Yugoslavia 1991   After the death of the communist dictator Joseph Broz Tito, who reigned Yugoslavia since the Second World War, irreconcilable contradictions between nationalistic leaders tear the multinational country apart.

Yugoslavia plunges into the bloody chaos of a civil war between the Serbs, Croats and Bosnians. A number of Russian mercenaries and units volunteers to fight on the Serbian side.

The player is among the volunteers - a tank officer, not long ago fighting in the deserts of Afghanistan and the Dnepr region in Moldova. The Russians call themselves RDO which stands for Russian Volunteer Detachment and its emblem is a two-headed eagle.

Smack in the middle between units of the former Yugoslav People's Army, Serb militia forces, Croat and Bosnian units in a civil war that knows no right and wrong, the RDO takes on a multitude of tasks and missions throughout the game’s fictional 18 mission campaign.

Beginning with the discovery of an intact T-34-85 tank left behind by the Croats, and after quickly scrounging ammo and some volunteers, the hypothetical 18 campaign missions take the player into the Serb Krajina hills and mountains, defending villages and supply lines, protecting river crossings and power plants, assaulting enemy artillery batteries and supply convoys and even rescuing commando teams conducting operations behind enemy lines.

The campaign can be only played from the Serbian side, but the single and multiplayer missions allow play from both sides.

Aftermath: The 3rd Russian Volunteer Detachment existed until August 1993. Its banner was handed over to the Saint Trinity Church in Belgrade.

 

Timeline Source:
Lee, R. "The History Guy: The Third Balkan War (1991-Present)"
http://www.historyguy.com/balkan_war_third.htm (2001).

Third Balkan War (1991-Present)  The breakup of Yugoslavia can be seen as one long conflict divided into at least nine (and counting) separate wars, rebellions and uprisings, all which involve parts of the disintegrated Balkan nation.

Yugoslav Civil War (1991-1992)  The breakup of Yugoslavia as one nation, involved two separate but related wars. The Yugoslav regions of Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from the Belgrade government.

Slovenian War of Independence (1991)  Slovenia's war against the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav Army was short and victorious. This was due in part to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's realization that his main worry was the war in neighboring Croatia.

Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995)  Croatia fought both the Yugoslav/Serbian Army and Serb rebels in the Krajina region.

Krajina Rebellion (1991-1995)  Croatia's Serb minority attempted to form a separate nation during the Croatian War of Independence from Yugoslavia. The Serb rebels succeeded in driving the Croatian military out of the Krajina region bordering Bosnia. However, in May of 1995, the Croatian Army launched an effective offensive (Operation Storm), which forced an end to the Krajina Republic. As a result of this action, most Krajina Serbs fled into Serbia in a form of "ethnic cleansing." The Yugoslav/Serb Army aided the Krajina rebels. Many of these Serb refugees settled in the Voyvodina region of northern Serbia, but some of them moved to the Serb province of Kosovo, which erupted into war in 1998.

During the Bosnian War, airplanes from Krajina bombed Muslim held Bihac in Bosnia. Following this, NATO warplanes bombed the Serb airfield at Udbina in Krajina.

Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995)  Also involved Croatia, Yugoslavia/Serbia and NATO. In April of 1992, Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Almost immediately, the Bosnian Serb population rebelled against the Muslim and Croatian portions of the new nation. Parts of the war saw the Muslims and Croatians cooperate against their common foe, but from 1993-1994, Bosnia saw a three-way war when the Muslims and Croats battled each other as well as fighting the Serbs. Troops from Serbia/Yugoslavia and the rebel Krajina area entered Bosnia to aid the Bosnian Serbs, while the Croatian Army aided the Bosnian Croat forces. In April, 1994, NATO forces began selected, limited bombing of Serb positions around the capital of Sarajevo in an attempt to force the Serbs to the peace table.

On February 5, 1994, Serb artillery hit a marketplace in Sarajevo, causing severe civilian casualties. This caused increased American pressure on the Muslims and Croats to stop fighting each other and unite against the Serbs. On Feb. 23, both sides signed a cease-fire, which soon led to the formation of the Muslim/Croat Bosnian Federation.

August 28, 1995, Serb mortars cause 37 civilian dead in Sarajevo. Major NATO (Operation Deliberate Force) airstrikes against the Serbs began on August 30 and continued until a bombing pause on September 14. U.S. airpower contributed 65.9% of the NATO air sorties. At this point, the Bosnian Serbs agreed to end the fighting and participate as a part of the Bosnian nation.

Fikrit Abdic Uprising (Autumn of 1993- 1995) --In addition to fighting the Serbs and Croats, the Bosnian (mostly Muslim) government also had to deal with an uprising by a Bosnian Muslim businessman named Fikrit Abdic. He allied himself with local Serb forces against the government. In July, 1995, Bosnian government forces captured Abdic's stronghold in the Bihac region.