The 501st Famous Mountain Brigade () was formed on July 19, 1992, as the First BihaÃÂ Infantry Brigade in Kamenica near BihaÃÂ, with the aim of defending BihaÃÂ and its surroundings from Serbian attacks. Although the brigade had no problems with the number of men, the main problem of this brigade and the entire Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the lack of weapons and military equipment, despite its contribution during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was extremely significant and large.
The brigade was formed shortly after the first attacks on the city of BihaÃÂ, and the first combat tasks were to defend the first line of defense around BihaÃÂ. During the first half of the war, the brigade did not have significant offensive actions, the main actions were of a defensive nature with the aim of preventing the city from falling into the hands of the aggressors. Significant operations in which the brigade gave its contribution were the liberation of Grabeà ¾, RipaÃÂ, and other settlements in Operation Grabeà ¾ 94, followed by operations: Winter 94, Morning, Spider, Ripaà95, Sana 95.
The 501st Famous Mountain Brigade was formed on July 19, 1992, at the very beginning of the attack by Bosnian Serb paramilitary formations on the besieged BihaÃÂ district, which gained its true shape and intensity in the following days. The brigade was composed of young volunteers from the BihaÃÂ municipality and new refugees from the surrounding occupied territory. When forming the brigade, it consisted of:
On the day of the formation, there were 85 officiers, 125 non-commissioned officers and 1131 fighters.
On the day of the formation of the brigade, it was structured as follows:
The 501st brigade had 307 dead, 1763 wounded, 69 missing or captured and 518 injured or a total of 2657 soldiers. 29 soldiers are "Zlatni Ljiljani" - recipients of the Order of the Golden Lily.