It has been 26 years since the beginning of the Battle of Paštrik, when the Yugoslav Army put up a superhuman resistance against the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army /KLA/, supported by the military forces of Albania and NATO, and prevented a ground invasion of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The goal of Operation Arrow, which began in the early morning hours of May 26, 1999, was to break the resistance, defeat and destroy the defensive border forces of the Yugoslav Army, open a corridor for further infiltration of terrorists into the Kosovo and Metohija region, and cut off communications along the Peć–Prizren line.
The idea of the then-NATO Commander Wesley Clark was to deploy 20,000 troops into Metohija to break the defense of the Priština Corps of the Yugoslav Army.
Bypassing the standard NATO chain of command, Clark also engaged U.S. strategic aviation, which targeted Yugoslav Army units from the air. However, only once, on May 27, did they manage to breach the defensive front along the Gorožupa direction, making an incursion of 200 to 400 meters into the Serbian territory.
Despite this, the aggressor failed to achieve its war objectives.
After two days of intense fighting on May 31 and June 1, major offensive operations ceased, and the conflict was reduced to occasional minor skirmishes.
This allowed for the replenishment of weapons and equipment, and the Yugoslav Army fully consolidated and strengthened its positions on this front. The NATO forces, the Albanian regular army, and the terrorist KLA were practically pushed back to their initial positions, resulting in a complete failure of Operation Arrow.
This section of the border with Albania was defended by members of the 549th Motorized Brigade, while on the enemy side, between 10,000 and 12,000 KLA terrorists were engaged, supported by Albanian regular forces and NATO air support with 24 Apache attack helicopters and B-52 bombers.
According to sources from the Yugoslav Army, among the attackers there was also a unit of mujahideen who had previously fought in other Balkan conflict zones. During the battle, more than 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on the area.
The fighting on Paštrik lasted until June 14, although an agreement to end the war was officially signed in Kumanovo five days earlier, on June 9.
Due to their demonstrated bravery, the 549th Motorized Brigade was awarded the Order of the National Hero after the war.
The battle was marked by the words of the brigade’s commander at the time, General Božidar Delić: “No retreat, behind us is Serbia.”
Source: srna.rs
