The Battle of Košare — 67 Days Defending the Fatherland's Border

The Battle of Košare is one of the brightest pages of the Yugoslav Army's defensive war in 1999. At a small border outpost in the wilderness of the Prokletije mountains, a group of young soldiers faced an enemy many times more numerous, backed by the world's most powerful military force — and held the line for a full 67 days, right up to the end of the war.

Where Košare Is

The Košare outpost stood on the Yugoslav-Albanian border, in Metohija, in the municipality of Đakovica, between Peć and Đakovica. It lay on the slopes of the Junik mountains, part of the Prokletije massif — harsh high-mountain terrain. The outpost itself sat on lower ground, while dominant peaks over two thousand metres high rose above it on every side.

This geography shaped the character of the battle. From Albanian territory the enemy held the higher positions, while the defenders had to hold the line from the more unfavourable, lower terrain. The outpost belonged to the 53rd Border Battalion of the Priština Corps of the Yugoslav Army.

Strategic Significance

Košare was not merely a point on a map. Through this stretch of the border, the enemy intended to break through from Albanian territory into the depth of Kosovo and Metohija. The goal was to open a corridor for bringing in manpower, weapons and ammunition from Albania, to sever the Yugoslav Army's communications between Đakovica and Prizren, and to create a ground route toward the heart of Metohija.

Had the breakthrough succeeded, the consequences for the entire defence of Kosovo and Metohija would have been severe. This is why the defence of Košare carried a significance far greater than the size of the outpost itself — the entire depth of the territory was being defended.

The Good Friday Assault

The battle began on 9 April 1999, on Orthodox Good Friday, in the early morning hours. The attack opened with a massive artillery barrage from the Albanian side, followed by an infantry assault from three directions. According to estimates, the enemy forces numbered around fifteen hundred fighters in the first wave.

The defenders — barely more than a hundred soldiers, mostly young men serving their compulsory military term — found themselves under fire of disproportionate ferocity. On the first day the enemy managed to seize the dominant peak of Rasa Košares, and soon after the position of Maja Glava, forcing the defenders to fall back to a second line of defence below the outpost.

The Line That Did Not Move

The very next day reinforcements arrived at Košare — the 2nd Battalion of the 125th Mechanized Brigade. Somewhat later, elite units were brought in: the 63rd Paratrooper and 72nd Special brigades. The Yugoslav Army stabilised the front and halted any further enemy advance.

From mid-April until the end of the war, despite constant attacks, artillery strikes and NATO air bombardment, the second line of defence was never broken. The enemy held the captured heights but never managed to break out of the narrow bridgehead nor to open the way toward Đakovica.

The Cost and the Outcome

The defence of Košare was paid for with the lives of 108 members of the Yugoslav Army — officers, conscript soldiers, reservists and volunteers. Some of them died in NATO air strikes that supported the enemy's ground offensive. More than a hundred fighters were wounded.

The battle ended only when the entire war ended — with the Kumanovo Agreement and the cessation of NATO bombing in June 1999. The Yugoslav Army withdrew from Košare in accordance with the agreement, as the result of a political decision and not of defeat on the battlefield. Until the very last day, the border along that axis remained unbroken.

Košare has remained in Serbian memory as a symbol of dignified defence — of young men who, faced with an enemy shielded by the world's most powerful military force, chose to remain at their positions. Their sacrifice must not be forgotten.