The Army of Republika Srpska (; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

, the self-proclaimed Serb

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

ist republic, a territory within the newly independent

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(formerly part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

), which it defied and fought against. Active during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

from 1992 to 1995, it continued to exist as the armed forces of RS, one of two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina, until 2006 when it was integrated into the

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине or OSBiH) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Th ...

. Forces of the VRS engaged in several campaigns, including

Operation Corridor 92 Operation Corridor 92 ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Операција Коридор 92, Operacija Koridor 92) was the largest operation conducted during the Bosnian war by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) against the forces of the Croatian Defence Coun ...

, Operation Vrbas '92, Operation Bura, and Operation Spider; they were also involved in the

siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...

, as well as the

Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...

Personnel

The Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) was founded on 12 May 1992 from the remnants of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) of the former

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

from which

had seceded earlier in 1992. When the

erupted, the JNA formally discharged 80,000

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

troops. These troops, who were allowed to keep their heavy weapons, formed the core of what would become the Army of the Republika Srpska, benefiting from access to significant JNA stockpiles and infrastructure. The VRS was made up largely of ethnic Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also attracted around 4,000 foreign Orthodox Christian fighters, many of whom were drawn by nationalist or religious motivations. 700 such fighters came from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and 300–800 from

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. 100

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

also volunteered to fight on the side of the Bosnian Serbs, forming the

Greek Volunteer Guard The Greek Volunteer Guard ( ''Grčka Dobrovoljačka Garda''; ''Elliniki Ethelodiki Froura'') was a unit of Greeks, Greek volunteers that fought in the Bosnian War on the side of the Army of the Republika Srpska. Some members of the unit are all ...

which allegedly participated in the

. A number of

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

fought as well on the Bosnian Serb side.

Post-war status and abolishment

After the war, the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina had two armies, that of the VRS and the

Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian: Vojska Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine or VFBiH) was the military of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina created after the 1995 Dayton Agreement. It consisted of ...

(AFBiH). AFBiH was itself composed of two elements, the ARBiH and HVO. The two armies functioned without a common command, on the principle of "non-intervention in the affairs of the other".

Bisera Turković Bisera Turković (; born 8 December 1954) is a Bosnian diplomat and politician who served as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023. She was the first female foreign minister of Bosnia ...

noted that it was 'therefore questionable whether in say a foreign attack on Sarajevo ..the VRSwould defend this capital city'. The existence of the two separate armies was one of the factors impeding civil-military relations development. The VRS conducted demining. In 2003 the army began to integrate into the

. In 2005 a fully integrated unit of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats was deployed to augment the US-led coalition forces in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. On 6 June 2006, it was fully integrated into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by the Ministry of Defence of

Leadership

The supreme commander of the VRS was General

Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb former military officer who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing war crimes, crim ...

, later indicted at the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

(ICTY) for genocide, as were some other high-ranking Serb officers. Mladić was arrested in Serbia on 26 May 2011.

Military operations

(24 June – 6 October 1992) against Croatian forces; victory * Operation Vrbas '92 (June – October 1992) against ARBiH and HVO; victory * Mitrovdan offensive (8–13 November 1992) against HVO, HOS, HV; victory *

Operation Sadejstvo Operation Sadejstvo 93 is the code name for the operation of the Army of Republika Srpska in the summer of 1993, in Bosanska Posavina. The operation is also known as the battle for the "Strujni Corridor". Prelude Since the stable and adequat ...

(20 July — 27 July 1993) against ARBiH; victory * Operation Star '94 (6–18 April 1994) against ARBiH and NATO forces; victory * Operation Spider (16 November –17 December 1994) against ARBiH; victory *

Operation Shield 94 Operation Shield 94 (Serbian Cyrillic: Operajica Štit 94, Операција Штит 94) refers to the offensive in Western Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, Bosnia from the 4 November to 20 November 1994, the key goal was to fully destro ...

(4–20 November 1994) against the 5th Corps of ARBiH; victory * Battle of Orašje (5 May – 10 June 1995) against Croatian forces; defeat

Special units

* Panthers Guard Special Brigade (Garda Panteri) (), East-Bosnian Corps * Wolves of the Drina, or Drina Wolves (), Drina Corps * Special Unit "Peša" (), East-Bosnian Corps * Special Unit "Mando" (), East-Bosnian Corps * Special Unit "Osmaci" (), Drina Corps * 1st Guards Motorized Brigade (),

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

* 65th Protection Motorized Regiment (),

* Serb Guard Ilidža (), Sarajevo-Romanija Corps * White Wolves ()

Organization

The

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

stated that:

"In July 1995, the Armed Forces of the Republika Srpska were under the command and control of the Commander-in-Chief,
Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb politician who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal ...
. His headquarters was in Pale. Within the framework of the VRS, immediately subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, was the Main Staff of the VRS, headquartered in Han Pijesak and commanded by General Ratko Mladić. It was the responsibility of the Commander of the Main Staff to issue regulations, orders and instructions regarding the implementation of orders by the Commander-in-Chief, and to discharge the command duties delegated to him by the Commander-in-Chief. The Main Staff of the VRS consisted of staff officers and staff support personnel, as well as some specialised military units such as the 65th Protection Regiment, designed to provide protection and combat services for the Main Staff; and the 10th Sabotage Detachment, a unit trained for operations behind enemy lines and other special combat assignments. The vast majority of the fighting force of the VRS itself was divided into six geographically-based Corps, all subordinate to, and under the command of, General Mladić and, in turn, the Commander-in-Chief, Radovan Karadzic. In July 1995, the six Corps were the Drina Corps, the 1st Krajina Corps, the 2nd Krajina Corps, the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, the Hercegovina Corps and the East Bosnia Corps."

1993

* 1st Krajina Corps –

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

* 2nd Krajina Corps –

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Drvar in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the road between Bosansko Grahovo an ...

* 3rd Corps –

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...

* East Bosnia Corps –

Han Pijesak Han Pijesak ( sr-cyrl, Хан Пијесак) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 3,530 inhabitants, while the town of Han Pijesak has a population of 1,820 inha ...

* Herzegovina Corps –

Bileća Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants. History The first traces of ci ...

1995

* 1st Krajina Corps –

* 2nd Krajina Corps –

* East Bosnia Corps –

* Sarajevo-Romanija Corps – Pale * Drina Corps –

* Herzegovina Corps –

2001

* 1st Corps – Banja Luka * 3rd Corps – Bijeljina * 5th Corps –

Sokolac Sokolac ( sr-Cyrl, Соколац) is a town and municipality of the city of Istočno Sarajevo, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 12,021 inhabitants, while the town of Sokolac has a population of 5,919 ...

* 7th Corps – Bileća

Equipment

Tanks and armoured vehicles

M-84 The M-84 is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav main battle tank based on the Soviet T-72. It is still in service with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Kuwait. Development and production Development The ...

T-54/T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet Union, Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the World War II, Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-5 ...

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

BVP M-80 The BVP M-80 (), is a tracked Yugoslav-made infantry fighting vehicle, produced from the 1980s until the country's collapse in the 1990s. Development Early research and development of the M-80 began in 1969, with testing of the first completed ...

OT M-60 The OT M-60 is a Yugoslav armoured personnel carrier produced from 1962 to 1979. Development The OT (''Oklopni transporter - armoured personnel carrier'') M-60 was the first Yugoslav armored vehicle to enter serial production. Research and dev ...

BTR-50 The BTR-50 (BTR stands for ''Bronetransporter'' (), literally "armored transporter") is a Soviet Union, Soviet tracked Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. The BTR-50 was developed ...

* BOV

Towed artillery

M46 130mm Guns of the Army of Republika Srpska

960228-A-5792S-005 - Serbian officer shows U

* M-56 * D-30 * M-30 * M-46 * D-20 *

* M1 *

ZiS-3 The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) () (GRAU index: 52-P-354U) was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ''ZiS'' was a factory designation and stood for ''Zavod imeni Stalina'' ("factory named after Stalin"), t ...

Self-propelled artillery

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

MLRS

M-63 Plamen M-63 Plamen (from ) is a 128mm multiple rocket launcher developed in 1963 in Yugoslavia for use in the Yugoslav People's Army. Development Serbian Prof. Obrad Vučurović, mechanical engineer at the Military Technical Institute was project mana ...

M-77 Oganj The M-77 Oganj (from ) is a 128mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher developed in the former Yugoslavia. Its NATO designation is YMRL-32. Development Development of the system began in 1968. Professor Obrad Vučurović, mechanical engineer ...

M-87 Orkan The M-87 Orkan (from ) is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav fully automated Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled multiple rocket launcher. The generic M-87 project was configured with 12 launch tubes mounted on a Fabrika au ...

ATGM

* AT-3 "Sagger" and AT-5 "Konkurs"

Antitank guns

* T-12

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns (SPAAG)

ZSU-57-2 The ZSU-57-2 Ob'yekt 500 is a Soviet Union, Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), armed with two 57 mm autocannons. 'ZSU' stands for ''Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' (), meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", '57' stand ...

* M53/59 Praga * BOV-3 *

ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develo ...

MANPADs and SAMs

SA-7 The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared-homing guidance and destroy them with a ...

* SA-18 *

SA-6 The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (; English: 'cube') (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. ''2К12'' is the GRAU desig ...

* SA-9

Infantry weapons

Pistols

Zastava M88 The Zastava M88 is a semi-automatic pistol produced by Zastava Arms, it is a compact redesign of the Zastava M57 pistol. Features A simple handgun available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W with non-adjustable sights and a single-action trigger ...

* Zastava M57 * CZ99

Zastava M85 The Zastava M85 is a carbine designed and produced by then Yugoslavian Zastava Arms. It is a shortened version of the original rifle, the Zastava M80, which is itself successor to the Zastava M70 assault rifle. The M85 is practically same as ...

* Zastava M92 *

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...

Machine guns

* Zastava M53 * Zastava M77 *

Zastava M72 The Zastava M72 is a light machine gun developed and manufactured by then Yugoslav Zastava Arms company. The M72 was patterned after the Soviet RPK light machine gun. Design The Zastava M72 chambers and fires the 7.62×39mm M67 round. It is a ...

Zastava M84 The Zastava M84 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by Zastava Arms. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed and fully automatic shoulder-fired weapon. The M84 is a licensed copy of the Soviet Union's PKM, with a few differences su ...

Zastava M87 The Zastava M87 () is a heavy machine gun produced by Zastava Arms in Yugoslavia and later Serbia. The M87 is based on the Soviet NSV (machine gun), NSV heavy machine gun. It is intended for anti-aircraft duties, but it also used for action ag ...

* PKM *

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...

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Sniper rifles

* Zastava M76 * Zastava M91

Anti-tank weapons

* M79 Osa *

M80 Zolja The M80 Zolja (from ) is a portable one-shot disposable 64 mm unguided anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, designed in the former Yugoslavia. The M80 Zolja is still produced in Serbia and in North Macedonia. Description Constructed from fib ...

Republika Srpska Air Force

Formerly known as ''Ratno Vazduhoplovstva i Protiv Vazdušna Odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske'' or ''RV i PVO RS''. Beginning on 1 June 2004, the

Air Force was officially called, ''Prvi Puk Vazduhoplovstva i Protiv Vazdušna Odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske'', also known as 1st Aviation Regiment and Air Defence Force of the Republic of Srpska's Army.

References

Books

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Army Of The Republika Srpska 1992 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006 disestablishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Military of Republika Srpska Military units and formations established in 1992 Military units and formations disestablished in 2006 Military units and formations of the Bosnian War Serbian nationalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina Rebel militia groups