'We could hear the burning': Canada's top soldier remembers the Battle of Medak Pocket

It is sometimes called Canada's "forgotten battle."

Thirty years ago this week, Canadian soldiers on a peacekeeping mission fought a pitched battle against Croatian forces near the village of Medak in the former Yugoslavia. Today, military members marked the anniversary of the Battle of Medak Pocket with a low-key ceremony at the national peacekeeping memorial in Ottawa, a commemoration not attended by any government ministers. 

The vicious battle in September 1993 — fought against Croatian forces in the former Yugoslavia on a peacekeeping mission where there was precious little peace to keep — has had a major legacy for Canadian soldiers and for the country's top military commander.

Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff, led the reconnaissance unit that uncovered and documented the massacre of civilians and the horrors of ethnic cleansing in the region. The mission forever changed the face of Canadian peacekeeping and shapes Eyre's decisions to this day.

The battle, which raged over eight days, saw four Canadian soldiers wounded — a remarkable result given its scale. Historians say the 16-hour firefight between Croatian troops and Charlie Company of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) was, at that point, the biggest engagement fought by Canadians since the Korean War.

A number of Croatian troops were reportedly killed.

Before he sat down with CBC News, Eyre had never spoken publicly about the experience. He gave an interview a number of years ago for the PPCLI regimental history.

He and his reconnaissance platoon were on the edges of the firefight as it unfolded. They later led the way into the village of Lički Čitluk, which had been razed to the ground and where as many as 16 mutilated corpses of civilians were discovered.

"It was surreal, I guess is probably the best term," said Eyre, adding the scenes of death and devastation had a profound impact on him as a young captain just beginning his career.

"I was too busy to be angry [at the time]. I was too worried about everything that was going on, you know."

Under Croatian artillery fire, Canadian troops attempted to construct a fortified position in a spot that had been occupied by Serbians who were attempting to form a breakaway republic in the area. The Canadian and French UN forces returned fire.

The Croatian commander, Brig.-Gen. Rahim Ademi, agreed to a ceasefire and pledged to withdraw when his troops were unable to dislodge the peacekeepers.

The next day — Sept. 16, 1993 — was cloudy and grey as Canadian troops, including Eyre, moved in to enforce the ceasefire. They were held up at a heavily fortified roadblock outside Medak.

"We had moved forward to a Croatian roadblock, and we could hear the shooting. We could hear the burning," said Eyre. "We reported back that we believed that ethnic cleansing was happening."