Heroic resistance to aggression; the Battle of Košare began on this day in 1999

The strategists of the aggression aimed to use the capture of the Košare outpost to break through the border and open a corridor for penetration into Metohija and deeper into Kosovo, effectively enabling a NATO ground invasion. However, the Yugoslav Army (VJ) successfully prevented this through heroic resistance over 67 days of fighting.

Opposing the VJ forces from Albanian territory were nearly 12,000 NATO soldiers, including 5,000 Americans, with at least 30 tanks and 26 Apache attack helicopters.

The Košare outpost was likely chosen as a breakthrough point due to its terrain. The Košare area is at a lower elevation than the positions on the opposite side of the border, giving the aggressors a certain advantage, despite the difficult-to-access Junik Mountains on the eastern slopes of the Prokletije range.

Košare is located about 200 meters from the border line, at an altitude above 1,800 meters. VJ border guards at Košare covered a stretch of approximately seven kilometers of the state border.

The attack began with artillery fire directed at the Morina outpost at 3:00 a.m. on April 9 from Albanian territory. The aim was twofold: to reveal VJ positions and to concentrate attacks on Morina, diverting attention from Košare.

At 4:30 a.m., fire was directed at Košare. While the Albanian forces shelled with artillery, mortars, cannons, and howitzers, precision mortar fire was likely carried out by members of the French Foreign Legion.

Around 6:00 a.m., terrorists launched a massive assault in three directions: one toward the Košare outpost itself, and two toward strategic points, the heights of Maja Glava and Rasa Košare.

The attackers numbered around 1,500 — members of two brigades of the so-called KLA — supported by artillery from Albania, while just over a hundred Yugoslav Army soldiers defended the border in that sector.

Simultaneously, NATO struck Serbian positions from the air, including carpet bombing and the use of prohibited cluster munitions.

Fighting continued uninterrupted throughout April 9, into the night, and the next day. On the afternoon of the first day, KLA forces captured the Rasa Košare peak, using it as a position for artillery fire against the VJ. On April 10, they also took Maja Glava, but failed to seize Opljaz, where the VJ successfully repelled them.

By the afternoon of April 10, VJ border guards, surrounded on three sides, decided to abandon the Košare outpost itself, which occurred just before 7:00 p.m.

Western propaganda immediately presented the KLA’s entry into the outpost as a major victory.

The VJ forces then fortified a more defensible line. Fresh troops, including members of the 53rd Border Battalion, 63rd Parachute Brigade, and volunteers, were deployed, and technical support was reinforced.

A VJ counterattack aimed at recapturing Maja Glava took place on April 14. Although the height was not retaken, mortar and artillery fire from that position ceased. At the beginning of May, the VJ attempted to regain the outpost itself without success.

On Djurdjevdan, May 6, the VJ fought heavy battles to retake Rasa Košare, which also failed. On May 10, VJ engineers managed to deliver two tanks to the combat line, a remarkable feat considering the difficult terrain.

During the following night, NATO aviation bombarded VJ positions with large quantities of prohibited cluster munitions, causing tragic consequences. Nine VJ soldiers were killed, and 40 wounded, several seriously.

By mid-May, VJ forces captured the Mrčaj peak, improving defensive positions and determining the deployment of troops for the remainder of the conflict.

The lines of engagement at Košare remained largely unchanged until the end of hostilities on June 10, with continuous fighting of varying intensity and distances between lines often less than fifty meters.

The unexpectedly stubborn resistance of the VJ convinced the aggressors that further penetration at Košare was impossible. By late May, the focus of KLA and NATO attacks shifted southward to the Paštrik border area, where attempts to advance deeper into Serbia and Metohija were also successfully repelled by the VJ.

Around 800 VJ soldiers participated in the battles at Košare. Over 67 days, 108 VJ soldiers were killed, including 50 regulars, 13 reservists, 24 volunteers, 18 officers and non-commissioned officers, and two foreign volunteers from Russia and Ukraine. A total of 256 VJ soldiers were wounded.

Among the aggressors, aside from hundreds of KLA fighters, casualties included one Algerian, likely an Islamist fanatic, and one French and one Italian soldier.

The heroic resistance of the Yugoslav Army at Košare prevented the advance of a vastly stronger enemy, effectively thwarting NATO’s intended ground offensive into Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.