AmWorld Yugoslavia Terms

1389
This refers to the year of the Battle of Kosovo. It was fought between the Serbs
and the Ottoman Empire, on June 15 and is now celebrated as St. Vitus’ day. The
Ottoman troops was commanded by the Sultan, Murad I. Unfortuantely, he was killed in
the middle of the battle. During the fighting, both sides sustained heavy losses so it is
difficult to grant either side a “victory”. The Ottomans lost their Sultan and the Serbian
coalition lost most of their political elite. However, the battle did stop the Ottomans from
advancing further into the Balkans. Milos Obilic gained martyrdom and fame among the
Serbian people because he was the one who killed the Sultan of the Ottoman empire.

1998
The beginnings of the ethnic cleansing that were part of the Kosovo War. The Serbian
government started to crack down on separatists who wanted to break from Serbia. Led
by Slobodan Milosevic, the government forces fought the separatist militias and bombed
villages that were thought to support them. Much of the targeted Kosovo Liberation
Army is ethnic Albanians.

NATO Troops
The Bosnia Campaign and the Serbia campaign were the first military tests for North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. Interestingly, Russia tried to exert some influence by
insisting that NATO’s actions should be approved by the UN Security Council where
Russia has veto power. Because of political pressures, NATO prefers to conduct precision
air attacks rather than ground assaults to minimize casualties. Also, many people criticize
NATO’s reluctance and sluggishness in intervention in the region.

Josip Tito
He was the President of Yugoslavia at the time. Some attribute him for keeping
Yugoslavia together for 35 despite all the pressures that threatened to explode the country.
He was a WWII hero because he fought the Nazis and he was also a hero in the Yugoslav
civil war. During the Cold War, he managed to keep out Soviet influence and even
attempted to lead the non aligned movement.

1918
Formation of Yugoslavia
May 4, 1980
Yugoslavia President Josip Tito dies.

Slobodan Milosevic
President of Serbia, then of the entire Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Dayton, Ohio
Site of the Dayton Peace accords between the former Yugoslav republics that were at war.

Sarajevo
The city was held in siege for the longest time in modern military history. The Bosnian
government declared their independence from Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was not going to
let go with out a fight so the Yugoslav People’s Army and the Bosnian Serb forces laid
siege to Sarajevo for almost 4 years. During this time, over 12,000 people were killed and
50,000 were wounded. Various cultural and historical landmarks were destroyed during
the length of the siege including the National Library and the Parliament.