Today in History: Operation Storm begins in Croatia (watch in pics)

New Delhi, Aug 4: On August 5, 1995, Croatian armed forces launched a massive offensive, codenamed "Operation Storm", that put an end to the four-year uprising that affected a third of its territory by armed elements from the country's Serb minority.The battle, launched to restore Croatian control of 10,400 square kilometres of territory, representing 18.4% of the country, was the largest European land battle since the Second World War. Operation Storm commenced at dawn on 4 August 1995 and was declared complete on the evening of 7 August, despite significant mopping-up operations against pockets of resistance lasting until 14 August.The 1995 Operation Storm conducted by the Croatian military brought not only a reversal of fortune on the battlefield, but also prompted another wave of displacement – this time in the opposite direction. Some 250,000 Croatian Serbs fled the country and found refuge in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) and in the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Watch in pics the march and victory of the Croatian armed forces in Operation Storm:The military operation called Operation Storm lasted 84 hours and was the largest European land offensive since World War II. The lightning military campaign brought victory for Croatia but unleashed a three-month ethnic cleansing campaign to drive out Serbs. Above, soldiers from the Croatian Army's 101st Brigade celebrate after taking part in Operation Storm and the recapture of the Serb-occupied Krajina regionOperation Storm was a resounding victory for the Croatian army which recaptured the Krajina region, territory under Serb control since the start of the Yugoslavia conflict in 1991. General Wesley Clark, of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and later Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe called it "a turning point" in the warThe military victory was quickly tarnished by television images of 200,000 Serbs fleeing their houses in long columns of cars and tractors laden with possessions along with reports of atrocitiesAnte Gotovina was the general in command and Mladen Markac was in charge of the "special police". They have both been found guilty of going beyond the customs of war to "forcibly and permanently remove the Serb population" from KrajinaThe operation was launched on 4 August 1995 with a propaganda, misinformation and psychological warfare campaign. Radio, television and other media broadcast messages that Croatia forces were about to launch an offensiveSerbs were told "you are free to go" and that large convoys of their fellow citizens were leaving, civilians were shown maps with marked "exit corridors"In order to prevent Serb refugees from returning, the Croatian forces then started systematically plundering and destroying those settlements. Gotovina was then held accountable for the unlawful killings of 324 Serb civilians who did not manage to leave the area, including unarmed men without military status and elderly and disabled peopleBreaking the line near town of PetrinjaCroation tank in town of Petrinja after heavy fightings, tank belongs to 2.guards brigadeCaptured Serb G-2 in Udbina airbaseSoldiers of 1st guards brigade in Kordun areaShut down Croatian MI-24 in Dinara areaSerb general surender his 21st Kordun corpsUdbina airbase just before entering of Croatian troops