1993 1994 1995 The Battle of Kupres (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Bitka za Kupres) was a battle of the Bosnian War, fought between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) on one side and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on the other from 20 October to 3 November 1994.

It marks the first tangible evidence of the Bosniak–Croat alliance set out in the Washington Agreement of March 1994, brokered by the United States to end the Croat–Bosniak War fought between the ARBiH and the HVO in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The primary attacking force soon ground to a halt, shifting the focus of the operation to Kupres, where substantial reinforcements were deployed to ensure a gradual advance of the ARBiH.

[15] Ending the series of unsuccessful ceasefires, United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed to Croatia to supervise and maintain the agreement.

In the final days of March, the Bosnian Serb army started artillery attacks on Bosanski Brod, and the HV 108th Brigade crossed the border adjacent to the town in reply.

[27] Republika Srpska was involved in the Croatian War of Independence in a limited capacity, through military and other aid to the RSK, occasional air raids launched from Banja Luka, and most significantly through artillery attacks against urban centres.

[28][29] Following a new military strategy of the United States endorsed by Bill Clinton since February 1993,[30] the Washington Agreement was signed by Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1994.

[33] The ARBiH adopted an attrition warfare strategy relying on its numerical superiority compared to the VRS, which suffered from manpower shortages.

[36] Little territory changed hands as a result of the ARBiH offensive by the end of October, but the VRS shortage of troops worsened.

The HVO wanted to reverse April 1992 loss of the town, home to a significant Croat community before the war, and to control the Tomislavgrad–Bugojno–Šipovo road.

The ARBiH advance towards Kupres was planned as a secondary axis of its offensive towards Donji Vakuf, 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the northwest, codenamed Autumn-94.

[41] In the primary attack axis zone, the ARBiH grouped about 5,600 additional troops, facing an estimated 4,800 VRS soldiers around Donji Vakuf.

Kupres itself and the surrounding plateau were defended by approximately 2,700 VRS troops,[40] assigned to the 7th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Krajina Corps,[42] supported by corps-level artillery and armour.

[47] The ARBiH launched the secondary axis of Operation Autumn-94—drive towards Kupres—at 2 am on 20 October,[38] hours after the primary attacking force started moving against Donji Vakuf.

[39] On 29 October, the Ministry of Defence of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the HVO General Staff met and decided to launch Operation Cincar to capture the town of Kupres.

The western axis advanced from Šuica along the main road towards Kupres, capturing the village of Donji Malovan on 1 November.

Various explanations for the pause were put forward, including fog, rain, need to secure territorial gains, wear of equipment and fatigue of personnel.

[55] Regardless, that day the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović telephoned Alagić requesting an adequate level of cooperation and avoidance of any conflicts with the HVO.

[44] On 2 November, the HVO captured Gornji Malovan and Rilić, while the Serb civilian population started to evacuate from Kupres.

The Bosnian Croat special police and the 60th Guards Airborne Battalion entered Kupres shortly after noon,[39] and the HVO completed capture of the town by 1:30 pm.