The Province Thursday, April 15,
1999
MARCH ON BELGRADE NEEDS 200,000
WASHINGTON — NATO has detailed plans on how to invade all
of Yugoslavia, not just Kosovo.
Military and political leaders still hope round-the-clock air
strikes will force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept
peace. But if not, NATO may be forced to adopt another plan — as
yet unapproved — for sending thousands of soldiers to fight their
way into Yugoslavia.
It would take a minimum of six to eight weeks to assemble
enough tanks and troops to launch a full-scale invasion. One plan
calls for a force of up to 200,000 troops, according to a senior
military official who asked not to be named.
Current and former military officers no longer believe it
practical to fight only for Kosovo. If NATO puts a single soldier
into combat, they argue, NATO would have to fight its way all the
way to Belgrade.
"There would be no point in just taking Kosovo," said one
military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "You'd have
to take the whole country down."
NATO last year drew up plans to drive into Yugoslavia on the
ground. In one scenario, with considerable help from the air, NATO
envisioned doing the job with 140,000 troops. In another, facing
fierce resistance, NATO needed 200,000 soldiers.
There are three possible axes of attack: north from Albania and
Macedonia, where NATO peacekeepers are assembling; up through
the small Yugoslav republic of Montenegro; and south out of
Hungary, the route taken by Germans in the Second World War.
Macedonia has the best roads, but its government has opposed
an invasion, and Greece, whose ports are vital to move forces into
Macedonia, has balked at letting NATO land more troops.
Albania offers few routes over the mountains into Kosovo.
Montenegro is part of Yugoslavia and so resistance from Belgrade's
2nd Army would be likely.
Hungary, which borders the plains of northern Serbia and just
joined NATO, offers the best option.
'The fastest way to Belgrade is from Budapest," said retired
Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, who led U.S. peacekeeping troops
into Bosnia in 1995.
Hitler's Wehrmacht, however, thought the same but Yugoslav
guerrillas tied down 30 German divisions.
— Knight Ridder
