?]}

Timeline

9–13 April: KLA offensive

On 9 April 1999, at 03:00, an artillery barrage began from the Albanian side of the border, aimed in the direction of the Košare military outpost, which was occupied by the Yugoslav Army, in what became one of the bloodiest battles of the Kosovo War.^[17] The Albanians attacked in three directions, the first was towards Rrasa e Koshares, the second was towards the well-defended Košare outpost and the third was towards Maja Glava. Approximately 136 KLA soldiers^[5] reached the border and attacked Yugoslav positions. At that time less than 200 members of the Yugoslav Army were stationed at the front line. Bloody fighting ensued and lasted the whole day with 4 dead and one wounded on the Albanian side and 23 dead on the Yugoslav side.^[18] Later, the KLA seized the peak of Rrasa e Koshares and immediately began entrenching themselves. Serbian reports claimed that the KLA insurgents were assisted by British, French, German and Italian special forces.^[19]

The battle continued until the next morning. Then, with artillery support, the KLA took Maja Glava and continued to bombard the Košare Outpost, which resulted in the Yugoslav soldiers having to abandon their posts.^[20] At 19:00, members of the KLA entered the abandoned outpost and CNN and the British BBC broadcast images of a great number of KLA militants taking the outpost.

Members of the Yugoslav Forces then retreated towards the second line of defense above the outpost. Those positions were easier to defend. The next day, Yugoslav reserve troops arrived to relieve the First Army. One batch of KLA soldiers managed to cut the Yugoslav line of communications, and managed to disable one BOV armoured personnel carrier. During the night, the KLA attacked the Yugoslav Army at Opijaz, trying to shatter the resistance of the Yugoslav soldiers, but all of the attacks were unsuccessful and resulted in the Yugoslav Army inflicting heavy losses on the KLA insurgents. The next day, the KLA tried to break the resistance of the second defensive line of the Yugoslav Army, with little success. Meanwhile, the Yugoslavs managed to bring in their Special Forces and also a few artillery pieces.^{[citation needed]}

On 13 April, the Yugoslav and Albanian armies clashed at the border near Krumë.^[21][22]

14 April: Yugoslav counter-offensive on Maja Glava

Albanian Army and KLA artillery continued to shell the Yugoslav Army's positions from Maja Glava and Rrasa e Koshares. The Yugoslav Army Headquarters decided to launch a sudden attack and surprise the enemy. On April 14, Yugoslav troops attacked Maja Glava. The distance between the two enemy trenches wasn't longer than 50 meters. The Yugoslav Army was unable to take Maja Glava completely, but it prevented the Albanians' artillery from engaging them from their positions. The Maja Glava front was stabilized until the end of the war, without any changes on the lines.^{[citation needed]}

In April, there weren't any changes on the front lines at Rrasa e Koshares and both sides suffered heavy losses. Many Yugoslav soldiers were killed by the non-stop artillery bombardment, while many KLA soldiers were killed in numerous unsuccessful attempts to break the Yugoslav lines of defense.^{[weasel words][citation needed]}

10–11 May: Yugoslav offensive on Rrasa e Koshares

May began with several unsuccessful attacks by the Yugoslav Army to take back the Košare outpost. The attacks were made unsuccessful because of the constant artillery fire aimed at their positions. On the 6th of May, the Yugoslav Army counterattacked at Rrasa e Koshares, in an effort to halt the artillery bombardment. A bloody skirmish ensued, but the Yugoslav Army did not manage to take Rrasa e Koshares. On 10 May, the Yugoslav Army sent two T-55 tanks to help stabilize the offensive on Rrasa e Koshares. When the tanks penetrated the KLA's lines, they advanced over 100 meters into insurgent-held territory, but the KLA still managed to retain control of Rrasa e Koshares. During the night of 10/11 May, NATO bombers dropped dozens of bombs on the Yugoslav troops who had attacked KLA positions around Rrasa e Koshares. At least in two of these instances NATO dropped cluster bombs on Yugoslav army troops. In these attacks, NATO killed eight Yugoslav soldiers and one officer and managed to wound over 40. The KLA seized the opportunity to attack and fought the Yugoslav soldiers out of their positions and forced them back.^{[citation needed]}

May: Skirmishes around Mrcaj

During the middle of May, many bloody skirmishes were fought at Mrcaj, which was eventually taken by the Yugoslav Army. After the Yugoslavs had inflicted some casualties on the insurgents, the KLA had to retreat from their positions giving the Yugoslavs the chance to take the now undefended position. This development allowed the Yugoslav Army to stabilize their position on the battlefield and to hold the attackers outside of their second line of defense.^{[23][circular reference]}

19-20 May: KLA attack near Junik

On 19 or 20 May, the KLA attacked a Yugoslav Special Forces' position near Junik. The KLA claimed to have managed to kill 14 Yugoslav Special Forces members after bitter fighting, whilst they suffered no losses. One of the killed was Russian citizen Bulakh Vitaly Glebovich. Documents retrieved from Glebovich's body showed he was an officer within the Russian Army, while Moscow confirmed that there was an officer by the same name who had been discharged from the Russian Army do to medical conditions with the name that the KLA had provided. The KLA presented this as evidence of Russian involvement in the war and sent a strong letter of protest to the Russian embassy in Tirana, demanding 5,000 firearms with ammunition as ransom for the retrieval of the body.^[24][25] Yugoslavia reported Glebovich was killed while fighting as a volunteer.^[13][26]

22 May: NATO friendly fire on Košare Outpost

On 22 May, NATO aircraft mistakenly bombed KLA positions.^[9] Some KLA commanders would later say that this was intentional to stop the KLA from making further gains.^[27] According to the KLA, seven of their fighters were killed and 27 wounded in the strike.^[9] However, after the war, PBS reported 67 fighters died in the raid.^[8]

Throughout May, NATO conducted air operations against Serbian targets in Kosovo and Serbia, some which included collateral damage–death of civilians.^[28]

Aftermath

A mural honoring the fallen soldiers of the Battle of Košare in Niš

A mural dedicated to the Serbian soldiers of Košare outpost in Belgrade

KLA members waiting to turn in their weapons to U.S. Marines, 30 June 1999.

Although the Yugoslav Army was unable to reclaim the border outpost at Košare,^[29] the KLA never broke out of this small bridgehead and was ultimately unsuccessful at securing a corridor from Albania through this route.^[3] It was thought the KLA was unable to make further gains as they lacked heavy weapons after the Albanian army withdrew its support.^[30] This would lead to the Battle of Paštrik in late May, where some thought the KLA was successful,^[3] while others thought they were unsuccessful^{[14][31][32][33][34]} or achieved minimal success.^[35] Despite managing to capture two villages near Peć and seizing large stretches of the border area northwest of Prizren, the KLA was not able to gain control of the Peć-Prizren highway and suffered heavy losses.^[34]

The Kosovo War lasted until 10 June. The Kumanovo Agreement was signed and the Yugoslav Army, paramilitaries and police-forces had to pull out of Kosovo. The KFOR entered Kosovo as a peacekeeping force. The KLA was, under the terms of the Kumanovo Treaty, disarmed and disbanded, however many of its members left Kosovo and joined Albanian organizations in the Insurgency in the Preševo Valley (Serbia) and Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia.

Legacy

Sali Çekaj and Agim Ramadani were posthumously decorated with Hero of Kosovo by Ibrahim Rugova on the 6th year anniversary of the battle.^[36]

In 2017 a boulevard in New Belgrade was named to Heroes of Košare boulevard, which was a proposition introduced by the citizens of Belgrade.^[37]

On 12 April 2020, Dragutin Dimčevski, deputy commander of the 53rd Border Battalion, was given the Order of the White Eagle by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for his service at Košare. The 53rd Border Battalion was the first unit to face off against the KLA in the Battle of Košare.^[38]

A Serbian feature film about the battle is set for shooting in late June 2020.^[39]

On 9 April 2021, on the 22nd anniversary of the beginning of the battle, a memorial plaque dedicated to the Yugoslav Army fighters of this battle was unveiled in Niš, along with one boulevard in the same city being named the "Košare Heroes Boulevard".^[40]

Notes

References

Sources

• Bahri Muharrem Gashi (2006). Kosharja altari i lirisë: dimensionet e luftës së Koshares dhe format e saj. Shtepia Botuese "Faik Konica". ISBN 9951061494.
• Smiljanić, Spasoje (2009). Agresija NATO: ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana u odbrani otadžbine. ISBN 978-86-912285-0-7.
• Nardulli, Bruce; Perry, Walter L.; Pirnie, Bruce R.; Gordin, John IV; McGinn, John G. (2002). Disjointed War: Military Operations in Kosovo, 1999. Rand Corporation. ISBN 978-0-8330-3231-7.
• Coercive Diplomacy of NATO in Kosovo. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2015. ISBN 978-1-4438-7668-1.
• Hockenos, Paul (2003). Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism & the Balkan Wars. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-4158-7.

External links

• Glas javnosti (11 November 1999). "Jačanje upada iz Albanije". Glas javnosti.
• Steele, Jonathan (17 July 1999). "Ghost village marks the battle that ended the war". The Guardian. London.
• "Na današnji dan počela bitka na Košarama – poginulo 108 pripadnika VJ". Građanin. 9 April 2015.
• Đorelijevski, Miloš (14 June 2016). "HEROJI KOŠARA: Da li je sve bilo uzalud?". Mondo.
• "Kosovska vlada: Bitka na Košarama imala sveti cilj - razbijanje veštačke granice koja razdvaja Albance u dve odvojene države". KSP. 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
• Marković, Dimitrije (9 April 2015). "На данашњи дан 9. априла 1999. био је Велики петак и почела је битка за Кошаре (ВИДЕО)". KM Novine.
• "Battle of Kosare: When 200 heroes stood against 2000 KLA and NATO soldiers". inSerbia. 12 April 2015.
• "Podsjećanje na 9. april 1999. – bio je Veliki petak i počeo je pakao Košara (VIDEO)". in4s. 2015.
• "У паклу Кошара – неиспричана ратна прича". Politika. 2013.
• "Pavković otkriva kako je izgledala bitka na Košarama: NATO, OVK i albanska vojska nisu nam oteli ni pedalj zemlje!". Srbija danas. 20 June 2017.
• "Bitka na Paštriku - bitka za Srbiju". Svedok. Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
• "Komandant odbrane Košara o najtezoj bici kopnene agresije na SRJ". Srbel.net. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013.