Austro-Hungarian Occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878

Among the decisions of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, articulated in of the Treaty of Berlin (July 13, 1878) and revising the conclusion of the Treaty of San Stefano (March 3, 1878), was the provision for the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian Empire; formally Bosnia and Herzegovina remained under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Muslim and Orthodox Christians opposed the occupation. Austrian-Hungarian military forces, numbering 82,000 men, met resistance a weakly organized, predominantly Muslim militia of 40,000 soldiers (along with a number of associated Orthodox chieftains) led by Sarajevo's agitator Hadzi Lojo. The main Austrian forces, so called "occupying units" of 9,400 troops under the command of a Croat, Baron Josip Filipovic, quickly broke through northern Bosnia, conquering Banja Luka, Maglaj and Jajce. After the battle of Vitez in central Bosnia, in which the Austro-Hungarians decisively defeated the Bosnian Muslims, Filipovic's army captured Sarajevo, breaking the determined resistance of the local Muslim population. Continuing to advance through Herzegovina and Novi Pazar Sanjak, imperial forces occupied the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Completion of the occupation took less than three months, during which the overall losses of the Austrian units amounted to 946 dead and 3980 wounded soldiers. Considering the poor condition of the roads, in accordance with one of the contemporaries it can be concluded that Austria has occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina in a time soldiers needed to tramp it from end to end. Austro-Hungarian forces needed only six months to secure Bosnia, from the time of the Treaty of Berlin, despite the hostility of most of the population.

References

Timelines of War, 358; Military History, 924; Yugoslavia - A Country Study; History of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Austro-Hungarian Rule.

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