Croatian Army offensive during the Croatian War of Independence
Operation Flash
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
Map of Operation Flash
Date
1–3 May 1995
Location
Western Slavonia, Croatia
Result
Croatian strategic victory
Territorial changes
Croatia secured 558 km2 (215 sq mi) of its territory.
Belligerents
Croatia
Republic of Serbian Krajina
Commanders and leaders
Janko Bobetko Zvonimir Červenko Luka Džanko Petar Stipetić
Milan Čeleketić Lazo Babić
Strength
7,200
3,500
Casualties and losses
42 killed 162 wounded
188–283 killed (military and civilians) 1,200 wounded 2,100 captured
11,500–15,000 Croatian Serb refugees 3 UN peacekeepers wounded
v
t
e
Croatian War of Independence
1991
Pakrac
Plitvice Lakes
Kijevo
Borovo Selo
Zadar riot
Split protest
Sisak
Stinger
Hrvatska Kostajnica
Labrador
Banija villages
Vukovar
Massacre
Osijek
Gospić
Massacre
Kusonje
Korana bridge
The Barracks
Varaždin
Bjelovar
Zadar
Šibenik
JNA campaign
Dubrovnik
Banski Dvori
Široka Kula
Lovas
Baćin
Barcs
Saborsko
Libertas convoy
Požega
Swath 10
Erdut
Dalmatian channels
Kostrići
Škabrnja
Vance plan
Whirlwind
Paulin Dvor
Gornje Jame
Orkan 91
Voćin
Joševica
Devil's Beam
Bruška
Vrsar airport
1992
Sarajevo
ECMM helicopter downing
Baranja
Jackal
Miljevci Plateau
Tiger
Liberated Land
Konavle
Vlaštica
1993
Maslenica
Medak Pocket
1994
Winter '94
1995
Leap 1
Flash
Medari
Zagreb
Leap 2
Summer '95
Storm
Komić
Kijani
Golubić
Uzdolje
Bosanski Petrovac bombing
Dvor
Grubori
Gošić
Maestral 2
Varivode
Timeline of all major events
Log Revolution
Events in Serbia
Operation Flash (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Bljesak/Операција Бљесак) was a brief Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted against the forces of the self-declared proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) from 1–3 May 1995. The offensive occurred in the later stages of the Croatian War of Independence and was the first major confrontation after ceasefire and economic cooperation agreements were signed between Croatia and the RSK in 1994. The last organised RSK resistance formally ceased on 3 May, with the majority of troops surrendering the next day near Pakrac, although mop-up operations continued for another two weeks.
Operation Flash was a strategic victory for Croatia resulting in the capture of a 558-square-kilometre (215 sq mi) salient held by RSK forces centred in and around the town of Okučani. The town, which sat astride the Zagreb–Belgrade motorway and railroad, had presented Croatia with significant transport problems between the nation's capital Zagreb and the eastern region of Slavonia as well as between non-contiguous territories held by the RSK. The area was a part of United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation (UNCRO) Sector West under the United Nations Security Council peacekeeping mandate in Croatia. The attacking force consisted of 7,200 HV troops, supported by the Croatian special police, arrayed against approximately 3,500 RSK soldiers. In response to the operation, the RSK military bombarded Zagreb and other civilian centres, causing seven fatalities and injuries to 205.
Forty-two HV soldiers and Croatian policemen were killed in the attack and 162 wounded. RSK casualties are disputed—Croatian authorities cited the deaths of 188 Serb soldiers and civilians with an estimated 1,000–1,200 wounded. Serbian sources, on the other hand, claimed that 283 Serb civilians were killed, contrary to the 83 reported by the Croatian Helsinki Committee. It is estimated that out of 14,000 Serbs living in the region, two-thirds fled immediately with more following in subsequent weeks. By the end of June, it is estimated that only 1,500 Serbs remained. Subsequently, the personal representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Yasushi Akashi criticised Croatia for "mass violations" of human rights, but his statements were refuted by the Human Rights Watch and to some extent by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights rapporteur Tadeusz Mazowiecki.
OperationFlash (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Bljesak/Операција Бљесак) was a brief Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted against the forces of the self-declared...
Look up Flash, flash, flashes, or flashés in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Flash (DC Comics character), several...
control of SAO Western Slavonia in OperationFlash (May) followed by the biggest part of occupied Croatia in Operation Storm (August). The Krajina Serb...
The Medal for Participation in OperationFlash (Croatian: Medalja za sudjelovanje u operaciji "Bljesak") is a medal awarded by the Republic of Croatia...
electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both use the...
fighting in Croatia ended in mid-1995, after OperationFlash and Operation Storm. At the end of these operations, Croatia had reclaimed all of its territory...
Croatia. In 1995, Croatia launched two major offensives known as OperationFlash and Operation Storm; these offensives effectively ended the war in its favor...
Croatia reclaimed all of the RSK's territory in western Slavonia during OperationFlash, taking full control of the territory by 4 May, three days after the...
FLASH, acronym of Free Electron LASer in Hamburg, is a superconducting particle accelerator-based soft X-ray free-electron laser located at the German...
and 3 May 1995 as retaliation for the Croatian army's offensive in OperationFlash. The rocket attacks deliberately targeted civilian locations. Zagreb...
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a discontinued multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich internet...
It was eliminated and reintegrated into Croatia in May 1995, during OperationFlash. Shortly after the proclamation of the SAO Western Slavonia, rebel...
Operation Spring Awakening (German: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to...
A flash drive (also thumb drive [US], memory stick [UK], and pen drive/pendrive elsewhere) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an...
An arc flash is the light and heat produced as part of an arc fault, a type of electrical explosion or discharge that results from a connection through...
support to other branches in the implementation of their tasks in joint operations. Until the decision of the Croatian Parliament in 2018, HRZ was the holder...
refused to receive the draft proposal which subsequently led to OperationFlash and Operation Storm and complete military defeat of Krajina resulting in over...
of the simplest unit operations. If the throttling valve or device is located at the entry into a pressure vessel so that the flash evaporation occurs within...
levels and to defend against any land, air, or amphibious assault, in co-operation with the other branches of the CAF. Help allies and friendly countries...
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which...
Operation Corridor 92 (Serbo-Croatian: Операција Коридор 92, Operacija Koridor 92) was the largest operation conducted during the Bosnian War by the Army...
commencement of Operation Maritime Monitor off the coast of Montenegro, which was coordinated with the Western European Union Operation Sharp Guard in...
Flash blindness is an either temporary or permanent visual impairment during and following exposure of a varying length of time to a light flash of extremely...
Global Information
Croatia
Republic of Serbian Krajina