Operation Bøllebank

Operation Bøllebank
Part of the Bosnian War
T-55's and UN in Bosnia
Date April 29, 1994 Location near Tuzla, Bosnia Result UN forces repulse Serb ambush
Belligerents
Army of Republika Srpska	Danish military (as part of UNPROFOR)
Commanders and leaders
	Lt. Colonel Lars R. Møller Colonel Christer Svensson Major Carsten Rasmussen
Strength
3 T-55 tanks Anti-tank missiles Several artillery pieces	7 Leopard 1 A5 tanks 3 in reserve (3rd platoon) 1 APC PBV302
Casualties and losses
Between 9 (Serb sources) and 150 (Other sources) soldiers killed.[1] Ammunition store destroyed. Three T-55 tanks scared off (disabled according to other sources).	1 vehicle damaged[2]

During the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Bøllebank (Danish for "Hooligan Bashing", name given after the incident) was the largest combat operation by Danish forces since 1864. In late April 1994 a Danish contingent on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia, as part of UNPROFORs Nordic battalion (Nordbat 2) located in Tuzla, was ambushed, when trying to relieve a Swedish observation post, Tango 2, that was under heavy artillery fire by the Bosnian Serb Šekovići brigade at the village of Kalesija, but the ambush was dispersed when the UN forces retaliated with heavy fire.

The incident

The ambush started by grenade attacks near Saraci, 8 km southeast from Tuzla, which were ignored. The column, however, came under attack by anti-tank missiles when they reached the village of Kalesija, further east. The UNPROFOR column requested air support, which was rejected. Due to restrictive rules of engagement imposed by the United Nations, Lt. Colonel Lars R. Møller was hesitant, but decided to return fire. The attack on them ceased after this, but intensified again later, provoking an even stronger response.

The seven German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks fired 72 rounds and destroyed several Serb artillery pieces, an ammunition dump and several bunkers. Serb forces brought T-55 tanks to the scene, but apparently the Danes did not engage them, as they made no offensive moves. The Leopards, however, fired 19 armour-piercing rounds. The Danes could see in their thermal tank sights that the guns on the T-55s were cold and therefore had not taken part in the engagement according to a non-official report.^[3] However, another source claims that, despite the UNPROFOR rules of engagement, the three T-55 were actually hit by the Leopards. ^[4]

Post-incident

A Danish tank Leopard 1A5 crushing a 20 mm cannon Serbia in 1996.

This was the first time a Leopard 1 fired its guns in anger and is one of the largest engagements that took place between UNPROFOR forces and military units involved in the war in Bosnia. It was also the first time since WWII that Danish soldiers were involved in combat operations.

The commander characterized the incident with the words: "the mouse that ate the cat".

Another incident took place later that year between Danish peacekeepers and Serb forces near Gradacac, in the course of the so called Operation Amanda.

Notes

1. ^ milihist.dk - Danish tanks at war (in Danish
2. ^ From Danish tanks at war:
   • "The Danes themselves suffered no casualties, although Møller got himself a "long-distance-shave " by a fragment, and one of the vehicles was actually hit."
3. ^ From Nordbat 2 (unofficial site) An unofficial statement from a tank commander involved in the battle stated that the Danish tank gunners, using thermal sights only) simply couldn't see the cold T-55 tanks, and the T-55 tank gunners, using older night vision sights, couldn't see the blacked out Danish tanks:
   • "In setting their ambush, the Serbs had deployed Soviet-made T-55 tanks in fixed positions; they are accustomed to fighting artillery duels against forces with little ability to fire back. The Danes watched the tanks' infrared searchlights try to find and target their Leopards, but easily stayed out of their sights. The T-55s were sitting targets, but the U.N. tanks never opened fire against them: under U.N. rules of engagement, they are not allowed to attack Serb tanks unless sensors show that the opposing cannons are warm, meaning that they have recently been fired."
4. ^ Article La Battaglia di Tuzla, by Marco Leofrigio (Italian):
   • Moller, d'accordo con Rasmussen decide a quel punto di sospendere l'azione per verificare se fosse cessato lo stillicidio di proiettili su Tango 2, ma dopo circa mezz'ora in cui sembrava finalmente tornata la quiete e proprio mentre i Leopard del maggiore Rasmussen iniziano a tornare al villaggio di Saraci, i serbi ricominciano a sparare. Allora Moller ordina nuovamente di rispondere al fuoco e lo scontro dura altri 15 minuti: verrà distrutto un deposito di munizioni dei serbo-bosniaci e verranno colpiti tre carri T-55, i quali come rilevato dagli strumenti a bordo dei Leopard si stavano preparando a fare fuoco. In quest'ultimo caso le rigide regole di ingaggio delle forze ONU prevedevano invece solo la reazione contro obiettivi che già avevano aperto il fuoco contro i caschi blu, colpendo solo la 'smoking gun'.

References

• Danish Tanks at War
• Nordbat 2 unofficial site
• La Battaglia di Tuzla, from Limes magazine (Italian)

Coordinates: 44°26′33″N 18°52′23″E / 44.4425°N 18.87306°E / 44.4425; 18.87306