BIG NEWS: The Team behind Tea and Medals have released a brand new podcast over on the Forces TV TH-cam Channel. Let us know what you think of 'Near Death' th-cam.com/video/-DDHeGaTEq8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oeurFUeqtSQuZQzO
These T&M talks are a vital record of the thoughts and actions of men and women who deserve our gratitude and support. The sheer professionalism shown by these officers is huge. Hearing thier thoughts and the action they took to shield thier men from the uncertainty whilst trying to achieve the mission as best they could, is really impressive.
I could not agree more. Particularly in an era where the actions of the regular soldiery is under so much out-of-context scrutiny. the typical suburban idea of what britains military is for or capable of leaves a lot to be desired.
How deceiving...British "Saving Gorazde" but those same British along USA IMPOSED ARMS EMBARGO leaving Bosnian Muslims DEFENSELESS .Imagine imposing arms embargo on Ukraine while being attacked by Russia. That is what USA and Britain has done to Bosnia. Biggest war crime of 20th century.
I Spent almost 8 months in Gorazde with both the RGBW and RWF (94-95). Commanded a strategic satellite communications detachment, providing rearward communications for the resident infantry company. Was pretty grim for much of the tour. I left just under two weeks prior to the events described within this podcast. I was very proud of the efforts of all of the team, particularly the chaps who were there to the bitter end.
You lads did a great job under impossible circumstances but the UN should never again be permitted to control and manage our soldiers. They could have done far more good had they listened to General Rose earlier and our military leadership taken better care of our troops.
How can one not be immensely overcome by such an operation as this ,and the story ,and all those men involved ,is amazing ,thank you Tea and Medals ,very interesting indeed.
I was with the British troops at Tuzla Airbase in '93 (as a local interpreter). Also worked a lot of Split convoys via Vares/Vitez/Tomislavgrad route. Got shot the shit out of a lot by the serb forces, honestly felt safer while in the army service ... This interview is very insightful for all of us who were there. The UN does not know how to run military operations. It is tragic what happened in Bosnia, let's at least hope some lessons stick for the future. Thank you for your service!
They really haven't the UN as an institution has failed personally British troops I'm damn sure would have loved to put the boot to anyone harming civilians alot came home with trauma I'm pretty sure because of what they saw completely helpless to do anything.
Loved this .. Bosnia doesnt get enough coverage... I was there for that operation as part of 20 Armd Bde & Signal Sqn.. we deployed COMDRS Tac ( Brig Pringle)... we deployed to Kisejak ( Olympic Hotel) to set up a forward HQ when the RWF got taken hostage... some of the lads evaded and turned up at the Hotel ... hardcore ... John Reilly is an Inspiring man ... I drove him post Incident and served with him at SBMA .. at US Centcom.... I firmly belief that this was the end of the UNs usefulness hence we changed to NATO some months later. Great stuff BFBS!
I was RLC fuel operator attached to both RGBW & RWF in Gorazde, I was 20 at the time & on my first tour. It was 1 experience that will live with me forever. I went back on more tours in 99 to 200.
What a great podcast ., brought back so many memories. I was a UN civvy in Zenica so we were more focused on the Lasva Valley . The Brits were at the Vitez high-school. Such a long time ago .
I've just been binge listening to your tea and medals podcast on a long car drive. They and these videos are great and very well put together. Great job by all involved!
@@Bossnier You have not been watching attentively . This was only about the end of the ceasefire agreement and what happened in the short time before the Bosnian fighters could take over the defence. PS Haven't read the book, just watched this .
@@frog252 I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
Sir thank you for your leadership of worcester and sherwood foresters regiment, I served under you i was in c company 8 platoon. Later on i passed recce selection as a l cpl. I watch his with pride knowing i served under you. Thank you boss. I was l/cpl Bradley.
My grandmother and grandfather were both shoot in line with some neighbors in their village in East Bosnia. My uncle was taken away and found in a mass grave after the war ended, he was in his twenties. My grandmother survived but she was shot in the eye and her hands and since everybody else was shot in the legs she went to seek some help. The serbs already occupied the village so she had to hide. She went to the family house and sat there, not knowing that the house was already burning. She didn't have any memory as to what happened next, but one of the neighbors found her later in the ashes. She was still alive, only her legs were burnt. He took her to a hospital which the serbs held. One of the doctors hid her for some time, but I got to dangerous for both of them so they transfered her to Goražde. Goražde was occupied quickly after and no hospital refused to take her in as she was too old and weak but let her sleep on the floor. She said she saw babies starving to death as the city was occupied and people getting sick from drinking the river water which was sometimes red from blood. My father, who was in the Bosnian army smuggled from Sarajevo to Goražde and rescued her through an exchange. She lived on for over another 25 years in Sweden.
selam brate this was painful to read, every bosnian has a brutal story of war crimes committed to their families or friends. I have my own stories from my own family that are painful to recall, but I will teach the future generations to come inshallah, veliki pozdrav iz londona
I am sorry - and ashamed at how your people were let down by the UN. I hope this NEVER happens again. The UN is not an effective means to secure peace - only an Army can deter agression.
I was in the military with a chap whose face was blown open into flaps by an explosive shell and he was dumped in a pile of corpses but wasn't dead. He crawled for days playing dead when people passed but one time he failed at playing dead - turns out it was his own people though and they rescued him. I was in East Timor which was a very similar situation to the Bosnian War. Unfortunately we were peacekeepers so our hands were tied as to what we were allowed to intervene with too. That was the worst part. Providing aid when you have fit fighting men amongst you who could at least provide some fight sucks. Although now Bosnia is safe I hope your family have thanked Sweden for protecting you and returned to your homes to leave Sweden in peace?
@@dr.lexwinter8604 A lot of the witnesses of war crimes in east bosnia were survivors of mass shootings that hid between corpses, sometimes for days. Unfortunately Peacekeepers brought a false sense of security which lead to events like the Srebrenica genocide. Of course my familie is thankful to Sweden. My uncle and his children remained in Sweden and consider it their home now and rarely visit Bosnia. They have good jobs and all of them have houses in Sweden. A lot of bosnian refugees became to be respected citizens in the west as Yugoslavia had very good education.
Lt. Westley ( as he was ) was my platoon commander of Arnhem Platoon, TA Cadre, Depot The Prince of Wales’s Division Lichfield ( Whittington Barracks ) 10th to 23rd May 1986. Back then, I sensed a certain something about him, during the duration of the cadre he was a tough but fair guy. Had a lot of respect for him.
Just been introduced to this chaned by a vet who served in gorazde during this battle, and want to just say from a listeners pov this chanel is perfect. But from my vet friends pov this chanel does more than a justice to the people who severed during this time but those before and after. Thank your for the insights and introductions into the life's of the hero's that fought for us in far more battles then we even know
These stories are so valuable and humbling at the same time. It shows what genuine leaders and service (wo)men are made of: humility. I believe that's what sets everyone who serves apart. A selflessness that appears almost obsolete nowadays. Deepest respect and with the utmost gratitude!
Superb! In my humble opinion, you could have a bunch of guys cracking on about the way it was and still have a great story to listen to. Thank you all so much that was a great example of how stuff gets done by our Military and (still) to this day still gets cocked up by our politicians...
I was a sales rep for most of my working life. Strange that in the seventies ( due to motor accidents) it was mor dangerous to be a sales rep than it was to be a miner ! I am proud to see our armed forces in all of the conflicts ! We are , man to man the very best !
This is why the British Army are still feared even though we are a small army. To be able to think on your feet in a way that saves lives of a lot of soldiers underneath you says a lot about about the British. its never good to take a life but to and it isn't easy, but I'm always proud of our lads. no matter what the odds our lads and gals never give up, no matter where our boys and lasses go, they do what they are trained to do to their fullest to get their jobs done. proud of all of you.
If the British Army - and other branches of the Armed Forces have one ""secret ingredient"" - it is the willingness of some officers to use their initiative even if it means not adhering strictly to orders...Brains Beats Bullshit
Let's see if your army dares to take action against the Russians. You've got balls against small countries and peoples, things are looking bad for you against Russia
@@dejanjuhanovski9504 Oh yeah, in WHO'S eyes ? .... YOUR'S ???? The current Russian army (NOT the old ten million strong SOVIET army) cant even manage to take down the supposedly weaker opponents they have right NOW, if they were unfortunate enough to have to come face to face with a commited British Military effort in open combat they would come a VERY poor second and on that you can trust me,............ .We dont usually START wars........but by the grace of the Good God almighty we ALWAYS FINISH them, and have done so for nearly a thousand years.....ask ANY Country in Europe over the last five hundred years ! the common narrative they like to use today is to play down and ignore the old British Empire........in my opinion THAT is simply out of embarrassment - because how could ONE tiny little Island end up OWNING nearly a third of the entire planet ?.......and your answer is........a smallish intergrated and VERY highly trained intelligent, co ordinated, and motivated armed services. So though I wouldnt wish for an all out war against Russia - because what THEY do is their OWN business after all and as far as I'm concerned if it isnt impinging on or threatening ours then fair enough .........though I do pity Russia if one WERE to start. and before you go off citing the Nazis in WW2...........WE wouldnt be stupid or arrogant enough to try to invade Russia in the AUTUMN knowing how bitterly cold, dangerous, and long a Russian winter is ! WE would do it as the snow STARTED to melt giving us six months to get the job done....not four weeks like the Germans..... but even in that timeframe the Germans forced you lot back to the outskirts of Leningrad......over four hundred miles or so in a matter of weeks before YOUR winter kicked in and won the battle for you.......had they been swiftly equipped with winter clothing, heating, and supplies which they WERENT, YOU would be speaking German now....mein freund !
@@usernamesreprise4068 Your criminal history consists of conquering defenseless & barefoot tribesmen in order to plunder their own natural resources! How many millions of those unfortunate souls have you massacred both directly and through forced labor!? Did you say that you, the Brits, don't start wars, you finish them!!?? The biggest war, WW2, it was exactly you who started it, then retreated back on island in panic, and it was exactly the Russians who finished it! They inflicted 80% of German & Axis casualties! You 3%!!! Why did you run away from "your land" of India? Why don't you reestablish control of it now if you're so tough and powerful as you self-describe?
I remember one of our divers from my dive club coming back from this war when he was frustrated by the Blue hat. He was a pretty staunch kind of British officer, i I’m honest I always thought he was a bit of an odd guy to dive with. But I had a chat with him at the bar at our Christmas do and he was a very unhappy man. He had seen some awful stuff and was never allowed of the leash.
Thank all of you brave soldiers for protecting Bosnian civilians from mad Serbian militants. Your act of bravery and persistence will never be forgotten by country of Bosnia and Hercegovina and all of their citizens. Mr. Westley you and your men are our heroes. Thank you for everything, thank you for saving humanity when the world was blind and ignorant. ❤
@@tomstedford4144 The war was happening in Bosnia. Bosnians were defending their country from Serbian militants who came from Serbia and included local Serbs aw well. WTF are you talking about?!
@@tomstedford4144 Your full off shit Tom. Your the only one spreading fake news. "serbs defending their land" yeah right, the war was in Bosnia, hahaha The only reason serbs were there in the first place is because A/H them settle there when they were fleeing from the Turks.
@@georgefrancell5178 "The only reason serbs were there in the first place is because A/H them settle there when they were fleeing from the Turks." The Ottoman Turks brought in the Serbs & the Orthodox Vlach settlers into Bosnia after they had invaded and killed off a lot of the Roman Catholic locals. The Ottoman Turks needed a willing workforce and the Orthodox had the "millet system" already in place for them.
I am from Bosnia. Lived through the war. I was 7 when it started. One thing that annoys me is that most of the talk about that war revolves around Sarajevo and Srebrenica as if the war didn't happen anywhere else, so I am glad to see someone talking about what, at that time, were hellholes such as Goražde.
mostar doesnt get enough mention too, northern bosniaks seem to glorify their alliance with croats, but what the HVO did in hercegovina is shocking and more people should know about it, worse than serbs in many cases. My families from Mostar
Very impressive story. Thanks a lot to all the guys who gave everything that gorazde hasnt fall in the hands of chetniks. I think gorazde was one of the bloodiest frontlines. Small city and surrounded by hills.
that was a tough decision - to interpret their own mission under those vague guidelines and under such international scrutiny. every reason to walk away, and a huge risk not to do so both to their lives and professionally. brave and steadfast leadership. well done
Great podcast and the names mentioned were absolute legends, it was the lads who owned it not the officers and that's not disrespecting Westley or Col Riley, they were both fantastic leaders/commanders, but it was the lads on the ground who were the backbone of the operation, the downside to the tour was it left a huge divide between the blokes, it wasn't just B Coy who served in Gorazde, there were guys from the other companies who would back fill when guys would go out, there is a lot more that didn't get mentioned, food, water, mail, the conditions the blokes were living in, it was extremely tough going for all the guys who were part of Gorazde force, the list goes on and on, good effort guys, big up to the Royal Welch.
really enjoyed this episode, i think i met him in 2007. T&M more officer stories please. i wasn't an officer but i have found it easier to listen to an officer's story. probably because of reconnecting with my old PLT commander who said to me he struggles after leaving the army.
@@Bossnier Ey excuse me but why reply to my comment like that? Stolen valor? do you even know what that means? either listen to this interview again or go troll somewhere else I'm not interested in your rubbish.
@@dougieadams3819 I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
Sadly, the actions in the other two enclaves (Zepa and Srebrenica) didn't end up well. One of the biggest mistakes UNPROFOR ever made. They didn't stopped the genocide.
How can anybody stop organised shooting of war prisoners while only few people know what is planned. Even ordinary soldiers who take part of that war crime didnt know what is going on. Because when you have a lot of prisoners who are tied you need only few people to finnish the work. Only the shooters need to know others like drivers of trucks, soldiers who secure them didnt have to know, they can be manipulated to believe that they are just transition the prisoners from one place to another. Then driver goes home, soldiers who help to secure the convoy got command to do other task. Only FEW PEOPLE on ground and FEW in command can make it happen! But today i see propaganda against Serbs like every Serb was a part of that crime. Even people who where there doing the transit and secured it didnt know what is going on. Some of them even heard about that crime for first time when they where brought to court.
@@dushanstankovikj Where did I say that all Serbs are bad? There are so much good Serbian people, even better than Bosniaks or Croats. I've met Serbian people from Serbia, enjoyed conversations with them. But what I'm trying to say is what the pro-Serb politics are pointed towards Bosnia, through the century. They don't like letting us Bosnians have our country with 3 nationalities. Why? It's because of muslims. You don't have any idea what islamophobia has pressure to us, even from the beginning of it. After ww2 (Destroying Palestine and implementing Israeli apartheid regime toward Palestinians). Also 90's when global propaganda against "muslim bombers" in Iraq in the Gulf war, Afghanistan war against the Soviet regime, mujahedeen. And the biggest peak is after the 911 attack. But those next wars were battles to control oil, opioids.. nvm. And that's what Serbs were trying to do with Bosnian muslims. They KNEW what they were doing in Srebrenica, it was organized and there is no justification for that. Every genocide, massacre must be punished. And they did it, 100 thousand people killed in the war, around 2 milion people fled the country.
@@dushanstankovikj "It is unfortunate for all that no moral issue has ever been clearer. Any attempt to plea-bargain with outlaws and renegades will only be at the expense of honor, decency and self-respect. The Serbs, are two-dimensional people with a craving for simplicity and an ideology so basic it can be understood without effort. They need enemies, not friends, to focus their two-dimensional ideas. Life for them is a simple tune, never an orchestration, or even a pleasant harmony. Animals make use of their resources with far greater felicity than these retorted creatures, whose subscription to the human race is well in arrears." Peter Ustinov
I'm born in that city and my father was best friend with the kommander of military that was defending the city Zaim Imamović and when he died almost by the end of the war there my father gave me his name as a memory
UK troops must always, without any exceptions, be under the command of UK senior soldiers. Never foriegn politicians. The Yanks don't take orders from anyone, nor should they. Utterly disgraceful situation these brave lads were dropped in.
Another example of the outstanding combination of military leadership and bravery of all ranks. The commanders displayed firm leadership under extremely dangerous operational conditions. Their leadership influenced was supported by the cohesion of a well trained and motivated battalion. This is why the British Army is able to fight above its weight and why it is internationally respected.
Another fascinating episode what a complete hero great channel thanks Like the way subtlety says the back up & support was lacking lol so officers squadies just blunt
I recently revisited Bosnia, Republika Srpska, Croatia and even travelled through Serbia 25 years since my last of 3 visits. Such amazing, welcoming and friendly people in all of these countries. There are still places where it's handy not to mention you're an ex UN soldier though.
Excellent video ….l never realised at the time that this was going on ….even afterwards after talking to my mate who was in the Coldstream guards he only told of a ( foreign) interpreter getting his head blown off off at a check point right next to him but he never told any other stories …even on prompting …lm sure the full story will be told sooner or later …..respect lads ….
To have saved so many without losing any of his own must be very satisfying. I had no idea this had happened, have only heard of Srebrenica. Hope they all get the thank you they deserve eventually. This channel helps with that👍🏻
I was lucky enough to serve as a NCO under Colonel Westley, in the 1st Battalion Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters, A very Good Commander of whom I had the greatest respect, and still do.
Further to this, congratulations to the British Armys contribution to this somewhat secret and extremely difficult military commitment. He and his troops under his command deserve the highest comendations in the traditions of the British Army and British Ar.ed Firces. Effectively doing a politicians job " up front". In situations incomprehensible in Whitehall. As ex military I am unable to physically do what I used to do during my 23 years of service. However I will promote the extremely difficult situations faced by the Armed Forces on the ground in perilous situations forced on them by incompetent politicians. My respect for Force Commanders in their competency, determination, care for their commands and ultimate liaison not only with allied forces but with erstwhile enemies too. It is my undying belief that ALL POLITICIANS regardless of party aspirations, should be trained at Sandhurst or either of the Royal Navy or Royal Airforce officer training establishments. If they are to represent Great Britain then they should e trained to do so. If not then good bye. I apologies if this seems too direct for the sensitive but National indeed international survival is at stake here.
I lost my leg in Bosnia’93. All sides were horrible in that conflict. A buddy went back there and married a Bosnian woman. He says it’s like dry tinder to start a fir, all it’s going to take is a small spark to set things off again. I believe he said that in about 2017.
Thanks for being honest, mate. It is very rare to get someone from the West to say the truth about what happened there, nowadays. And I am sorry about what happened to you there, that is terrible and I have seen and lived with casualties of war. I survived that war as a teenager, me my family, relatives and friends went through some horrific times back then, in the outskirts of Sarajevo. I get sick when I see and hear biased journalism and spin stories that went into the world.
Ahhh the both sides were bad argument. I guess the British were bad for fighting the Nazis in WW2 as were the Bosnians fighting against Serb and Croat aggression.
A friend of mines brother was SAS and he was murdered in action in Bosnia ……because he and an officer were driving a UN vehicle and that made them very visible targets , it caused much exponential tragedy ……
@@spannerpasser Well i did not but evry time i saw them during the war,what a joke they where, foreigners in other countries to keep the peace,why you clowns didint go do Donbas in 2014 to help those people more than 5000 dead civilans since 2014 , thanks to Western weapons and the Ukrainian army,scared of the litle man in kremlin,why dodnt you go there now to keep peace i just wonder why...
@@gofnogofno5194 I imagine having the Russians on the UN Security Council with the power to veto might have something to do with it. Don’t forget it’s politicians that start wars and leave it to the soldiers to finish them. If you want to blame someone blame the politicians not the soldier. I’ve never met a politician yet willing to sacrifice for their country.
So moved by the commitment of people “just doing our job” - once again thank you for getting the story out. My little brother won’t talk much about his time in this “peace keeping” operation so it was good to get some background of the tensions and restraint/discipline they had to display. Any more on the UN or NATO opps in former Yugoslavia from a soldiers perspective would I think be appreciated since from my perspective it seemed very “hushed up” in comparison to Afghan and Iraq.
he talks about the moments of 1995, in fact he talks about a few hours critical to the city's survival. I was born in Gorazde, I was there all the time and now I live in Gorazde. Mr. Richard is very realistic about the situation in Gorazde at that time. why do you say that it is a book promotion if someone talks about their life experiences !? of course it is true that the city was long surrounded in 1992 but he only talked about 1995. he did not mention the downed harier above the city in 1994, nor did he mention the English soldiers who died when their transporter drove down the hill from great heights. it is obvious that this is the story of 1995.
I was one of the few who were there & one of the very last out as mentioned I was a scaley (Royal Signals) whom was trained to order air strikes or basic 9 liners as we called them. If you check out my TH-cam photo that was taken after we had disabled an armoured vehicle that was attempting to attack us, it ended up on its left hand side after a barrage of fire from us which I’m guessing probably depleted almost 1/4 of our ammo, so before we left on chinooks bravely flown in to collect the last remaining of us from the top of the mountains. As always sadly the worst thing we had to deal with just as 1 example was watching the mothers whom had gone to the schools to collect their kids get picked off by snipers, the mother had gone down & clearly had a mortal wound but was trying to push her kid away from her so the kids may possibly escape, obviously the scene was awful, no kid would want to leave it’s mother in such a situation, we were punching the ground shouting for them to run but they couldn’t hear us as we were so far away but what else could we do? We knew by then that air strikes weren’t an option as the “leaderships” had clearly left us high n dry on that one n we so badly wanted the Serb controlled hills to be bombarded n cleared out of any snipers or heavy artillery. I still have nightmares about it to this day & suffer greatly from PTSD & the feeling of helplessness. We also had to deal with having People taken from our care only to be led into woods n executed. I to this day deplore the Serbs & for the rest of my army career I never got the trust back from our politicians for sending us in with our arms tied behind our backs. I also struggle with the feeling that I personally could of done more. Even if it meant being shot by the Serbs for refusing to hand over civilians, I really hate myself at times.
Mark, please try not to feel like that. You did as much as you possibly could and were dreadfully let down by your politicians. No fault of yours in any way, shape or form.
@@marcs990 no worries mate. I am ex RAF and my father was 22 years Royal Signals. Before that he was a National Service man fighting in Malaya. You, and your mates out there, did a great job given the circumstances you were made to work within. Stay safe mate.
Serb nationalists are bastards. You n your mates did more than anyone else to save lives. Never be too proud of your successes and never be too ashamed of your defeats (real or otherwise). It what makes you the wonderful person you are.
While I wish the British and the International community could have done more to stop the Genocide, I'll forever be grateful to the British forces for their role in preventing the elimination of Bosnian Muslims.
i was one of the first into gorazde with the duke of boots the year before the fusiliers. we lost men killed and injured guarding that town. when we were leaving after handing over to the next infantry unit i had a chat with one of the locals who told me we were only there because of the oil reserves :) you'd have to go a long way to find a more ungrateful bunch of cants !
What you save Alija Izetbegovic isis terroris paid money to Serbs to keep .Gorazde WI be part of Serbian territory through great war what is coming soon
No tactical air support was a poor decision by senior people, sending people there not properly supported is unacceptable, they were excessively expose unnecessarily ✌️❤️🇬🇧
@@TheWedabest it was a military decision, the French battalion pulled out as discussed in the interview. The British MoD decided to send fusiliers. Pay attention.
To former British soldiers reading this, the best thing you can do for the people in Bosnia is to document your experience as peacekeepers in writing. Because even today, there is no objective history of the war, or events of the 90s, in English. Bosnian Muslims are an extremely small and inconsequential group compared to Serbs and Croats, who have a combined global population of at least 20 million. Many do not speak English. Serbs and Croats are now adept at English and through their academies, many of which drive state policy, especially Croats, who want to sanitize their country's past, work at numerous prestigious think tanks and are important enough to influence discussions and public perceptions of facts, churning out poor quality self-exculpatory information in an information void. The Croatians are, for example, outright denying a HV presence in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If the HV was a force for good, why deny the objective fact of its presence in BiH in 1993?
The Welsh Fusiliers , brill regiment , or was . Used Cymraeg to communicate , which really pissed off the Serbs, not many Welsh speakers in that bunch of murdering of scum.
I am from Gorazde... was engaged in 43 brigade, (east coast of the Drina river), scout platoon... was only one in my platoon who speaks english at that time... was one of the first who overtake CP (check point) from Brits on hill of "Kik", and i admit that most of the interview is acurate, and here i want to say hello to Eddy from Leeds... ill just add in here that most of the GB soldiers was terrified, and lost their sense of space and time at that time... after that, whole UN british troops never entered their camp (at the football stadioum) untill they was evacuated... anyway... thanks for those soldiers for everithing they did for us, and for those childrens in Gorazde at that time.. "mr. bombon" :)
From the british side i know they were trying to get the bosnian Muslim troops up the mountain to support the ops for about more than an hour and were worried about a friendly fire incident when they did turn up. The british troops in ops noted the serbs rotated fat old men for mad looking chetnik types in the 2 weeks before the attack
Served with a lot of the guys featured in this ,good drills. We had another well decorated NI tour in Belfast (81hunger strikers) Bit close to home to feature commendations from the conflict (Provo's war).the British government wouldn't want that pot stirring up with ongoing NI vets going back to court 😔
Tremendous interview with the best the British Army has...I used to think highly of Peter Inge...Field |Marshal the Lord Inge but after I researched Op Screwdrive - the plan to extract the Royal Welch Fusliers if the Serbs prevailed, I have re-evaluted my opinion: fast fixed wings and Harriers at low level in company with Chinooks.....right across the muzzles of hundreds of AA plus MANPADS....charge of the Light Brigade Mk 2.
this sounds exactly like the interviews with former Dutch UN troops at Srebrenica. i often had trouble believing them. but dang, they where right.. no air support.. no help...
My understanding was the Dutch did but had been prohibited from taking substantial amounts of ammo and he. Their own govt has directed that in an effort to suck UN dick. Alot of guys committed suicide due to the consequences.
@@liambeevor7983 Not really a fair example, plz look into Sbrencia before just spewing stupid comments. Its been a big legal case aswell so all the facts are pretty known. Clearly you havent a clue what happend there. Yes it was a failure of Dutch Leadership and UN leadership of hanging them out too dry. Dutch Commander literally got the choice: We have tanks surrounding the Town, if you dont surrender we will just shell you to kingdom come, which they had 0 defense against. Or surrender and your men live. Dare you 2 make the same choice in the situation they got put in with 0 help.
Thank you for this. I was in my late teens during this conflict and never realised until now how 'hot' it became for UK troops. I worked with a lad a few years ago who commanded a warrior during one of these missions. He never elaborated what happened over there, I could never figure out if this was due to what he witnessed :(
This is the third one of these I have watched in a row when ammunition shortages are cited BEFORE any major action has begun. Does the British Army learn nothing?
We deployed to Gorazde in late October 1994 as a part of 30 Signal Regiment, replacing the newer bit of equipment with the old stuff that we could actually get away with losing. Most of our Satcom detachments were scattered across Bosnia, we just happened to get shoved up to the front (I think they knew something was going to happen there), look about 2 weeks to get in, were there with 1 RGBW, had the wonderful time during the winter (cold but dry), wondered when the next convoy would come in and if it had food or fuel on it. We were also reporting back to our HQ in Split with weekly sitreps of what went on (some are quite amusing but still had a sense of what the atmosphere was like in the enclave), had my R&R and came back in with 1 RWF having tried a couple of times to get on a convoy, eventually did... Was there till mid-end of April 95 when my tour ended, my oppo who replaced me is actually still serving but he was there during all the action along with our tech (who ended up with an MiD), but 2 people running that det was pretty hard work. Best diet I never wanted, was a very difficult tour, even we had hostages taken on one of the convoys out of Gorazde, around December or January, they were held for about 2 weeks and one of the JCO's was shot in the December of 94, luckily it wasn't a bad injury considering, but it was a pretty hot zone, even with a cease fire in place. I should mention there was some very ingenious bits and pieces going on as well, those who knew, know what I am talking about, you can't beat the REME sometimes :)
You might be able to answer this. Why was rose so reluctant to use the air power that was available to him? Was it because he had to answer to Zagreb, London? Or did akashi just veto it? Thanks
@@TheWedabest probably retaliation on the ground troops. We had a situation where we were shelled by heavy artillery and a couple of hours later we had a pair of F16's fly over, but about 9 months previously a harrier had been shot down over Gorazde, the pilot was ok, avoided the serbs, there was also a lot of AA and SAM sites in the area which made it quite risky to fly there as well. But as also stated, the UN needed to approve flights and they were not a 24/7 organisation, it always felt like you had both your hands tied behind your back, the fact that the serbs dictated what went on the convoys rather than just sending in what we needed, meant they knew how much of everything we had, so working for the UN was a bit of a nightmare in this situation.
@@tonyb1223 I can only imagine working for the un would be a nightmare. Didn't a French fighter or two get shot in 95, if I'm not mistaken? Yeah they called the un's bluff every time. To do the right thing takes great courage! Something the un is not known for!!!
Ex sigs myself, was part of 211, 11 armd bde during the first UN deployment in 92, but sadly arrived whilst they were on tour. Interesting a tech getting a gallantry award, what was the story behind that?
@@yallaboybrookwell4420 Not that much to it tbh, the det was basically 4 guys at that point, prior to that we had 3 Op's a DC, 2ic/crypto op, tech and ED. What they were left with was a tech full screw, a crypto op, 1 other operator and an ED. When it all kicked off, the RWF wanted to evac the det, lock it up and leave it, the guys spoke with Split and they said if you leave it, you destroy all the kit, so instead they left a tech and the crypto op to run things and the other 2 moved out of camp to a safe(er) area incase they needed to get out of there quickly. Tech got the MiD as he was basically in charge of the det, he did get shot at once or twice, that may have helped 😄😁
I was at a legal training course back in the late 90s. A lady QC met her husband in the bar after the course. He had just landed back in the UK from Bosnia. He told us he had been in an observation post and under shelling only hours earlier. He was a huge fella. I wonder if he was this chap.
This is the reason why, at the beginning of Afghanistan, the US told whichever or whoever wanted in on killing bad guys, where subject to the Commander of the Task Force’s orders, there was not going to be the “we have to call our government for permission.” Surprisingly, most of the initial forces were all Special Operations forces.
Was in Gorazde from Aug 94 until April 95 attached to 1RGBW. Was the hardest tour I ever did. Serbs were just taking the piss all the time. UN was too weak with no mandate.would love to go back to Gorazde to see it now.
Thanks for your service sir, maybe the ukranian and Dutch battalion were lack of initiatives to made sure the safety of the population during the time, you made some distinguish action that need the genuine strategy and some real action others can't hold.
it was a reality, they did not protect the city or civilians, in fact they were not passive, they were obviously on the side of the aggressors, they spied on those from the hill who shelled the city and killed for years everything that moved around the city. at that time the population of the besieged city was about 50,000 people by the vast majority of children of women and the elderly who hoped for UN protection but obviously the Ukrainians were all the opposite of why they were there, and as you heard the English battalion had their hands tied,
in any case, I am very sorry for the Ukrainian people who are now suffering because of someone's interests, I hope that the war will stop as soon as possible
15:21 I was in Bosnia NORDBAT2/ Tuzla region and I met those soldiers that stepped on the mines at the Norwegian field hospital ( Blue Factory )when I was there for my own injuries. Some really great lads. We spent about 2 days there or maybe 3 before they were sent by helicopter I think further south to be sent home. I have a lot of pictures from the hospital and I got a few souvenirs from these guys, among them their map over Gorazde and where they stepped on the mines. I remember one of the lads I'd say the luckiest one and the youngest one he stepped on what they called a "Gorazde mine" a home made little thing made with bullets, small amount of explosive and shrapnel. The bullet went through his boots/ foot, shot up under his cheek, in the mouth, wobbled around took out a few teeth and then out though his chin. The others had totally damaged feet/ legs. I got in contact with one of the Norwegian doctors/ nurse that was still in contact with one or two of them so at least I know/ knew they were still around. I remember this as it was yesterday and I never stop wondering about these lads. I'm still active in the military ( joined 1981 ) did 7 years 6 as NCO then the legion 5 yrs, back home and got commissioned in 1994 and did my second tour in Bosnia 1995. Then a tour in Macedonia 95-96 then Doboj 1996-97 and to finish my Balkan tour with Kosovo in 2000. Then it's been Congo, West Sahara, Afghanistan 3 tours.
@@hido2 I was injured a few times when in Bosnia and I was at the Blue Factory 4 times, two times when the Norwegians had it ( one surgery ) then two times when Americans and Germans had it for two other surgeries. This was between Feb 1995 and Oct 1997. I assume or at least hope everything worked out for you! The Norwegians was amazing, such nice people.
Tuzla region was even worse in my opinion. Strongly allied groups in one town were killing each other in the next one over and for once it wasnt the serbs being the vilest pieces of excrement there.
Saying in Bosnia, "half the people say you came too late, the other half say you shouldn't have come at all." General Rose's small group of SAS 'observers' were at least the best of foreigners.
31:55 Again this guy says it all , if you release the Wolfs let them do their job otherwise don't send them . If you put Armed Forces in harms way , let them deal with it as they are best equipped to know what to do . This man is a Professional Soldier and his frustrations show through .
Hello to all UN soldiers from the UK who defended the city of Goražde at that time. I was a little boy, only eleven years old! Can someone know anything about John...surname I forget?!
A true warrior he's the type you need when shit goes south. Shows what good leadership and training can produce even though your back is against the wall go through shit watch the reaper hovering but telling him to foxtrot Oscar and take care of business then back for tea and medals 🏅
Every Rememberance Day there is a service in the garden of the British Ambassador's Residence in Sarajevo to remember the 55 Brits who died in the Bosnian deployment. They did their bit amid a stupid chaotic war.
Thank you for all your help Mr.Westley. All you had to do is arm Bosnians, lift embargo and it would be a different story. Serbians would have not have a chance to slotter so many Bosnians.
It is true that Srebrenica and the massacre that happened there is very well known. Without the UN troops from the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the story may have been very similar in Gorazde.
Also because Sebrencia became a big legal case. Since the UN has immunity they couldnt be blamed for handling the situation really bad. (same all over the board as this gentleman also says: No clear mission, not having airsupport when needed, troops not equipped for that kind of battle etc). So they blamed the Dutch Commander for surrendering. Serbs had given him a choice: You are surrounded by tanks, if you dont surrender we will shell you 2 shit which he had 0 defense against or surrender and your men live. He called for air support and help from the Dutch Gouverment and the UN several times, but the UN never came/responded didnt wanna lose face or whatever other crazy reason. So the Dutch Commander said it wasnt his fault etc. Been going on for years.
@@BFBSCreative May or may not. It is funny that you actually believe that this guy stopped the Serbian forces from taking the town over, without a single casualty on his side. That's some serious fiction going on there, mate. Serbian army could only be stopped by orders from General Mladić or President Karadžić. You need to research more to get the answer to why Žepa and Goražde weren't attacked with so much force like Srebrenica was. Your guests forgot to mention that no UNPROFOR were there to protect the Serbian village of Kravica in January 1993, when Naser Orić's muslim paramilitary forces massacred hundreds of Serbians on the Orthodox Christmas only, the 7th of January 1993. Each DEMILITARISED enclave, Srebrenica, Žepa and Goražde had local commanders like Orić with thousands of ARMED forces, who kept entering Serbian villages during 1992-95 and killing EVERYONE THEY CAUGHT. General Mladić warned the UN forces of what was going on many times, and as there was no response to stop the muslim paramilitaries killing WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ELDERLY, he decided to move into Srebrenica. At least, he let the women, children and elderly GO. Armed men fighting their way out through bushes were shot, and a large number of prisoners, for which there is absolutely no excuse. But can you imagine what killing over 8 thousand in a day or two could look like, is it really possible? Maybe in bad Hollywood movies...The number of Bosnian muslim forces killed during Operation Krivaja (Serbian Army codename for that action which went for several days) does not exceed 1300 maximum, according to real sources who actually were there the whole time, supported by extensive investigations in following months and years.The truth is that the whole muslim army casualties of the Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina were buried in Srebrenica, and portrayed as "the victims of genocide". Look up the ratio between Bosnian Muslim, Serb and Croat armies in active personnel during the war, or even the ratio between general population on the three sides, and then compare them to the casualties on all three sides during that war. You will see right away that term "genocide" cannot be used there at all, unless it has been adapted to some modern values, evaluated, and then applied to all three sides!!! Of course, if you WANT TO SEE. Also, your guests should learn that at that time, we were all BOSNIAN, but Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats. Bosnia and Herzegovina does not belong to Bosnian Muslims only. You should also learn that Radovan Karadžić was no rebel nor invader, he was legally ELECTED representative of the Bosnian Serb people, as the constitutive subject to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his and his people's political and social demands during the break up of Yugoslavia were bluntly ignored, primarily by the Bosnian Muslim leadership. You don't know much about this topic to confidently public vague films about it on TH-cam. Maybe you should interview Commander Thom Karremans or General Lewis MacKenzie to get a clearer picture, if you don't like talking to the Serbian representatives or components from this conflict. Bad try...
@@dutchwolflord5859 kind of see his point, but also he was in command - he had the chance to stand and fight or not to and as commander of a UN force in the area his duty was clear.
Just one question for all hypocrites. Where were all of you including the UN security forces once Bosnian Muslims together with their Saudi friends massacred Serbian villages all around Srebrenica for almost two years? Srebrenica was marked as a "safe civilian zone enclave" however do you know that during this time Bosnian Muslims command post was there right in the middle of the town leading the attacks over night right from that "safe zone" into the Serbian controlled surrounding villages. After Serbs returning fire to them they were moving back into Srebrenica accusing Serbs of attacking an enclave. If anyone notice when Serbs enter into Srebrenica in one of the areas they recorded Bosnian Muslims headquarters from where they lead attacks for all that time in from the of the UN troops noses who of course did nothing all that time as they did nothing as well when Serbs killed those people once they took control in town. Facts should be known from the very start and not only partial.
Show forensic evidence of a single mass grave with Serb victims anywhere from WWII to the 90s. If you show me evidence of one in Srebrenica, or around Srebrenica, I'll donate $500 to a charity for Serbian children suffering from cancer.
@@hasibhakanovic6682 Are you serious about WW2? April 1941 Mass hanging of mostly Serbian civilians in the town of Pančevo as retalition, whole event recorded by German cameraman. July 1941 Glina Church massacre where Serbian civilians were locked up and killed by shootings beeing burned alive, mass graves founded after WW2 thanks to the only survived person of that crime. All surrounding Serbian villages in the same period were also burned to the ground by Croatian Ustashe. August 1941 Skela massacre by Germans who are taking pictures in front of death Serbian civilians bodies. Mass hanging of civilians and rebels in Belgrade all bodies publicly exposed. October 1941 mass executions of Serbs in Kraljevo and Kragujevac massacres as a retalition action for Chetnik and Partisan attacks on German units, mass graves digged in on both locations, multiple pictures of executions. August 1941 Jasenovac concentration camp was formed where until end of the war tens of thousands Serbs and Jews were tortured and beeing killed on the most brutal ways, planty of first hand witnesses after the war, pictures, reports and descriptions from within the camp had been taken. Septembar 1941 mass execution of Serbs in town of Šabac by the Germans again photographies are taken and grave pit exists until today. recorded and classified in Military Museum in Belgrade... Should l continue with WW2?
Can you name some decent books that explain all the happenings in the balkans since WW11 onwards. I don’t want to pick a side as I know it’s far too complicated for that.
@@robplazzman6049 You are asking the wrong question. In the Balkans history is written by frauds/liars, and the sources in English are re-writes of literature published by Balkan authors. The typical pattern: books are almost entirely written from secondary sources, without primary sources, as there were hardly any written records available as most of the Balkans until the beginning of the twentieth century was illiterate. Serbia itself had the lowest rate of literacy in Europe when WWI broke out, and to this day you can find rural villages in the Balkans in which the people literally live not much different to how they did in the Dark Ages. Competent scholars in the west capable of writing history were never interested in the Balkans, as there was nothing to be interested by, and literally, the only reason people know about the region is because of the most recent war. So there is an information void. There is not even records of a conflict between Serbs and Croats up until 1991. Serbia and Croatia were Axis puppets and allies, and the remnants of the post-communist regimes even formed an alliance in the diaspora. The NDH and Nedic's Serbia had comprehensive diplomatic relations yet today's Serbs and Croats accuse each other mutually of genocide in the same period. The Croatian Democratic Union in Bosnia-Herzegovina was created by a Serb, and the Serbian Radical Party, a Serbian nationalist party, was created by a Croat. The two are in fact in coalition in BiH, not trying to hide it, and have been from their founding. Even in the most recent conflict Serbs and Croats can't point to documentary evidence of the battles they claimed to have fought, or even tell you, roughly, how many soldiers they killed and where. The source of information is actually state media of both countries. Imagine two countries without any concept of where their army is or what it is doing for years on end. Take a look who are the respected cultural figures in those societies and ask yourself what the values of these people appear to be: 1. Tuđman was born to a family of illiterate peasants who were farmers, was a devout communist yet became an 'intellectual force' behind an anti-communist movement, and was a prolific writer of 'history' and is 'required reading' at all college-level programs on political studies in Croatia. He in fact participated in the mass murders of his fellow Croatians alongside Serbs after WWII, and overlooking his crimes, was able to become an elected president. 2. Karadžić was a petty fraudster, in fact convicted, who came to Bosnia during Tito's reign, not even from Bosnia, was educated by Sarajevan Muslims, passed university in spite of being a failed student, becoming a doctor by bribing his Bosniak professors, only to turned his guns on the town that educated him. After the war, he stole an identity of a real doctor, Dragan Dabic, who was killed by his forces, fled to Serbia, and practiced fraudulent medicine and robbed hapless sick Serbs of their last penny by practising what is not even recognized as medicine. 'Historians' of Croatia and Serbia normalize these figures that would be utterly repulsive to the rest of the world, even divorced from the accusations of war crimes in the latest war. Even the dominant historical interpretations that can be falsified have been: the populations in the Balkans today are not even the historical populations (in fact, Belgrade used to have as many Jews as Serbs, and had an Armenian neighborhood), and the dominant narratives, for example 'Slavic migration' are false. Major population changes have occurred within Serbia itself, for example, the complete ethnic cleansing of Romanians, within the 20th century. To a westerner, it's actually impossible to explain how much corruption there is in the Balkans, everywhere but principally in Serbia/Croatia. In the west scholars criticize their government no matter what, but in the Balkans, academics actually form governments and start the wars.
If we were to take a step back in time to an age when simple words had power and meaning, not like to today where there is too much exaggeration. I would say this about Major Richard Westley. There sits an honourable man
The critical point of the Bosnian war was in early 1994 not early 1995 when Gorazde was at the VRS mercy and they never had a better chance after that..
Very interesting indeed..Remember the Siege of Gorazde when it was happening and the feeling that we were having to keep a Brutal Serb Army at bay with one hand and a leg tied up!
Another case of politicians not providing the essential support needed to fulfill the mission. I suspect that if they were the ones sitting in those OPs instead of luxury offices in London or New York things would have been different.
BIG NEWS: The Team behind Tea and Medals have released a brand new podcast over on the Forces TV TH-cam Channel. Let us know what you think of 'Near Death' th-cam.com/video/-DDHeGaTEq8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oeurFUeqtSQuZQzO
This channel lets the participants tell their fascinating stories without interruption. It is one of the best channels on the internet.
I agree when the interviewer talks over people it stops the flow and their story .
100% agree, always look forward to them
These T&M talks are a vital record of the thoughts and actions of men and women who deserve our gratitude and support. The sheer professionalism shown by these officers is huge. Hearing thier thoughts and the action they took to shield thier men from the uncertainty whilst trying to achieve the mission as best they could, is really impressive.
I could not agree more. Particularly in an era where the actions of the regular soldiery is under so much out-of-context scrutiny. the typical suburban idea of what britains military is for or capable of leaves a lot to be desired.
I SHIT IN MOUTHS TO THE FULLEST OF THAT MAN AND WOMEN
How deceiving...British "Saving Gorazde" but those same British along USA IMPOSED ARMS EMBARGO leaving Bosnian Muslims DEFENSELESS .Imagine imposing arms embargo on Ukraine while being attacked by Russia.
That is what USA and Britain has done to Bosnia. Biggest war crime of 20th century.
Oò
I Spent almost 8 months in Gorazde with both the RGBW and RWF (94-95). Commanded a strategic satellite communications detachment, providing rearward communications for the resident infantry company. Was pretty grim for much of the tour. I left just under two weeks prior to the events described within this podcast. I was very proud of the efforts of all of the team, particularly the chaps who were there to the bitter end.
Anonymous lying coward.
Bless you sir.
Jimmy on the job - Certa Cito!
Respect
You lads did a great job under impossible circumstances but the UN should never again be permitted to control and manage our soldiers. They could have done far more good had they listened to General Rose earlier and our military leadership taken better care of our troops.
One thing that's obvious that we Bosnians share with Brits culturally is this deadpan type humour and banter, thanks for your efforts lads, Godbless
How can one not be immensely overcome by such an operation as this ,and the story ,and all those men involved ,is amazing ,thank you Tea and Medals ,very interesting indeed.
I was with the British troops at Tuzla Airbase in '93 (as a local interpreter). Also worked a lot of Split convoys via Vares/Vitez/Tomislavgrad route. Got shot the shit out of a lot by the serb forces, honestly felt safer while in the army service ...
This interview is very insightful for all of us who were there. The UN does not know how to run military operations. It is tragic what happened in Bosnia, let's at least hope some lessons stick for the future.
Thank you for your service!
They really haven't the UN as an institution has failed personally British troops I'm damn sure would have loved to put the boot to anyone harming civilians alot came home with trauma I'm pretty sure because of what they saw completely helpless to do anything.
Loved this .. Bosnia doesnt get enough coverage... I was there for that operation as part of 20 Armd Bde & Signal Sqn.. we deployed COMDRS Tac ( Brig Pringle)... we deployed to Kisejak ( Olympic Hotel) to set up a forward HQ when the RWF got taken hostage... some of the lads evaded and turned up at the Hotel ... hardcore ... John Reilly is an Inspiring man ... I drove him post Incident and served with him at SBMA .. at US Centcom.... I firmly belief that this was the end of the UNs usefulness hence we changed to NATO some months later. Great stuff BFBS!
I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
I was RLC fuel operator attached to both RGBW & RWF in Gorazde, I was 20 at the time & on my first tour. It was 1 experience that will live with me forever.
I went back on more tours in 99 to 200.
What a great podcast ., brought back so many memories.
I was a UN civvy in Zenica so we were more focused on the Lasva Valley .
The Brits were at the Vitez high-school.
Such a long time ago .
I've just been binge listening to your tea and medals podcast on a long car drive. They and these videos are great and very well put together. Great job by all involved!
@@Bossnier You have not been watching attentively . This was only about the end of the ceasefire agreement and what happened in the short time before the Bosnian fighters could take over the defence. PS Haven't read the book, just watched this .
@@frog252 I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
Sir thank you for your leadership of worcester and sherwood foresters regiment, I served under you i was in c company 8 platoon. Later on i passed recce selection as a l cpl. I watch his with pride knowing i served under you. Thank you boss. I was l/cpl Bradley.
As a Bosnian Citizen i Thank you from the Bottom of my heart! Brave British People,I Love You
👍🇬🇧
Well done in supporting Bosnia!
My grandmother and grandfather were both shoot in line with some neighbors in their village in East Bosnia. My uncle was taken away and found in a mass grave after the war ended, he was in his twenties. My grandmother survived but she was shot in the eye and her hands and since everybody else was shot in the legs she went to seek some help. The serbs already occupied the village so she had to hide. She went to the family house and sat there, not knowing that the house was already burning. She didn't have any memory as to what happened next, but one of the neighbors found her later in the ashes. She was still alive, only her legs were burnt. He took her to a hospital which the serbs held. One of the doctors hid her for some time, but I got to dangerous for both of them so they transfered her to Goražde. Goražde was occupied quickly after and no hospital refused to take her in as she was too old and weak but let her sleep on the floor. She said she saw babies starving to death as the city was occupied and people getting sick from drinking the river water which was sometimes red from blood. My father, who was in the Bosnian army smuggled from Sarajevo to Goražde and rescued her through an exchange. She lived on for over another 25 years in Sweden.
selam brate this was painful to read, every bosnian has a brutal story of war crimes committed to their families or friends. I have my own stories from my own family that are painful to recall, but I will teach the future generations to come inshallah, veliki pozdrav iz londona
It's hard to imagine the pain of the Bosnian people during that time and ever since.
I am sorry - and ashamed at how your people were let down by the UN. I hope this NEVER happens again. The UN is not an effective means to secure peace - only an Army can deter agression.
I was in the military with a chap whose face was blown open into flaps by an explosive shell and he was dumped in a pile of corpses but wasn't dead. He crawled for days playing dead when people passed but one time he failed at playing dead - turns out it was his own people though and they rescued him. I was in East Timor which was a very similar situation to the Bosnian War. Unfortunately we were peacekeepers so our hands were tied as to what we were allowed to intervene with too. That was the worst part. Providing aid when you have fit fighting men amongst you who could at least provide some fight sucks. Although now Bosnia is safe I hope your family have thanked Sweden for protecting you and returned to your homes to leave Sweden in peace?
@@dr.lexwinter8604 A lot of the witnesses of war crimes in east bosnia were survivors of mass shootings that hid between corpses, sometimes for days. Unfortunately Peacekeepers brought a false sense of security which lead to events like the Srebrenica genocide. Of course my familie is thankful to Sweden. My uncle and his children remained in Sweden and consider it their home now and rarely visit Bosnia. They have good jobs and all of them have houses in Sweden. A lot of bosnian refugees became to be respected citizens in the west as Yugoslavia had very good education.
Lt. Westley ( as he was ) was my platoon commander of Arnhem Platoon, TA Cadre, Depot The Prince of Wales’s Division
Lichfield ( Whittington Barracks ) 10th to 23rd May 1986. Back then, I sensed a certain something about him, during the
duration of the cadre he was a tough but fair guy. Had a lot of respect for him.
@Hildebrand Well you are not "Hildebrand" and he is not "Ratković"...
@Hildebrand i see...
Just been introduced to this chaned by a vet who served in gorazde during this battle, and want to just say from a listeners pov this chanel is perfect. But from my vet friends pov this chanel does more than a justice to the people who severed during this time but those before and after. Thank your for the insights and introductions into the life's of the hero's that fought for us in far more battles then we even know
These stories are so valuable and humbling at the same time. It shows what genuine leaders and service (wo)men are made of: humility. I believe that's what sets everyone who serves apart. A selflessness that appears almost obsolete nowadays. Deepest respect and with the utmost gratitude!
Well done Royal Welch Fusiliers, Well done all ranks, Well done Sir.......
Greetings from a Cheshire.......
Superb! In my humble opinion, you could have a bunch of guys cracking on about the way it was and still have a great story to listen to. Thank you all so much that was a great example of how stuff gets done by our Military and (still) to this day still gets cocked up by our politicians...
I was a sales rep for most of my working life. Strange that in the seventies ( due to motor accidents) it was mor dangerous to be a sales rep than it was to be a miner ! I am proud to see our armed forces in all of the conflicts ! We are , man to man the very best !
This is why the British Army are still feared even though we are a small army. To be able to think on your feet in a way that saves lives of a lot of soldiers underneath you says a lot about about the British. its never good to take a life but to and it isn't easy, but I'm always proud of our lads. no matter what the odds our lads and gals never give up, no matter where our boys and lasses go, they do what they are trained to do to their fullest to get their jobs done. proud of all of you.
Respect
If the British Army - and other branches of the Armed Forces have one ""secret ingredient"" - it is the willingness of some officers to use their initiative even if it means not adhering strictly to orders...Brains Beats Bullshit
Let's see if your army dares to take action against the Russians. You've got balls against small countries and peoples, things are looking bad for you against Russia
@@dejanjuhanovski9504 Oh yeah, in WHO'S eyes ? .... YOUR'S ????
The current Russian army (NOT the old ten million strong SOVIET army) cant even manage to take down the supposedly weaker opponents they have right NOW, if they were unfortunate enough to have to come face to face with a commited British Military effort in open combat they would come a VERY poor second and on that you can trust me,............
.We dont usually START wars........but by the grace of the Good God almighty we ALWAYS FINISH them, and have done so for nearly a thousand years.....ask ANY Country in Europe over the last five hundred years ! the common narrative they like to use today is to play down and ignore the old British Empire........in my opinion THAT is simply out of embarrassment - because how could ONE tiny little Island end up OWNING nearly a third of the entire planet ?.......and your answer is........a smallish intergrated and VERY highly trained intelligent, co ordinated, and motivated armed services.
So though I wouldnt wish for an all out war against Russia - because what THEY do is their OWN business after all and as far as I'm concerned if it isnt impinging on or threatening ours then fair enough .........though I do pity Russia if one WERE to start. and before you go off citing the Nazis in WW2...........WE wouldnt be stupid or arrogant enough to try to invade Russia in the AUTUMN knowing how bitterly cold, dangerous, and long a Russian winter is !
WE would do it as the snow STARTED to melt giving us six months to get the job done....not four weeks like the Germans..... but even in that timeframe the Germans forced you lot back to the outskirts of Leningrad......over four hundred miles or so in a matter of weeks before YOUR winter kicked in and won the battle for you.......had they been swiftly equipped with winter clothing, heating, and supplies which they WERENT, YOU would be speaking German now....mein freund !
@@usernamesreprise4068
Your criminal history consists of conquering defenseless & barefoot tribesmen in order to plunder their own natural resources! How many millions of those unfortunate souls have you massacred both directly and through forced labor!?
Did you say that you, the Brits, don't start wars, you finish them!!?? The biggest war, WW2, it was exactly you who started it, then retreated back on island in panic, and it was exactly the Russians who finished it! They inflicted 80% of German & Axis casualties! You 3%!!!
Why did you run away from "your land" of India? Why don't you reestablish control of it now if you're so tough and powerful as you self-describe?
Had no knowledge of this battle. What amazing valor.
Westley was my boss in the INT CELL in N.I such a great bloke , Riley was the best c.o I've had
I remember one of our divers from my dive club coming back from this war when he was frustrated by the Blue hat.
He was a pretty staunch kind of British officer, i I’m honest I always thought he was a bit of an odd guy to dive with.
But I had a chat with him at the bar at our Christmas do and he was a very unhappy man.
He had seen some awful stuff and was never allowed of the leash.
Thank all of you brave soldiers for protecting Bosnian civilians from mad Serbian militants. Your act of bravery and persistence will never be forgotten by country of Bosnia and Hercegovina and all of their citizens. Mr. Westley you and your men are our heroes. Thank you for everything, thank you for saving humanity when the world was blind and ignorant. ❤
Lies and propaganda, Fake News, Bosniaks were attacking Serbs , that's the truth.
Serbs were defending THEIR LAND.
@@tomstedford4144 The war was happening in Bosnia. Bosnians were defending their country from Serbian militants who came from Serbia and included local Serbs aw well. WTF are you talking about?!
@@tomstedford4144 Your full off shit Tom. Your the only one spreading fake news. "serbs defending their land" yeah right, the war was in Bosnia, hahaha The only reason serbs were there in the first place is because A/H them settle there when they were fleeing from the Turks.
@@georgefrancell5178 "The only reason serbs were there in the first place is because A/H them settle there when they were fleeing from the Turks."
The Ottoman Turks brought in the Serbs & the Orthodox Vlach settlers into Bosnia after they had invaded and killed off a lot of the Roman Catholic locals.
The Ottoman Turks needed a willing workforce and the Orthodox had the "millet system" already in place for them.
@@northernstar4811 Your missing the point, which ever way they arrived the land was not serbia.
Good to see commanders with combat experience, always better to have this when being in charge ✌️❤️🇬🇧
thank you sir Richard greetings from Bosnia
I am from Bosnia. Lived through the war. I was 7 when it started. One thing that annoys me is that most of the talk about that war revolves around Sarajevo and Srebrenica as if the war didn't happen anywhere else, so I am glad to see someone talking about what, at that time, were hellholes such as Goražde.
mostar doesnt get enough mention too, northern bosniaks seem to glorify their alliance with croats, but what the HVO did in hercegovina is shocking and more people should know about it, worse than serbs in many cases. My families from Mostar
@@alibasic1Croatian Forces saved Bosnia and Herzegovina from falling apart.
@@croatianwarmaster7872not really.
Greetings from Goražde and thank you for your service!
Very impressive story. Thanks a lot to all the guys who gave everything that gorazde hasnt fall in the hands of chetniks. I think gorazde was one of the bloodiest frontlines. Small city and surrounded by hills.
that was a tough decision - to interpret their own mission under those vague guidelines and under such international scrutiny. every reason to walk away, and a huge risk not to do so both to their lives and professionally. brave and steadfast leadership. well done
Great podcast and the names mentioned were absolute legends, it was the lads who owned it not the officers and that's not disrespecting Westley or Col Riley, they were both fantastic leaders/commanders, but it was the lads on the ground who were the backbone of the operation, the downside to the tour was it left a huge divide between the blokes, it wasn't just B Coy who served in Gorazde, there were guys from the other companies who would back fill when guys would go out, there is a lot more that didn't get mentioned, food, water, mail, the conditions the blokes were living in, it was extremely tough going for all the guys who were part of Gorazde force, the list goes on and on, good effort guys, big up to the Royal Welch.
really enjoyed this episode, i think i met him in 2007. T&M more officer stories please. i wasn't an officer but i have found it easier to listen to an officer's story. probably because of reconnecting with my old PLT commander who said to me he struggles after leaving the army.
@@Bossnier Ey excuse me but why reply to my comment like that? Stolen valor? do you even know what that means? either listen to this interview again or go troll somewhere else I'm not interested in your rubbish.
@@dougieadams3819 I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
Sadly, the actions in the other two enclaves (Zepa and Srebrenica) didn't end up well. One of the biggest mistakes UNPROFOR ever made. They didn't stopped the genocide.
How can anybody stop organised shooting of war prisoners while only few people know what is planned. Even ordinary soldiers who take part of that war crime didnt know what is going on. Because when you have a lot of prisoners who are tied you need only few people to finnish the work. Only the shooters need to know others like drivers of trucks, soldiers who secure them didnt have to know, they can be manipulated to believe that they are just transition the prisoners from one place to another. Then driver goes home, soldiers who help to secure the convoy got command to do other task. Only FEW PEOPLE on ground and FEW in command can make it happen! But today i see propaganda against Serbs like every Serb was a part of that crime. Even people who where there doing the transit and secured it didnt know what is going on. Some of them even heard about that crime for first time when they where brought to court.
@@dushanstankovikj Where did I say that all Serbs are bad? There are so much good Serbian people, even better than Bosniaks or Croats. I've met Serbian people from Serbia, enjoyed conversations with them. But what I'm trying to say is what the pro-Serb politics are pointed towards Bosnia, through the century. They don't like letting us Bosnians have our country with 3 nationalities. Why? It's because of muslims. You don't have any idea what islamophobia has pressure to us, even from the beginning of it. After ww2 (Destroying Palestine and implementing Israeli apartheid regime toward Palestinians). Also 90's when global propaganda against "muslim bombers" in Iraq in the Gulf war, Afghanistan war against the Soviet regime, mujahedeen. And the biggest peak is after the 911 attack. But those next wars were battles to control oil, opioids.. nvm. And that's what Serbs were trying to do with Bosnian muslims. They KNEW what they were doing in Srebrenica, it was organized and there is no justification for that. Every genocide, massacre must be punished. And they did it, 100 thousand people killed in the war, around 2 milion people fled the country.
@@dushanstankovikj You are a liar and ignoramus
@@hasibhakanovic6682 you are hater 💯😉
@@dushanstankovikj "It is unfortunate for all that no moral issue has ever been clearer. Any attempt to plea-bargain with outlaws and renegades will only be at the expense of honor, decency and self-respect. The Serbs, are two-dimensional people with a craving for simplicity and an ideology so basic it can be understood without effort. They need enemies, not friends, to focus their two-dimensional ideas. Life for them is a simple tune, never an orchestration, or even a pleasant harmony. Animals make use of their resources with far greater felicity than these retorted creatures, whose subscription to the human race is well in arrears." Peter Ustinov
I'm born in that city and my father was best friend with the kommander of military that was defending the city Zaim Imamović and when he died almost by the end of the war there my father gave me his name as a memory
UK troops must always, without any exceptions, be under the command of UK senior soldiers. Never foriegn politicians. The Yanks don't take orders from anyone, nor should they. Utterly disgraceful situation these brave lads were dropped in.
Another example of the outstanding combination of military leadership and bravery of all ranks. The commanders displayed firm leadership under extremely dangerous operational conditions. Their leadership influenced was supported by the cohesion of a well trained and motivated battalion. This is why the British Army is able to fight above its weight and why it is internationally respected.
Another fascinating episode what a complete hero great channel thanks
Like the way subtlety says the back up & support was lacking lol so officers squadies just blunt
I recently revisited Bosnia, Republika Srpska, Croatia and even travelled through Serbia 25 years since my last of 3 visits. Such amazing, welcoming and friendly people in all of these countries. There are still places where it's handy not to mention you're an ex UN soldier though.
Let me point out, Rep Srpska is an entity in BOSNIA.
Excellent video ….l never realised at the time that this was going on ….even afterwards after talking to my mate who was in the Coldstream guards he only told of a ( foreign) interpreter getting his head blown off off at a check point right next to him but he never told any other stories …even on prompting …lm sure the full story will be told sooner or later …..respect lads ….
To have saved so many without losing any of his own must be very satisfying. I had no idea this had happened, have only heard of Srebrenica. Hope they all get the thank you they deserve eventually. This channel helps with that👍🏻
I didn't know @Salko Paradzik explained the situation to me. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
The film 'Warriors' about the British army in Bosnia is the most realistic and best military film I've ever seen.
Have you seen a film called come and see.
That's a realistic war film.
@@robc8892 nope, I'll try to check it out.
Ive seen it about the two scouse lads who go on tour in Bosnia
Facts
And also, not coincidentally, the most depressing
I was lucky enough to serve as a NCO under Colonel Westley, in the 1st Battalion Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters, A very Good Commander of whom I had the greatest respect, and still do.
Further to this, congratulations to the British Armys contribution to this somewhat secret and extremely difficult military commitment. He and his troops under his command deserve the highest comendations in the traditions of the British Army and British Ar.ed Firces. Effectively doing a politicians job " up front". In situations incomprehensible in Whitehall. As ex military I am unable to physically do what I used to do during my 23 years of service. However I will promote the extremely difficult situations faced by the Armed Forces on the ground in perilous situations forced on them by incompetent politicians. My respect for Force Commanders in their competency, determination, care for their commands and ultimate liaison not only with allied forces but with erstwhile enemies too. It is my undying belief that ALL POLITICIANS regardless of party aspirations, should be trained at Sandhurst or either of the Royal Navy or Royal Airforce officer training establishments. If they are to represent Great Britain then they should e trained to do so. If not then good bye. I apologies if this seems too direct for the sensitive but National indeed international survival is at stake here.
I lost my leg in Bosnia’93. All sides were horrible in that conflict. A buddy went back there and married a Bosnian woman. He says it’s like dry tinder to start a fir, all it’s going to take is a small spark to set things off again. I believe he said that in about 2017.
Sorry to read that hope you are managing okay
What unit were you with ......1 Cheshire BG ?
Islam is a big problem everywhere
Thanks for being honest, mate. It is very rare to get someone from the West to say the truth about what happened there, nowadays. And I am sorry about what happened to you there, that is terrible and I have seen and lived with casualties of war. I survived that war as a teenager, me my family, relatives and friends went through some horrific times back then, in the outskirts of Sarajevo. I get sick when I see and hear biased journalism and spin stories that went into the world.
Ahhh the both sides were bad argument. I guess the British were bad for fighting the Nazis in WW2 as were the Bosnians fighting against Serb and Croat aggression.
Thank you oficir Richard,,, thanks to all peaple whu help Bosnien peaple end hello to all UK peaple from Bosnien
Your guys at BFBS are doing superb work. Great production. Excellent content.
A friend of mines brother was SAS and he was murdered in action in Bosnia ……because he and an officer were driving a UN vehicle and that made them very visible targets , it caused much exponential tragedy ……
thats what happens when your snoop where you should not..
@@gofnogofno5194you obviously never served in the Balkans as part of the United Nations and lack empathy.
@@spannerpasser Well i did not but evry time i saw them during the war,what a joke they where,
foreigners in other countries to keep the peace,why you clowns didint go do Donbas in 2014 to help those people more than 5000 dead civilans since 2014 ,
thanks to Western weapons and the Ukrainian army,scared of the litle man in kremlin,why dodnt you go there now to keep peace i just wonder why...
@@gofnogofno5194 I imagine having the Russians on the UN Security Council with the power to veto might have something to do with it.
Don’t forget it’s politicians that start wars and leave it to the soldiers to finish them. If you want to blame someone blame the politicians not the soldier. I’ve never met a politician yet willing to sacrifice for their country.
So moved by the commitment of people “just doing our job” - once again thank you for getting the story out. My little brother won’t talk much about his time in this “peace keeping” operation so it was good to get some background of the tensions and restraint/discipline they had to display. Any more on the UN or NATO opps in former Yugoslavia from a soldiers perspective would I think be appreciated since from my perspective it seemed very “hushed up” in comparison to Afghan and Iraq.
@@Bossnier were you in Gorazde during the war?
he talks about the moments of 1995, in fact he talks about a few hours critical to the city's survival. I was born in Gorazde, I was there all the time and now I live in Gorazde. Mr. Richard is very realistic about the situation in Gorazde at that time. why do you say that it is a book promotion if someone talks about their life experiences !? of course it is true that the city was long surrounded in 1992 but he only talked about 1995. he did not mention the downed harier above the city in 1994, nor did he mention the English soldiers who died when their transporter drove down the hill from great heights. it is obvious that this is the story of 1995.
@@salkoparadzik3794 thank you Salko. I didn't know. I will delete each negative comment and excuse me to Mr. Richard an his Battalion. Sry.
There’s a lot of forgotten story’s from the Balkan’s campaigns . Lots of forgotten Soldiers as well . We walked the walk out there .
I was one of the few who were there & one of the very last out as mentioned I was a scaley (Royal Signals) whom was trained to order air strikes or basic 9 liners as we called them. If you check out my TH-cam photo that was taken after we had disabled an armoured vehicle that was attempting to attack us, it ended up on its left hand side after a barrage of fire from us which I’m guessing probably depleted almost 1/4 of our ammo, so before we left on chinooks bravely flown in to collect the last remaining of us from the top of the mountains. As always sadly the worst thing we had to deal with just as 1 example was watching the mothers whom had gone to the schools to collect their kids get picked off by snipers, the mother had gone down & clearly had a mortal wound but was trying to push her kid away from her so the kids may possibly escape, obviously the scene was awful, no kid would want to leave it’s mother in such a situation, we were punching the ground shouting for them to run but they couldn’t hear us as we were so far away but what else could we do? We knew by then that air strikes weren’t an option as the “leaderships” had clearly left us high n dry on that one n we so badly wanted the Serb controlled hills to be bombarded n cleared out of any snipers or heavy artillery. I still have nightmares about it to this day & suffer greatly from PTSD & the feeling of helplessness. We also had to deal with having People taken from our care only to be led into woods n executed. I to this day deplore the Serbs & for the rest of my army career I never got the trust back from our politicians for sending us in with our arms tied behind our backs. I also struggle with the feeling that I personally could of done more. Even if it meant being shot by the Serbs for refusing to hand over civilians, I really hate myself at times.
Mark, please try not to feel like that. You did as much as you possibly could and were dreadfully let down by your politicians. No fault of yours in any way, shape or form.
@@peterhall728 Thanks Peter, I appreciate your message.
@@marcs990 no worries mate. I am ex RAF and my father was 22 years Royal Signals. Before that he was a National Service man fighting in Malaya. You, and your mates out there, did a great job given the circumstances you were made to work within. Stay safe mate.
You served with great dignity as you all did. Nothing you could have done God bless
Serb nationalists are bastards. You n your mates did more than anyone else to save lives. Never be too proud of your successes and never be too ashamed of your defeats (real or otherwise). It what makes you the wonderful person you are.
While I wish the British and the International community could have done more to stop the Genocide, I'll forever be grateful to the British forces for their role in preventing the elimination of Bosnian Muslims.
i was one of the first into gorazde with the duke of boots the year before the fusiliers. we lost men killed and injured guarding that town. when we were leaving after handing over to the next infantry unit i had a chat with one of the locals who told me we were only there because of the oil reserves :) you'd have to go a long way to find a more ungrateful bunch of cants !
What you save Alija Izetbegovic isis terroris paid money to Serbs to keep .Gorazde WI be part of Serbian territory through great war what is coming soon
its the quiet calm describing situations that would turn any mere mortal into a nervous wreck that amazes
No tactical air support was a poor decision by senior people, sending people there not properly supported is unacceptable, they were excessively expose unnecessarily ✌️❤️🇬🇧
That's what happens when un bureaucrats are allowed to make military decisions!
A time honoured British military tradition. But they still get the job done.
Difficult to justify artillery deployment or wings of your air force for a peacekeeping mission. They sent what was possible to send.
@@TheWedabest it was a military decision, the French battalion pulled out as discussed in the interview. The British MoD decided to send fusiliers. Pay attention.
@@SwitchTF2 the un doesn't make military decisions, period! It was a un mission under the un control.
To former British soldiers reading this, the best thing you can do for the people in Bosnia is to document your experience as peacekeepers in writing. Because even today, there is no objective history of the war, or events of the 90s, in English. Bosnian Muslims are an extremely small and inconsequential group compared to Serbs and Croats, who have a combined global population of at least 20 million. Many do not speak English. Serbs and Croats are now adept at English and through their academies, many of which drive state policy, especially Croats, who want to sanitize their country's past, work at numerous prestigious think tanks and are important enough to influence discussions and public perceptions of facts, churning out poor quality self-exculpatory information in an information void. The Croatians are, for example, outright denying a HV presence in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If the HV was a force for good, why deny the objective fact of its presence in BiH in 1993?
very interesting, a very high level of professionalism is quite clear, did their job well
We were briefed on our Bosnia training by someone from Welch Fusiliers that was involved in this action.
@Hildebrand I'd love to see that, hopefully it'll remain for many years.
The Welsh Fusiliers , brill regiment , or was . Used Cymraeg to communicate , which really pissed off the Serbs, not many Welsh speakers in that bunch of murdering of scum.
Royal Welch Fusiliers……
I am from Gorazde... was engaged in 43 brigade, (east coast of the Drina river), scout platoon... was only one in my platoon who speaks english at that time... was one of the first who overtake CP (check point) from Brits on hill of "Kik", and i admit that most of the interview is acurate, and here i want to say hello to Eddy from Leeds... ill just add in here that most of the GB soldiers was terrified, and lost their sense of space and time at that time... after that, whole UN british troops never entered their camp (at the football stadioum) untill they was evacuated... anyway... thanks for those soldiers for everithing they did for us, and for those childrens in Gorazde at that time.. "mr. bombon" :)
From the british side i know they were trying to get the bosnian Muslim troops up the mountain to support the ops for about more than an hour and were worried about a friendly fire incident when they did turn up. The british troops in ops noted the serbs rotated fat old men for mad looking chetnik types in the 2 weeks before the attack
jel padalo gorazde tad
huh I dont remember commenting this
Served with a lot of the guys featured in this ,good drills.
We had another well decorated NI tour in Belfast (81hunger strikers)
Bit close to home to feature commendations from the conflict (Provo's war).the British government wouldn't want that pot stirring up with ongoing NI vets going back to court 😔
Tremendous interview with the best the British Army has...I used to think highly of Peter Inge...Field |Marshal the Lord Inge but after I researched Op Screwdrive - the plan to extract the Royal Welch Fusliers if the Serbs prevailed, I have re-evaluted my opinion: fast fixed wings and Harriers at low level in company with Chinooks.....right across the muzzles of hundreds of AA plus MANPADS....charge of the Light Brigade Mk 2.
this sounds exactly like the interviews with former Dutch UN troops at Srebrenica.
i often had trouble believing them. but dang, they where right.. no air support.. no help...
Difference is British Soldiers would have gone down with a fight
@@liambeevor7983 as mentioned here they did, and didn't go down.
My understanding was the Dutch did but had been prohibited from taking substantial amounts of ammo and he. Their own govt has directed that in an effort to suck UN dick. Alot of guys committed suicide due to the consequences.
@@liambeevor7983 Not really a fair example, plz look into Sbrencia before just spewing stupid comments. Its been a big legal case aswell so all the facts are pretty known. Clearly you havent a clue what happend there. Yes it was a failure of Dutch Leadership and UN leadership of hanging them out too dry. Dutch Commander literally got the choice: We have tanks surrounding the Town, if you dont surrender we will just shell you to kingdom come, which they had 0 defense against. Or surrender and your men live. Dare you 2 make the same choice in the situation they got put in with 0 help.
An they would have died.....verry smart...
You was not there my friend, go watch your war movie please.
Thank you for this. I was in my late teens during this conflict and never realised until now how 'hot' it became for UK troops.
I worked with a lad a few years ago who commanded a warrior during one of these missions. He never elaborated what happened over there, I could never figure out if this was due to what he witnessed :(
You lie about your name.
This is the third one of these I have watched in a row when ammunition shortages are cited BEFORE any major action has begun. Does the British Army learn nothing?
24:43 Where was the UN air support ? , seems very similar to HAC
UN air support? What’s that?
We deployed to Gorazde in late October 1994 as a part of 30 Signal Regiment, replacing the newer bit of equipment with the old stuff that we could actually get away with losing. Most of our Satcom detachments were scattered across Bosnia, we just happened to get shoved up to the front (I think they knew something was going to happen there), look about 2 weeks to get in, were there with 1 RGBW, had the wonderful time during the winter (cold but dry), wondered when the next convoy would come in and if it had food or fuel on it. We were also reporting back to our HQ in Split with weekly sitreps of what went on (some are quite amusing but still had a sense of what the atmosphere was like in the enclave), had my R&R and came back in with 1 RWF having tried a couple of times to get on a convoy, eventually did... Was there till mid-end of April 95 when my tour ended, my oppo who replaced me is actually still serving but he was there during all the action along with our tech (who ended up with an MiD), but 2 people running that det was pretty hard work. Best diet I never wanted, was a very difficult tour, even we had hostages taken on one of the convoys out of Gorazde, around December or January, they were held for about 2 weeks and one of the JCO's was shot in the December of 94, luckily it wasn't a bad injury considering, but it was a pretty hot zone, even with a cease fire in place. I should mention there was some very ingenious bits and pieces going on as well, those who knew, know what I am talking about, you can't beat the REME sometimes :)
You might be able to answer this. Why was rose so reluctant to use the air power that was available to him? Was it because he had to answer to Zagreb, London? Or did akashi just veto it? Thanks
@@TheWedabest probably retaliation on the ground troops. We had a situation where we were shelled by heavy artillery and a couple of hours later we had a pair of F16's fly over, but about 9 months previously a harrier had been shot down over Gorazde, the pilot was ok, avoided the serbs, there was also a lot of AA and SAM sites in the area which made it quite risky to fly there as well. But as also stated, the UN needed to approve flights and they were not a 24/7 organisation, it always felt like you had both your hands tied behind your back, the fact that the serbs dictated what went on the convoys rather than just sending in what we needed, meant they knew how much of everything we had, so working for the UN was a bit of a nightmare in this situation.
@@tonyb1223 I can only imagine working for the un would be a nightmare. Didn't a French fighter or two get shot in 95, if I'm not mistaken? Yeah they called the un's bluff every time. To do the right thing takes great courage! Something the un is not known for!!!
Ex sigs myself, was part of 211, 11 armd bde during the first UN deployment in 92, but sadly arrived whilst they were on tour.
Interesting a tech getting a gallantry award, what was the story behind that?
@@yallaboybrookwell4420 Not that much to it tbh, the det was basically 4 guys at that point, prior to that we had 3 Op's a DC, 2ic/crypto op, tech and ED. What they were left with was a tech full screw, a crypto op, 1 other operator and an ED. When it all kicked off, the RWF wanted to evac the det, lock it up and leave it, the guys spoke with Split and they said if you leave it, you destroy all the kit, so instead they left a tech and the crypto op to run things and the other 2 moved out of camp to a safe(er) area incase they needed to get out of there quickly.
Tech got the MiD as he was basically in charge of the det, he did get shot at once or twice, that may have helped 😄😁
I was at a legal training course back in the late 90s. A lady QC met her husband in the bar after the course. He had just landed back in the UK from Bosnia. He told us he had been in an observation post and under shelling only hours earlier. He was a huge fella. I wonder if he was this chap.
I worked as peacekeeping force in Yogoslav but failed to understand why this genocide was not prevented. There was a clear lack of will
I love these videos
Right man right place. Right bods rights place too.✌️
This is the reason why, at the beginning of Afghanistan, the US told whichever or whoever wanted in on killing bad guys, where subject to the Commander of the Task Force’s orders, there was not going to be the “we have to call our government for permission.” Surprisingly, most of the initial forces were all Special Operations forces.
Was in Gorazde from Aug 94 until April 95 attached to 1RGBW. Was the hardest tour I ever did. Serbs were just taking the piss all the time. UN was too weak with no mandate.would love to go back to Gorazde to see it now.
I did OP grapple 5,winter 94 in GV....my mind has blocked most of it.
Thanks for your service sir, maybe the ukranian and Dutch battalion were lack of initiatives to made sure the safety of the population during the time, you made some distinguish action that need the genuine strategy and some real action others can't hold.
Ukrainan battalion were on chetnik ( serb) side in Gorazde, they did not protecting town , they where helping agresor
@@salkoparadzik3794 it is the fact? They were there on behalf of the UN right?
it was a reality, they did not protect the city or civilians, in fact they were not passive, they were obviously on the side of the aggressors, they spied on those from the hill who shelled the city and killed for years everything that moved around the city. at that time the population of the besieged city was about 50,000 people by the vast majority of children of women and the elderly who hoped for UN protection but obviously the Ukrainians were all the opposite of why they were there, and as you heard the English battalion had their hands tied,
@@salkoparadzik3794 such tragic so Ukrainian now got to remorse thinks like what they did in Bosnia years ago
in any case, I am very sorry for the Ukrainian people who are now suffering because of someone's interests, I hope that the war will stop as soon as possible
15:21 I was in Bosnia NORDBAT2/ Tuzla region and I met those soldiers that stepped on the mines at the Norwegian field hospital ( Blue Factory )when I was there for my own injuries. Some really great lads. We spent about 2 days there or maybe 3 before they were sent by helicopter I think further south to be sent home. I have a lot of pictures from the hospital and I got a few souvenirs from these guys, among them their map over Gorazde and where they stepped on the mines. I remember one of the lads I'd say the luckiest one and the youngest one he stepped on what they called a "Gorazde mine" a home made little thing made with bullets, small amount of explosive and shrapnel. The bullet went through his boots/ foot, shot up under his cheek, in the mouth, wobbled around took out a few teeth and then out though his chin. The others had totally damaged feet/ legs.
I got in contact with one of the Norwegian doctors/ nurse that was still in contact with one or two of them so at least I know/ knew they were still around.
I remember this as it was yesterday and I never stop wondering about these lads. I'm still active in the military ( joined 1981 ) did 7 years 6 as NCO then the legion 5 yrs, back home and got commissioned in 1994 and did my second tour in Bosnia 1995. Then a tour in Macedonia 95-96 then Doboj 1996-97 and to finish my Balkan tour with Kosovo in 2000.
Then it's been Congo, West Sahara, Afghanistan 3 tours.
Mate, I was medevaced to the Blue Factory after a convoy accident in May 1994.
@@hido2
I was injured a few times when in Bosnia and I was at the Blue Factory 4 times, two times when the Norwegians had it ( one surgery ) then two times when Americans and Germans had it for two other surgeries. This was between Feb 1995 and Oct 1997.
I assume or at least hope everything worked out for you!
The Norwegians was amazing, such nice people.
Tuzla region was even worse in my opinion. Strongly allied groups in one town were killing each other in the next one over and for once it wasnt the serbs being the vilest pieces of excrement there.
Saying in Bosnia, "half the people say you came too late, the other half say you shouldn't have come at all."
General Rose's small group of SAS 'observers' were at least the best of foreigners.
31:55 Again this guy says it all , if you release the Wolfs let them do their job otherwise don't send them . If you put Armed Forces in harms way , let them deal with it as they are best equipped to know what to do . This man is a Professional Soldier and his frustrations show through .
Dai storey, hero. Yma o hyd. Ymlaen cymro.
I remember seeing a video years ago called Warriors about a British force in Bosnia,
That's Intelligence winning over emotions... Bravo
What’s the music used for the intro/outro?
The music is an original composition for the show, by very talented Will Farmer. Hope you like it!
Why does the video description say Bosnian Muslims? What ethnicity is that?
Hello to all UN soldiers from the UK who defended the city of Goražde at that time. I was a little boy, only eleven years old! Can someone know anything about John...surname I forget?!
They were both my bosses, and I tell you what , I would come out of retirement in an instant to work for these two amazing commanders
14:48 how do you "forage for food" in midwinter in Bosnian mountains? I guess it meant scrounging off the locals ;) ?
Abandoned houses/farms and loads of deers and boar in that region
A true warrior he's the type you need when shit goes south. Shows what good leadership and training can produce even though your back is against the wall go through shit watch the reaper hovering but telling him to foxtrot Oscar and take care of business then back for tea and medals 🏅
Every Rememberance Day there is a service in the garden of the British Ambassador's Residence in Sarajevo to remember the 55 Brits who died in the Bosnian deployment. They did their bit amid a stupid chaotic war.
I am from Gorazde there was British soldier Daz Marsden great man.
These are the type of men that should be governing our country. Especially these day's.
Thank you for all your help Mr.Westley.
All you had to do is arm Bosnians, lift embargo and it would be a different story. Serbians would have not have a chance to slotter so many Bosnians.
Guess they did not want to arm mujahideen fighters in the conflict because of security risks
BRILLIANT
It's really interesting how much publicity Sebrinica gets, nobody ever seems to mention Gorazde.
It is true that Srebrenica and the massacre that happened there is very well known. Without the UN troops from the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the story may have been very similar in Gorazde.
Also because Sebrencia became a big legal case. Since the UN has immunity they couldnt be blamed for handling the situation really bad. (same all over the board as this gentleman also says: No clear mission, not having airsupport when needed, troops not equipped for that kind of battle etc). So they blamed the Dutch Commander for surrendering. Serbs had given him a choice: You are surrounded by tanks, if you dont surrender we will shell you 2 shit which he had 0 defense against or surrender and your men live. He called for air support and help from the Dutch Gouverment and the UN several times, but the UN never came/responded didnt wanna lose face or whatever other crazy reason. So the Dutch Commander said it wasnt his fault etc. Been going on for years.
@@BFBSCreative May or may not. It is funny that you actually believe that this guy stopped the Serbian forces from taking the town over, without a single casualty on his side. That's some serious fiction going on there, mate. Serbian army could only be stopped by orders from General Mladić or President Karadžić. You need to research more to get the answer to why Žepa and Goražde weren't attacked with so much force like Srebrenica was. Your guests forgot to mention that no UNPROFOR were there to protect the Serbian village of Kravica in January 1993, when Naser Orić's muslim paramilitary forces massacred hundreds of Serbians on the Orthodox Christmas only, the 7th of January 1993. Each DEMILITARISED enclave, Srebrenica, Žepa and Goražde had local commanders like Orić with thousands of ARMED forces, who kept entering Serbian villages during 1992-95 and killing EVERYONE THEY CAUGHT. General Mladić warned the UN forces of what was going on many times, and as there was no response to stop the muslim paramilitaries killing WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ELDERLY, he decided to move into Srebrenica. At least, he let the women, children and elderly GO. Armed men fighting their way out through bushes were shot, and a large number of prisoners, for which there is absolutely no excuse. But can you imagine what killing over 8 thousand in a day or two could look like, is it really possible? Maybe in bad Hollywood movies...The number of Bosnian muslim forces killed during Operation Krivaja (Serbian Army codename for that action which went for several days) does not exceed 1300 maximum, according to real sources who actually were there the whole time, supported by extensive investigations in following months and years.The truth is that the whole muslim army casualties of the Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina were buried in Srebrenica, and portrayed as "the victims of genocide". Look up the ratio between Bosnian Muslim, Serb and Croat armies in active personnel during the war, or even the ratio between general population on the three sides, and then compare them to the casualties on all three sides during that war. You will see right away that term "genocide" cannot be used there at all, unless it has been adapted to some modern values, evaluated, and then applied to all three sides!!! Of course, if you WANT TO SEE.
Also, your guests should learn that at that time, we were all BOSNIAN, but Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats. Bosnia and Herzegovina does not belong to Bosnian Muslims only. You should also learn that Radovan Karadžić was no rebel nor invader, he was legally ELECTED representative of the Bosnian Serb people, as the constitutive subject to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his and his people's political and social demands during the break up of Yugoslavia were bluntly ignored, primarily by the Bosnian Muslim leadership.
You don't know much about this topic to confidently public vague films about it on TH-cam. Maybe you should interview Commander Thom Karremans or General Lewis MacKenzie to get a clearer picture, if you don't like talking to the Serbian representatives or components from this conflict.
Bad try...
Zepa, small...gorazde medium...srebrenica large.......
@@dutchwolflord5859 kind of see his point, but also he was in command - he had the chance to stand and fight or not to and as commander of a UN force in the area his duty was clear.
Just one question for all hypocrites. Where were all of you including the UN security forces once Bosnian Muslims together with their Saudi friends massacred Serbian villages all around Srebrenica for almost two years? Srebrenica was marked as a "safe civilian zone enclave" however do you know that during this time Bosnian Muslims command post was there right in the middle of the town leading the attacks over night right from that "safe zone" into the Serbian controlled surrounding villages. After Serbs returning fire to them they were moving back into Srebrenica accusing Serbs of attacking an enclave. If anyone notice when Serbs enter into Srebrenica in one of the areas they recorded Bosnian Muslims headquarters from where they lead attacks for all that time in from the of the UN troops noses who of course did nothing all that time as they did nothing as well when Serbs killed those people once they took control in town. Facts should be known from the very start and not only partial.
Show forensic evidence of a single mass grave with Serb victims anywhere from WWII to the 90s. If you show me evidence of one in Srebrenica, or around Srebrenica, I'll donate $500 to a charity for Serbian children suffering from cancer.
@@hasibhakanovic6682 Are you serious about WW2? April 1941 Mass hanging of mostly Serbian civilians in the town of Pančevo as retalition, whole event recorded by German cameraman. July 1941 Glina Church massacre where Serbian civilians were locked up and killed by shootings beeing burned alive, mass graves founded after WW2 thanks to the only survived person of that crime. All surrounding Serbian villages in the same period were also burned to the ground by Croatian Ustashe. August 1941 Skela massacre by Germans who are taking pictures in front of death Serbian civilians bodies. Mass hanging of civilians and rebels in Belgrade all bodies publicly exposed. October 1941 mass executions of Serbs in Kraljevo and Kragujevac massacres as a retalition action for Chetnik and Partisan attacks on German units, mass graves digged in on both locations, multiple pictures of executions. August 1941 Jasenovac concentration camp was formed where until end of the war tens of thousands Serbs and Jews were tortured and beeing killed on the most brutal ways, planty of first hand witnesses after the war, pictures, reports and descriptions from within the camp had been taken. Septembar 1941 mass execution of Serbs in town of Šabac by the Germans again photographies are taken and grave pit exists until today. recorded and classified in Military Museum in Belgrade... Should l continue with WW2?
@@rogyn8484 Show forensic proof
Can you name some decent books that explain all the happenings in the balkans since WW11 onwards. I don’t want to pick a side as I know it’s far too complicated for that.
@@robplazzman6049 You are asking the wrong question. In the Balkans history is written by frauds/liars, and the sources in English are re-writes of literature published by Balkan authors. The typical pattern: books are almost entirely written from secondary sources, without primary sources, as there were hardly any written records available as most of the Balkans until the beginning of the twentieth century was illiterate. Serbia itself had the lowest rate of literacy in Europe when WWI broke out, and to this day you can find rural villages in the Balkans in which the people literally live not much different to how they did in the Dark Ages. Competent scholars in the west capable of writing history were never interested in the Balkans, as there was nothing to be interested by, and literally, the only reason people know about the region is because of the most recent war. So there is an information void.
There is not even records of a conflict between Serbs and Croats up until 1991. Serbia and Croatia were Axis puppets and allies, and the remnants of the post-communist regimes even formed an alliance in the diaspora. The NDH and Nedic's Serbia had comprehensive diplomatic relations yet today's Serbs and Croats accuse each other mutually of genocide in the same period.
The Croatian Democratic Union in Bosnia-Herzegovina was created by a Serb, and the Serbian Radical Party, a Serbian nationalist party, was created by a Croat. The two are in fact in coalition in BiH, not trying to hide it, and have been from their founding.
Even in the most recent conflict Serbs and Croats can't point to documentary evidence of the battles they claimed to have fought, or even tell you, roughly, how many soldiers they killed and where. The source of information is actually state media of both countries. Imagine two countries without any concept of where their army is or what it is doing for years on end.
Take a look who are the respected cultural figures in those societies and ask yourself what the values of these people appear to be:
1. Tuđman was born to a family of illiterate peasants who were farmers, was a devout communist yet became an 'intellectual force' behind an anti-communist movement, and was a prolific writer of 'history' and is 'required reading' at all college-level programs on political studies in Croatia. He in fact participated in the mass murders of his fellow Croatians alongside Serbs after WWII, and overlooking his crimes, was able to become an elected president.
2. Karadžić was a petty fraudster, in fact convicted, who came to Bosnia during Tito's reign, not even from Bosnia, was educated by Sarajevan Muslims, passed university in spite of being a failed student, becoming a doctor by bribing his Bosniak professors, only to turned his guns on the town that educated him. After the war, he stole an identity of a real doctor, Dragan Dabic, who was killed by his forces, fled to Serbia, and practiced fraudulent medicine and robbed hapless sick Serbs of their last penny by practising what is not even recognized as medicine.
'Historians' of Croatia and Serbia normalize these figures that would be utterly repulsive to the rest of the world, even divorced from the accusations of war crimes in the latest war.
Even the dominant historical interpretations that can be falsified have been: the populations in the Balkans today are not even the historical populations (in fact, Belgrade used to have as many Jews as Serbs, and had an Armenian neighborhood), and the dominant narratives, for example 'Slavic migration' are false. Major population changes have occurred within Serbia itself, for example, the complete ethnic cleansing of Romanians, within the 20th century.
To a westerner, it's actually impossible to explain how much corruption there is in the Balkans, everywhere but principally in Serbia/Croatia. In the west scholars criticize their government no matter what, but in the Balkans, academics actually form governments and start the wars.
British troops also operated in Ahmici near Vitez and thanks to them today we know truth about crimes that bosnian croats did in that small village.
If we were to take a step back in time to an age when simple words had power and meaning, not like to today where there is too much exaggeration. I would say this about Major Richard Westley. There sits an honourable man
It is bullshit the city was trapped since 1992 and what this guys do is "Stolen Valor" and promotion of his book.
Not blowing his trumpet reserved but will gladly switch
@@Bossnierprove hes got stolen valour. What's your source and why haven't others called him out ?
Great man
Great interview
The critical point of the Bosnian war was in early 1994 not early 1995 when Gorazde was at the VRS mercy and they never had a better chance after that..
Very interesting indeed..Remember the Siege of Gorazde when it was happening and the feeling that we were having to keep a Brutal Serb Army at bay with one hand and a leg tied up!
That brutal srb army .....its something what in my opinion will do anyone for his own country what this ,,efort,,of nato totaly destroy
Its no justice when someone judge just one side and under his own interest
Brutal Serb Army you kept half disabled...? 😂😂😂😂😂
Another case of politicians not providing the essential support needed to fulfill the mission. I suspect that if they were the ones sitting in those OPs instead of luxury offices in London or New York things would have been different.