Operation Bøllebank

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Operation Bøllebank

T-55's and UN in Bosnia

Date	April 29, 1994
Location	near Tuzla, Bosnia
Result	UN forces repulse Serb ambush

Belligerents

Army of Republika Srpska

Danish military (as part of UNPROFOR forces)

Commanders

Unknown

Lt. Colonel Lars R. Møller Colonel Christer Svensson Captain Karsten Rasmusen

Strength

3 T-55 tanks
Anti-tank missiles
Several artillery pieces

7 Leopard 1 A5 tanks
1 APC PBV302

Casualties and losses

Between 9 (Serb sources) and 150 (Other sources) soldiers killed,
Ammunition store destroyed,
Three T-55 tanks scared off (disabled according to other sources)

1 vehicle damaged^[1]

v • d • e War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Siege of Sarajevo – Foča massacres – Višegrad – Prijedor – Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing – Ahmići – Neretva '93 – Banja Luka – 1st Markale – *Bøllebank* – Amanda – Tuzla – Mrkonjić Grad – Srebrenica massacre – Summer '95 – Tiger – Storm – 2nd Markale – NATO bombing – Mistral – Sana

During the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Bøllebank (Danish for "Hooligan Bashing", name given after the incident) was the largest combat operation by Danish forces since 1864. In late April, 1994 a Danish/Swedish contingent on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia, as part of UNPROFORs Nordic batalion located in Tuzla, was ambushed, when trying to relieve a swedish observation post, Tango 2, that was under heavy artillery fire by the Bosnian Serb Šekovići brigade at the village of Saraci, but the ambush was dispersed when the UN forces retaliated with heavy fire.

1 The incident
2 Post-incident
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] The incident

The attack started by grenade attacks, which were ignored. The column, however, soon came under attack by anti-tank rocket propelled grenades. The UNPROFOR column requested air support, which was rejected. Due to restrictive rules of engagement imposed by the United Nations, Lt. Colonel Lars R. Møller was hesitant, but decided to return fire. The attack on them ceased after this, but intensified again later, provoking an even stronger response.

The seven German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks fired 72 rounds and destroyed several Serb artillery pieces, an ammunition dump and several bunkers. Serb forces brought T-55 tanks to the scene, but the Danes did not engage them, as they made no offensive moves, according to a non-official report.^[2] However, other sources claim that, despite the UNPROFOR rules of engagement, the three T-55 were actually hit by the Leopards. ^[3] The fact that the Danes fired 19 armour-piercing rounds seems to give credibility to the latter statement.

[edit] Post-incident

This was the first time a Leopard 1 fired its guns in anger and is one of the largest engagements that took place between UNPROFOR forces and military units involved in the war in Bosnia. It was also the first time since WWII that Danish soldiers were involved in combat operations.

The commander characterized the incident with the words: "the mouse that ate the cat".

Another incident took place later that year between Danish peacekeepers and Serb forces near Gradacac, in the course of the so called Operation Amanda.

[edit] Notes

^ From Danish tanks at war:
- The Danes themselves suffered no casualties, although Møller got himself a "long-distance-shave " by a fragment, and one of the vehicles was actually hit.
^ From Nordbat 2 (unofficial site):
- In setting their ambush, the Serbs had deployed Soviet-made T-55 tanks in fixed positions; they are accustomed to fighting artillery duels against forces with little ability to fire back. The Danes watched the tanks' infrared searchlights try to find and target their Leopards, but easily stayed out of their sights. The T-55s were sitting targets, but the U.N. tanks never opened fire against them: under U.N. rules of engagement, they are not allowed to attack Serb tanks unless sensors show that the opposing cannons are warm, meaning that they have recently been fired.
^ Article La Battaglia di Tuzla, by Marco Leofrigio (in Italian):
- Moller, d'accordo con Rasmussen decide a quel punto di sospendere l'azione per verificare se fosse cessato lo stillicidio di proiettili su Tango 2, ma dopo circa mezz'ora in cui sembrava finalmente tornata la quiete e proprio mentre i Leopard del maggiore Rasmussen iniziano a tornare al villaggio di Saraci, i serbi ricominciano a sparare. Allora Moller ordina nuovamente di rispondere al fuoco e lo scontro dura altri 15 minuti: verrà distrutto un deposito di munizioni dei serbo-bosniaci e verranno colpiti tre carri T-55, i quali come rilevato dagli strumenti a bordo dei Leopard si stavano preparando a fare fuoco. In quest'ultimo caso le rigide regole di ingaggio delle forze ONU prevedevano invece solo la reazione contro obiettivi che già avevano aperto il fuoco contro i caschi blu, colpendo solo la 'smoking gun'.