Bloody Easter at Košare — April 1999

The Battle of Košare had several peaks, moments when the pressure on the defenders reached its height. One of the hardest was that around Orthodox Easter of 1999 — days remembered in Serbian memory as the „Bloody Easter".

A New Great Attack

After the first blow at the beginning of April and the stabilisation of the front in the middle of the month, the enemy did not abandon its intention to break through the defence. At the end of April, around Orthodox Easter, a new great attack followed, one of the fiercest in the entire battle. The enemy sought to use all of its numerical and firepower superiority to break the defenders.

The attacks were unceasing, accompanied by artillery fire and attempts at an infantry breakthrough on several axes at once. For the defenders of Košare, these were days in which the fate of the entire defence was once more being decided.

The Days of the Greatest Losses

The Easter attacks took many lives. According to the records of the course of the battle, in those days a considerable number of defenders were killed — among them the young platoon leader Tibor Cerna. These were some of the bloodiest days of the entire battle, which is how they earned their name.

What makes this period especially hard is the contrast between the Christian feast of joy and resurrection and the brutal reality of a battlefield on which young men were dying. Just as the battle began on Good Friday, so one of its hardest moments fell on Easter — the days that are the holiest for the Serbian people.

The Defence That Did Not Give Way

Despite the ferocity of the attacks and the heavy losses, the defenders of Košare withstood the Easter ordeal as well. Even then the enemy did not manage to break through the second line of defence. Every assault was repelled, every attempt at a breakthrough was stopped.

This perseverance bears witness to the exceptional morale and self-sacrifice of the defenders. After more than two weeks of unceasing fighting, exhausted and decimated, they still held their positions. The „Bloody Easter" became proof that the defence of Košare could not be broken even by the fiercest blows.

Remembrance of the Fallen

Those who died during the Easter attacks deserve a special place in the memory of Košare. Their sacrifice fell on the days of the greatest Christian feast, giving that sacrifice an added, spiritual weight.

Today, when the anniversaries of the battle are marked, the „Bloody Easter" is remembered as one of the hardest moments of the defence — and as proof that the courage of the defenders did not give way even when it was hardest. Lest it be forgotten.