United States Cavalry Peacekeepers in Bosnia

In December 1995, Operation Joint Endeavor—the first-ever ground operation conducted by NATO and the largest military operation in Europe since World War II—sought to implement a peace agreement concluding a bloody, ethnically motivated civil war in Bosnia. The 900 cavalrymen of 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry (Quarterhorse) and its attached units comprised a small but prominent portion of an international task force in Bosnia that numbered more than 57,000 NATO soldiers.

Despite austere conditions, mountainous terrain, bad weather, tens of thousands of land mines, and threats of terrorist attack, Quarterhorse upheld the peace in one of the most challenging parts of the American sector. Drawn from interviews, firsthand experiences and contemporary media, this account of the first year of NATO’s peacekeeping operations in Bosnia addresses every aspect of the squadron’s experience, providing a vivid portrait of American armed forces overseas.

Mark A. Viney is the former director of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A fourth-generation Army officer, he was commissioned from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in military operations in Saudi Arabia (1994), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1996), Afghanistan (2002, 2011–2012) and Iraq (2004–2005).

Mark A. Viney

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 287
Bibliographic Info: 39 photos, 3 maps, glossary, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6340-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8884-1
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Major General John R.S. Batiste, United States Army (Ret.)      vi
Preface      1

1. The Stage for Intervention      7
2. The Deployment      28
3. Danger and Bravery      53
4. The Peacekeeping Life      66
5. Unstable Peace      79
6. Late Spring      88
7. Summer      103
8. Sabers Ready      112
9. Mid-Point SITREP      131
10. Late Summer Heat      140
11. Shift Focus      162
12. Final Operations      183
13. Change of Mission      195
14. No Respite      212

Conclusion      219
Glossary      237
Chapter Notes      246
Bibliography      261
Index      271

• “Captivating and informative…a well-researched, balanced account of one of the first combat units to enter Bosnia in early 1996. Viney’s style is candid, straightforward, and easygoing. He recounts the battalion’s story clearly, logically, and without fuss…enjoyable, informative, and captivating”—Military Review