Battle of Orašje

The Battle of Orašje was fought during the Bosnian War, from 5 May to 10 June 1995, between the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) and the Bosnian Croat Croatian Defence Council (Hrvatsko vijeće obrane – HVO) for control of the town of Orašje and its surrounding area on the south bank of the Sava River. The offensive codenamed Operation Flame-95 (Operacija Plamen-95) and referred to by Croatian sources as Operation Revenge (Operacija Osveta) was actually fought with varying intensity, with periods of combat interspersed by lulls lasting two to seven days. The heaviest fighting was reported on 15 May, when the VRS managed to break through a portion of the HVO defences near the village of Vidovice, but the breach was successfully contained and the lost ground was recovered by the HVO.

The HVO, supported by Croatian Army artillery deployed north of the river, managed to withstand the offensive and the front line remained unchanged from the commencement of the battle. This demonstrated the changed balance of power at this stage of the war. At the commencement of the war, the VRS had greater military capabilities than its opponents, particularly in terms of heavy weapons and organisation, but over three years from mid-1992 its capabilities had been matched by its adversaries.