Operation Una

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Operation Una (Croatian: Operacija Una) was a military offensive conducted by the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV) against the Army of Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18–19 September 1995, during the Bosnian War. The operation entailed a crossing of the Una and Sava rivers to establish bridgeheads at Novi Grad, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Kostajnica and opposite Jasenovac to allow for a subsequent advance towards Prijedor and Banja Luka. The operation was planned in a matter of hours following a meeting between Croatian President Franjo Tuđman and U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, during which Holbrooke urged Tuđman to seize Prijedor and threaten to capture Banja Luka from the VRS, short of actually seizing the city, as he believed such a development would force Bosnian Serb leaders to the negotiating table. Inadequate planning and preparation, combined with flawed military intelligence on the defending force and disregard for the high water level of the Una and Sava rivers, led to a high number of casualties and little success. The offensive was called off one day after it was launched and the bridgeheads were evacuated. The HV ultimately blamed Major General Vinko Vrbanac for its failure. Vrbanac had authorized the offensive instead of deferring to the Chief of the General Staff General Zvonimir Červenko. Operation Una was the only unsuccessful operation by the HV from a series of offensives which had commenced in November 1994. It was controversial in the Croatian media, but was generally brushed aside as an aberration from a series of successes. In 2006, Croatian authorities launched an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by HV soldiers during the operation, in which 40 Serb civilians were killed.