Yugoslavia has long been the stepchild of European politics throughout the Cold War. Led by the resistance fighter turned President, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, the nation of Yugoslavia parried the influences of NATO and the Warsaw Pact through the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement. Yet the nation was not oblivious to the threats of the two super powered alliances and had several plans in place if the nation was forced to fight one, or both, of the alliances which bordered it directly. That was then, this is now. The death of Marshal Tito in May 1980 has since plunged the nation of Yugoslavia into a bit of a crisis, Tito had always acted as a unifying figure and had been able to hold together Yugoslavia through force of personality. With him gone the cracks immediately began to show, problems between the Croats, the Serbs, and the Bosnians began to reemerge. Ethnic tensions have begun to simmer and successive weak leadership has made the country horrifically unstable and prone to a breakdown.
This has drawn the attention of the global super powers. For the Soviet Union, this is a matter of survival. While the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia had, in recent times, a rather frosty relationship; the country was still a bulwark against NATO expansion. Warsaw Pact nations counted on Yugoslavia and neutral Austria as a buffer zone against the NATO states around it. Greece had briefly left NATO for six years but had recently been readmitted, and a collapsing Yugoslavia could prove a window for NATO to complete the encirclement of the Warsaw Pact where they were weakest. The Soviet Union was still dealing with the fallout from its ongoing invasion of Afghanistan which was unpopular and without any real strategic objective. Soviet forces had begun a tepid withdrawal, turning over the majority of combat operations to Afghan forces however in general the morale of the nation had taken a turn in light of these operations. The backdrop of a decline in Sino-Soviet relations was also high on the table for the Soviet Union, faced with a serious leadership crisis as they have lost three General Secretaries one after another. The newest one is the first in a wave of new blood, and a hardline socialist. Grigory Romanov beat out his rival to the position, Mikhail Gorbachev, and has assumed power. He views the very basis of world socialism and the principles of the October Revolution under threat, though even he sees the folly of the Soviet escapade in Afghanistan. Romanov widely described the 1983 Operation Able Archer as a dramatic escalation of tensions, and now as the General Secretary he is charged with dealing with such tensions. As such, Yugoslavia is a barrier that the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact can not afford to lose. Austria’s neutrality in a conflict would be dubious at best in the view of the Soviet Union, so the best bulwark they maintain is in fact Yugoslavia.
The United States has shaken off the disaster of Vietnam to emerge into the 80s under new direction and with a new purpose. Twice as committed to toppling the Communist authority in Europe, and dealing with a now hostile player in the Middle East, the United States has already shown its intent to project new strength with Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. The pending chaos in Yugoslavia is, for the United States and NATO, an opportunity. The ability to carve out a pro-NATO faction in Yugoslavia is an attractive prospect and will give NATO an advantage and another nation right on the doorstep of the Warsaw Pact. However there was intense risk with this course of action, while Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union did maintain a frosty relationship, the relationship between NATO and Yugoslavia was still quite contentious. NATO powers also were very much on edge; the crisis in Iran, recent issues in the Caribbean, and the Falklands War all had brought the Alliance to several military crisis points. Yet not all of NATO’s interventions or conflicts had brought positive results. In Lebanon, over two hundred Marines perished and the multinational peacekeeping force left shortly after. This doesn’t count the continuing difficulties both in Berlin and across Europe. An American intelligence agent, Arthur Nicholson, had recently been killed by Soviet sentries in East Germany which has brought about a new row in diplomatic tensions. NATO has benefited from continuous leadership however, something the Soviet Union is lacking in between the deaths of three consecutive General Secretaries and the new start of a fourth.
Yugoslavia as a recognizable state broke down officially in December of 1985. The 1974 Constitution had begun an irreversible decline of greater power to the individual Republics than the Central Government. With Tito in charge this was less of an issue, but without his personality and authority the members of the Presidium began to squabble. Things came to a head slowly at first, the rival republics would have different issues and hold up internal trade among the others and require Belgrade as a mediator, but this was simply a prelude. It was under the year long chairmanship of Radovan Vlajkovic, who ruled but was from a simple autonomous province and not a major republic, that true breakdowns began. Miner strikes in Kosovo proved to be the tipping point. The man in line to the Presidency, Sinan Hasani, protested and threatened to resign not just himself but KOSOVO from the Yugoslav Federation. This was in regards to the threats from Belgrade of sending in the National Army, again. Vlajkovic backed down, against the advice of his Prime Minister Milka Planinc, and as one all the Republics saw Belgrade as unable to control anything. Each Republic slowly devolved into varying degrees of autonomous fiefdoms, some still with loyalty tied to Belgrade and others going completely rouge. The National Army, unsure of loyalties, was paralyzed. The Territorial Defense units, created as a reserve militia in a way to assist the National Army in the face of invasion, suddenly became the law of the land. Wealthy politicians also amassed private security forces which flaunted both the National and Local authorities.
As the New Year rolled around, a strenuous peace was still kept but the major global powers were reacting. The Yugoslav Army was, at times, the fourth largest military in Europe. With the potential of elements of it going rogue, both NATO and the Warsaw Pact heightened their threat levels. The United States readied elements of the Global Response Force from the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, and maneuvered its annual Operation REFORGER to be kept in waiting for possible rapid deployment to Yugoslavia. Other NATO forces took note, and in conjunction with the United States nations such as Canada, West Germany, and the United Kingdom prepared a NATO Balkans Rapid Reaction Corps. The Hellenic Republic also mobilized forces in the event of emergency on the border. The Warsaw Pact was horrified, any destabilization could lead to the fall of an outwardly socialist nation in Yugoslavia. This could set a dangerous precedent for the weaker of the Alliance's members, particularly after the false starts of the Prague Spring and the Hungarian abortive uprising. Soviet officials immediately rerouted the lion's share of forces earmarked for Afghanistan and sent them hurtling to forward deployments in both Hungary and Bulgaria. Soviet forces reached these positions in full by mid-February, roughly the same as American counterparts.
Then the wars began, problems between Macedonia and portions of Kosovo led to an exchange of gunfire between militias. Belgrade ordered both the Air Force and the Army to intervene, to stark silence from each. This was the final line, by in large the Army had previously listened and stood up to prevent any sort of ethnic conflicts and kept a very tedious but lasting peace. However by now the military had enough of being the sole thing enforcing the whims of Belgrade across the whole nation. The regional factionalism had begun to spread throughout the Armed Forces as well. Neither side was immune. Things devolved quickly afterwards, zealotous Croatian Catholics stormed the League of Communists offices in Zagreb and slaughtered inhabitants and a brutal forty-eight hours of rioting and militia clashes tore through Croatia. Air Force sorties are attempted by Federal forces but rouge TD AAA batteries ward off the brief attempt at restoring order. Violence and ethnic tensions boil over across the border and the entire nation begins to resemble a bubbling over cauldron.
Both NATO and WARPAC had been in secret negotiations with various actors throughout the country of perhaps outright independence or forming a coalition of Republic’s for or against either side. However now as the country went up in multifaceted Civil War. Enraged, Romanov orders WARPAC forces to cross the borders into the adjacent Yugoslavia to “Pacify the nation and make it safe once more for Socialism.” His desires to protect socialism at all costs mean committing the Soviet Army to another intervention. This move draws an immediate reaction from NATO, who deploys forces from Italy into Croatia to “Restore order and render assistance to a failed state.”
Both sides cross the border within hours of one another, and in Yugoslavia there is chaos. No one is sure to either welcome or resist the outside forces, most are too busy with their own quarrels. Serbia is relatively accommodating of Soviet forces, but outright hostile to accompanying Bulgarian and Hungarian forces. Elements of the Yugoslav Air Force in fact bombs a Bulgarian convoy crossing the border. NATO forces enter through Croatia first, and find the tinderbox of the region still alight. JNA forces have all but completely withdrawn and Croatian Home Guard and Territorial Defense are abrasive but do not openly engage the coalition forces. Yugoslav Air Force jets and NATO jets do fly near one another but do not openly engage. Yet there are certain problems, militias do engage NATO and WARPAC forces, although the engagements are usually only a few rounds before fleeing. This causes forces on both sides to be horrifically on edge as they spread out. NATO forces begin seaborne landings in Croatia to facilitate further incursions into Bosnia, which the Soviets are entering erstwhile through Serbia. Macedonia and the Autonomous Provinces of Serbia fall to WARPAC forces in relatively quick succession, although there is a standoff between Greek and Bulgarian forces in Southern Macedonia.
To both sides, the small Socialist Republic of Montenegro takes center stage. Directly bordering Serbia, and having access to the sea, this nation is in the cross hairs for both NATO and WARPAC strategists. Both sides have begun to overextend their lines as they try and carve out as much influence in the regions as possible, and only Montenegro remains relatively untouched in the first days of intervention. Now both forces aim to send out units in force, Soviet forces recently arrived from the transfer of men from Afghanistan are being sent down through Serbia to enter Montenegro with the goals of securing the major highways and cities for Soviet reinforcements to enter through. Meanwhile NATO is planning an ambitious airborne drop to the outskirts of the capital of Titograd and using this drop to secure a swath of land as a barrier to defend against a further amphibious landing of the main portion of NATO forces, which will then link up with the airborne forces and push inland. NATO and WARPAC forces are on a collision course in the tiny region of Montenegro. And the city of Titograd looks to be the conduit for two alliances meeting face to face for the first time.
It has now been 2 whole months since the NATO and Soviet invasion of crumbling Yugoslavia. The initial invasion was a failure but NATO still held on to Titograd for dear life. In early April the Soviets launched a counter attack with friendly Yugoslavian forces to kick the NATO forces back to the sea. The battered 82nd airborne held firm against the VDV counter offensive and was able to hold the line and save the city from collapse but at a high price to both sides. Consequently both sides have only been seeing limited small engagements as they lick their wounds.
The 505th PIR has spent the last few weeks behind the lines refitting and bringing the few replacements they've been receiving up to speed. The morale is generally high among the soldiers following the failed Soviet counter offensive, which many are calling, “an eye for an eye”.
Soviet forces are currently spread severely thin between Afghanistan, Europe, and now the conflict in Yugoslavia. Replacements are being transferred in from various other VDV units as combat operations in Afghanistan are still at a standstill. Their morale is still high even after the latest loss since they are facing a worthy opponent.
A new crisis in Chernobyl has caused the Soviet Union to reroute all helicopters and most of their fuel supplies to assist in the clean up efforts. This has put Warpac forces in Yugoslavia in a dire situation which NATO has taken into account despite Russia's attempts to hide the ongoing disaster.