Battle of Paštrik
| Battle of Paštrik | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kosovo War | |||||||
 Mount Paštrik view from Prizren | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 KLA Albanian Army NATO |
 Yugoslav Army Russian Volunteers | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ekrem Rexha Sadik Halitjaha Tahir Sinani Wesley Clark |
Nebojša Pavković Vladimir Lazarević Božidar Delić Stojan Konjikovac | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
 82nd Airborne Division |
Priština Corps Units 549th Motorized Brigade  72nd special Airborne Brigade | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
American B-52 and A-10 |
450 men (initial) 1,000 men (May) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
71 killed 200 wounded |
87 killed 300 wounded | ||||||
  Paštrik Location of Paštrik in Kosovo | |||||||
The Battle of Paštrik or Operation Arrow was a two-week confrontation between the KLA with NATO's support against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, during the Kosovo War. The main objective of the KLA forces was to open a route through the White Drin and the Mount Paštrik in order to secure the safe passage of weapons and personnel across the Yugoslav-Albanian border.
KLA fighters managed to seize Mount Paštrik, its northern slopes and the village of Milaj, on the northern bank of the White Drin by the end of May.[5] In spite of heavy NATO air support, which included the use of USAF B-52 bombers, the Yugoslav Army held the line on the White Drin, where they build temporary bridges to maintain their supply lines open, supported by heavy mortars and artillery. The KLA was unable to make further gains, and only kept a foothole on the Paštrik peeks by the time of the Kumanovo Agreement on 9 June,[6] which resulted in Yugoslav troops withdrawing from Kosovo.
References
- ^ "Nine Myths About Kosovo" (PDF). Air Force Mag.
- ^ Barić, Robert (2002). "Operacija Allied Force i ograničenja zračne moći". Polemos: Časopis za Interdisciplinarna Istraživanja Rata i Mira. V (9–10): 177–214.
- ^ Henry H. Perritt: Kosovo Liberation Army - the inside story of an insurgency, p. 199
- ^ Stephen T. Hosmer: The Conflict Over Kosovo: Why Milosevic Decided to Settle When He Did, p. 89
- ^ Western European Union (1999). Proceedings - Assembly of Western European Union: Actes Officiels - Assemblée de L'Union de L'europe Occidentale. W.E.U. p. 313.
- ^ "Washingtonpost.com: NATO Gives Air Support to KLA Forces". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
Bibliography
- Смиљанић, Спасоје (2009). Војска Југославије у одбрани од агресије 1999. године (I ed.). Београд: Клуб генерала и адмирала Србије. ISBN 978-86-912285-0-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Steele, Jonathan (17 July 1999). "Ghost village marks the battle that ended the war". The Guardian. London.
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