Supreme Command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Supreme Command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Štab Vrhovne Komande Armije Republike Bosne i Hercegovine) was the supreme command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was headquartered in the Presidency Building in Sarajevo.[1]

Creation

The main staff was transformed from the Bosnian territorial defence chiefs of staff and Patriotic League general staff

Commanders

Sefer Halilović served as the supreme ABiH commander until 8 June 1993 and his title was Chief of Staff of the Main Staff of the ARBiH.On this date, the President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, issued a decision “restructuring […] the […] supreme command headquarters of the armed forces” (“8 June 1993 decision”).This decision provides:

The decision further “appointed” Rasim Delić to the post of Commander of the Main Staff of the ARBiH and “appointed” Sefer Halilović as Chief of Staff of the Main Staff.In addition, the decision established two Deputy Commander positions to which Stjepan Šiber and Jovan Divjak were appointed, but were already serving in the Main Staff.

Approximately six weeks later, on 18 July 1993, President Alija Izetbegović issued a decision further restructuring the ABiH (“18 July decision”).According to this decision, during a state of war the Presidency of the Republic was the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic.The decision provides that “The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Army consists of the Main Staff and eight Corps.", although only 7 corpses were formed. All the Corps were directly subordinate to the Commander of the Main Staff.

On 24 October 1994 the Main Staff was renamed the General Staff.

Main Staff/General Staff organization

The Main Staff/General Staff of the ARBiH had various administrations which oversaw the work of their counterparts services in the Army Corpses and subordinate units within the Corpses that were the brigades and in the brigades the battalions, along with independent battalions.

Main Staff/General Staff Headquarters

The Main Staff/General Staff was located in various buildings in Sarajevo. Due to ongoing communications problems within the besieged city, a major part of the Main Staff/General Staff was relocated to Kakanj, about 40 kilometers from Sarajevo, on 2 January 1994. The command post in Kakanj (KM Kakanj) was operational until the end of the war.

The offices of the Commander of the Main Staff/General Staff was located in Sarajevo center. The offices of the Chief of Staff of the Main Staff/General Staff were located in Sarajevo, but moved to KM Kakanj in early 1994.

Staff Command

References

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