| Operation Maestral 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Bosnian War | |||||||||
Objectives of Operation Maestral 2 (  ) on the map of Bosnia and Herzegovina | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Croatia Herzeg-Bosnia |
 Republika Srpska | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Ante Gotovina Željko Glasnović Ante Kotromanović Mladen Fuzul |
Radivoje Tomanić Momir Zec | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
 Croatian Army Croatian Defence Council Police of Herzeg-Bosnia |
 Army of Republika Srpska | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
6 Guards brigades 3 reserve brigades 6 Home Guard regiments 2 Guards battalions |
1 motorised brigade 5 infantry brigades 1 armoured battalion | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
74 killed 226 wounded | Unknown. Likely far greater. | ||||||||
|
Serb civilian casualties: 655 civilians killed and 40,000–125,000 displaced (Serb claim) 20,000 civilians displaced (UN claim) | |||||||||
Operation Mistral 2, officially codenamed Operation Maestral 2, was a Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defence Council (HVO) offensive in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 8–15 September 1995 as part of the Bosnian War. Its objective was to create a security buffer between Croatia and positions held by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). The operation also spearheaded a Herzeg-Croat led move to compromise the occupation of the largest Bosnian Serb-held city, Banja Luka, by capturing the towns of Jajce, Šipovo and Drvar. Thus jeopardizing the operations capacity of Banja Luka and ultimately leading to its recapture. The combined HV and HVO forces were under the overall command of HV Major General Ante Gotovina.
The operation commenced during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air campaign against the VRS codenamed Operation Deliberate Force, targeting VRS air defences, artillery positions and storage facilities largely in the area of Sarajevo, but also elsewhere in the country. Days after commencement of the offensive, the VRS positions to the right and to the left of the HV and the HVO advance were also attacked by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) in Operation Sana. The offensive achieved its objectives and set the stage for further advances of the HV, HVO and ARBiH towards Banja Luka, contributing to the resolution of the war.
There is disagreement among scholars as to whether the offensive, together with Operation Sana, or NATO airstrikes contributed more towards the resolution of the Bosnian War, and to what extent ARBiH, HVO and HV advances were aided by NATO airstrikes. Operation Mistral 2 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Bosnian Serb civilians, as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of others. In 2011, five former Croatian military personnel were convicted of war crimes for the summary execution of five Bosnian Serb soldiers and a civilian during the operation. In 2016, Bosnian Serb officials filed a criminal complaint against the Croatian Minister of Defence, Damir Krstičević, alleging that he had committed war crimes during the offensive.