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| Border post Koshare |
If we allow someone
questioning a moment, that can happen, why someone lay down his life for his
country, then we have every right to refuse, with contempt, to answer.
At the beginning of the
aggression on F.R. Yugoslavia, expectations of the NATO forces Command were
extremely optimistic. It was believed that our army was not able to withstand
air strikes more than three days and would sign a capitulation, very soon. It
turned out that the calculation of the aggressor was more than wrong. After remarkable
resourcefulness, courage and endurance of the Army of Yugoslavia that was demonstrated,
NATO commanders ordered the parallel ground offensive launch in Kosovo and
Metohija under the Prokletija to the Serbian border post of Koshare. By this
operation, NATO has tried to annul the obvious failures in the destruction of
our forces from the air.
Koshare were chosen because of the terrain, which had been in favor of the side that was attacking. In this area is simply physically impossible for our side to deploy respectable technique, which was not the case with the forces of the Alliance. NATO forces have been stationed earlier, in the north of Albania in a base near Tropoye. NATO aggressor prepared 12,000 troops, of which 5,000 were US troops, with 30 tanks and 26 helicopters "APACHE". In addition, the NATO attack force was supported by the so called “Kosovo Liberation Army” (KLA), which deployed about 15,000 terrorists, for offensive purposes to the border, as well as, the regular troops of the Republic of Albania, numbering between 6,000 and 8,000 soldiers. Special support came from British instructors and members of the Special Operations Unit, US Green Berets and the French Foreign Legion.
Opposite them stood far less
manpower and technical resources - about 2,000 members of the Yugoslav Army of
the 125., and the 549. Motorized Brigade, 63. Parachute Brigade and parts of
the Pristina Corps. Russian volunteers participated in the battle, as well. One of them was killed in the battle of
Koshare (vechnaya pamyat add. LG).
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| Position of Koshare at the Prokletiya mountain. Serbian (Yugoslavian - Albanian border) |
The aggressor’s plan was clear
- if they took Djakovica, our forces frontline would be a cut between town of Prizren
and town of Djakovica. The next phase of the aggressor’s plan was to move
towards the town of Prishtina (The capital of Serbian Autonomal Province of
Kosovo and Metohiya, add LG) and military defeat of Yugoslavia in Kosovo and
Metohiya would be cemented.
The attack started, on 9th of
April 1999., at three in the morning. The timing was carefully chosen, the Orthodox
Christian holiday Good Friday, with the preparatory artillery fire from the
north. The first echelon consisted mainly of members of the terrorist KLA,
around 1700 terrorists, with the generous help of the artillery of the French Foreign
Legion. On the other side, our defense line had only 200 soldiers.
Serbian border post Koshare stood
out for its beauty alone, versus concrete bunker on the Albanian side. It was
built primarily because of the ideological dimension of the conflict between
Albania and F.P.R. of Yugoslavia. However, the position of the border post
Koshare was desperate, in a tactical sense. Seven of our border guards with
their incredible courage and skill to resist, repelled the first attacks of the
aggressor and effectively "buy" our defense forces some time for the
occupation of second-line defensive positions. The fall of the abandoned border
post was presented in the Western media as the "great achievement of the Alliance
forces" and the so-called "Kosovo Liberation Army". This will
also be the sole and final "success" that will achieve the combined
troops.
Defending the border post
Koshare is considered as one of the bloodiest battles during the NATO
aggression. That is evidenced by the words of one participant, Ljubinko
Đurković, a retired lieutenant colonel:
"There were horrible
images, heaven and earth were burning. The screams of the wounded could be heard,
old trees with a diameter up to one meter were cut by the missiles, but the
front line has not moved. We had information from our intelligence, even from
the NATO High Command, about the airstrikes structure, so that we counter the
false models simulating the positions for which they needed two days in order
to expose them, and until then to misfire. Therefore, we have managed to reduce
our material and human sacrifices to the lowest level."
Emboldened by previous
success, the enemy onslaught the second line of defense. Our High Command
reacted promptly. Reinforcements have been sent on the front in the form of the
special 63rd Parachute Brigade, supported by light artillery which precise
artillery fire continues to disrupt terrorist activity. The aggressor’s offensive
was completely stopped.
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| Members of the 63rd Parachute brigade on the border post Koshare - http://www.63padobranska.com/ |
On the 10th of May, NATO
throws illegal cluster bombs on our troops, killing eight soldiers. Although it
was almost impossible to use heavy weapons in the area, two T-55 tanks were
headed to help our veterans. The gravity of the task is best illustrated by the
words of the message sent to the tank commanders.
"With a good preparation,
you have a 30% chance of passing the terrain, plus patriotism, plus experience
- GO!"
With the superb craftsmanship,
tank crews managed to stop the enemy counterattack, provide support to the
infantry at their positions and move the front back, up to line Race Koshares (Albanian
territory add. LG) without reconquering the summit.
Breakthrough to the top Mrchay
by the troops of the Third Serbian Army of the Prishtina Corps was decisive in
overcoming the enemy. In the spirit of the most famous traditions, our soldiers
were charging towards the positions of the aggressor going into close combat
with shouts of "Forward" and "Hooray!" After a merciless
battle, the tip is finally taken. Command of NATO understood that all available
resources were to be used in order to support its units lacking combat morale, by
putting their tank reserves in a support. However, our soldiers destroyed five
tanks of the Alliance in a short time. That defense practically prevented
further tank offensives and enemy penetration deep in the territory of Kosovo and
Metohiya.
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| Border post Koshare |
The dedication, discipline and
patriotism demonstrated, by the Serbian army prevented the main objective of
NATO strategists - land aggression experienced its fiasco. The front line didn’t
move until the end of the aggression, and to the signing of the Kumanovo
Agreement.
The Yugoslav Army lost a total
of 60 members and one vehicle during the battle of Koshare, while the aggressor
forces had hundreds dead and five tanks destroyed. Accurate data on losses of
NATO forces, the Albanian army and Albanian terrorists for obvious reasons are
hidden and never published before.
Serbia has to remember its
heroes, soldiers and commander of the Prishtina Corps, who gave all of themself
protecting our nation, territorial integrity and sovereignty from the foreign
aggressor. I'll finish with the words of commanding officer of the Prishtina
Corps, General Vladimir Lazarevic:
"Not to happen again, but
not to be forgotten!"
Sources: srbin.info and
akademskikrug
EPILOGUE:
January 2005. Retired Army
General Vladimir Lazarevic took over the indictment of the ICTY in Hague, which
was in the War Crimes Chamber of the District Court in Belgrade. The
investigating judge delivered the indictment of OTP to General Lazarevic and
his lawyer Mihajlo Bakrac, and introduced him to the demands of surrendering to
the court. General Lazarevic decided to go to Hague voluntarily in order to be
on the best service to his Country. Vladimir
Lazarevic was sentenced in 2009., under the command responsibility to 14 years
in prison for crimes in Kosovo and Metohiya, and was released after about two-thirds
of the sentence mellow. In the Hague prison General felt ill several times and
underwent surgery.
December 2015. Serbian Hero
General Lazarevic came back to Serbia from NATO prison camp in Hague.
Defenders
Defenders
Aggressors:
At the very end. Are you people, in the West, absolutely sure that it is in your best interest to support these terrorists?
We are not their ultimate enemy!
YOU ARE!
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