Welcome to Bosnia May - Nov 1994
I was deployed as part of Op Grapple 4 with my unit, the 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment known as the "Poachers" on May 14th 1994. We were a mechanised unit based in Celle, Germany part of 7th Armoured Brigade "The Desert Rats"! In the bigger wheels of any international or military structure, we would be deployed under the UN banner, known as Unprofor (united Nations Protection Force!)
We had received pre-Bosnia training in april prior to deployment, and were now operationally effective. I recall flying from Hanover airport flying into split. we were greeted by loud shouts and cheering. not for us, as we were here to relieve the Coldstream Guards. I and many other expected a war zone as soon as we touched down. However, we were met off the plane by beautiful Croatian Air hostessess????
This was soon to change, after a meal and being rushed ono 4 tonners all decked in UN white, we began our journey into Bosnia and the war zone we all expected! I felt nervous but yet looking forward sense of emotion. A sick feeling then hit my knotted guts, we noticed building after building wrecked, burnt out and a cross placed on it! The Croats used this to identify where they had burnt a muslim or seb family out of their houses. We hit mostar, just days ago a section of about 10 Malayian UN soliders had been killed by Serbs in the town!
As we debus from the vehicle, I always remember a slogan daubed on the walls. It said "Welcome to Hell!, how correct that was to prove! We finally made to it vitez school it had been made a UN base as soon as the UN arrived in 1993. After settling in for a few hours sleep, I was warned that I would be out on the ground tomorrow and had to report at 0600 hours to Sgt Jim Matthews(Mortar Platoon) Sgt.
I woke up and was the only member of 8 platoon to be attached and on the ground so early, yet it was again nerves and excitement that had their roles to play! I met up with Sgt Matthews, there were eight of us on Bravo 8. It was a checkpoint, one side Croats and the other Muslim. Both these actions had declared a ceasefire days before we had arrived in theatre. Yet the war contained with Serbian territory overlooking the town of Vitez and nearby Taffnik where the checkpoint was!
We all had been checking vehicles, and people to make sure they said who they where, and where they where going. All seemed in order, when early afternoon we started to hear what sounded like shells exploding not too far away. We knew this was incoming mortar rounds coming from the hills,
where the Serbian stronghold was! We had no grounds to fire as we could not identify a target, and under UN mandate we where not considered under threat!
The shelling was getting nearer, a nearby callsign patrolling, came sprinting towards our APC 432. All 4 of the men took cover in our 432. Myself was on road duty but now batoned down in the back along with 10 others! The gunner reported he could not find any firing point!
A contact report was sent out by Sgt Keane i/c of the patrol out on the ground, 2 more rounds landed nearby and we heard an almighty crash. We knew this must have hit a house directly. The 432 was only equipped with a mounted 7-62 mm gpmg. We was all cramped and sweating tremendously, incoming rounds had stopped although we could still hear it in the distance. All of us where scared, but we all hid it well!
Suddenly, as so often in Bosnia it went quiet! It stayed that was for 30 minutes when the order from the ops room was to stand down and return back to routine taskings!
We all dismounted out of the vehicle, stinking and sweaty but relieved to
be out of there! We scanned and patrolled the area and noticed a house 50
metres away had been turned to rubble!
We looked for casualties for a few hours but found nothing. The whole area
and town remained that way all through the day and into the night!The
scariest part was at night after the onslaught. I think that must be the
scariest times i have experienced. Not the shelling but the sheer silence!
It really was hell in Bosnia!
And as it turned out for our battalion losing Captain Stephen Wormald in
Bosnia!
Me on patrol with medic in the back.
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