Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The civil war raged in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. There were three sides in the war - HVO (the Croats), Army of BiH (mainly Muslims) and the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA). After the war the Croat and Muslim parts formed the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina - with it's own army - and the Bosnian Serbs had their own army - but both parties were still part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two armies were merged into one in 2005 - into the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH). The new unified army is wearing MARPAT uniforms.

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Muslim and Croat part of Bosnia and Herzegovina did after the civil former constitute the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina. The army was formed by merging the HVO and the ABiH in 1998.

• Woodland pattern used by the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina

Republika Srpska

The Republika Srpska (Република Српска) is sometimes referred to as the Bosnian Serb Republic. Its armed forces were the Vojna Republika Srpska (VRS), or in English the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA). The VRS was largely outfitted by existing stocks of uniforms and equipment left over from the days when Bosnia & Herzegovina was one of the six federal units of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. Later the VRS was supplied with war materiel directly from what remained of Yugoslavia itself. Several camouflage patterns were worn by the BSA during the civil war, primarily lizard patterns (they are generally referred to as tiger instead of lizard when it comes to Serb/Yugoslav patterns), but also the standard uniforms of the JNA.

• The standard pattern of the Serbian Army - the M89 oakleaf -- was also encountered in large numbers within the VRS.

• Bosnian Serb grey tiger pattern (a lizard pattern)

• Bosnian Serb green tiger - from a jacket produced in Brcko 1995

• Another example of a Serb green tiger pattern. This time a pattern used by officers - there is a famous photo of Gen. Ratko Mladic wearing this pattern.

• Another officers green tiger pattern.

• A Serbian purple tiger pattern worn by Special Police Detachments.

• The DPM pattern, used by the BSA on a vest

HVO

The Croatian Defence Council was formed in 1992 as the military arm of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.

ABiH

The Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) was the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly Muslim) who fought the HVO and the BSA during the Bosnian civil war. Later it was merged with the HVO (1998), and finally those merged with the BSA (2005).

• The earliest camouflage uniforms of the ABiH were either privately obtained or were drawn from liberated stocks of old uniforms for the Yugoslavian National Army (JNA). Many of the old JNA camouflage uniforms, originally intended for use by snipers or reconnaissance personnel, were constructed into more practical field combat uniforms and load-bearing vests by local tailors. One of the most commonly encountered of these early patterns was the JNA three "tree branch" camouflage.

• The most commonly encountered pattern within the ABiH was a locally-made (or Croatian-made) copy of US m81 woodland. Considerable variability existed, depending on who printed the pattern and where it was produced. Thus there were a lot of different types of woodland camouflage that came out of the Bosnia and neighboring Croatia. Seen below on the far left is an example of a crudely printed, locally-manufactured early woodland pattern, as well as two (probably Croatian made) later woodland copies.

• Many strange patterns emerged among the ABiH, the origins of which many cannot be discerned. Seen below is a rare "green woodland" pattern uncommonly encountered during the Bosnian War. It was probably locally-made, but the strange colorway does suggest the possibility that it was imported.

• Stranger still is the pattern seen here, a locally-made copy of the Serbian M89 oakleaf pattern printed in a unique colorway and on completely different fabric than the original. Research indicates these were made in extremely limited numbers, and possibly worn only by a single unit. of the ABiH.