Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. It was screened on BBC One on 20 and 21 November 1999. The serial tells the story of a group of British peacekeepers serving in a peacekeeping operation of the UNPROFOR in Vitez, in Bosnia during the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing in 1993.Warriors, IMDb The serial was released on VHS on 29 November 1999. On 7 January 2004 the serial was issued on DVD in the Netherlands.
The film emphasises the contradictions of the mandate of the peacekeepers, and the psychological trauma that they sustain while being forced to observe atrocities perpetrated against civilians without being able to intervene, and being subject to deliberate provocations to which they are unable to respond. The ironic title of the programme is taken from the name of the armoured vehicle used by the British forces, the FV 510 Warrior. Music for the serial was written by Debbie Wiseman.Reviews , debbiewiseman.co.uk When it aired in the United States, the serial was re-titled Peacekeepers.
Plot Episode one In Liverpool, 1992, the soldiers are seen going about their lives, on leave after a recent tour in Northern Ireland. Sergeant Sochanik is struggling to cope with the recent death of his brother in an accident, whilst he was away. James and Skeet celebrate the 16th birthday of Skeet's younger sister, Sandra. In their base, Lieutenant Feeley is briefed that the battalion is to deploy to Yugoslavia for peacekeeping purposes. Lieutenant Loughry is informed by Major Stone over the phone, and is forced to postpone his forthcoming wedding, much to the anger of his fiancée, Emma. James and Skeet go out, eventually following a hen night to a local nightclub. After the pair befriend the girls, the groom appears, one of the girls admitting her dislike to James after the groom had previously attempted to grope her. The groom, spotting Skeet dancing with his fiancée, Cheryl, attempts to interject, only for James to drag him out effortlessly before warning him to not cause trouble. In the morning, Cheryl expresses her regret at not meeting Skeet sooner, before being dragged away by her friend to the wedding. When the pair get home, they find out that their leave has been cancelled, with James telling his grandmother, and Skeet telling his sister.
The unit are flown out to Yugoslavia, where they load into their white-painted Warriors. James serves as the gunner on Lieutenant Feeley's Warrior, Three-Zero, the lead of the convoy, while Skeet serves as its driver. Driving into Vitez, in the Lašva Valley, they note damage, as well as groups of soldiers, before briefly stopping to pass out sweets. At the base, a former school, they receive a briefing, where they are told their mission is to "make sure these people don't starve", and their mandate is that "we do not take sides, we don't move refugees, we don't start ethnic cleansing, we are not here to redraw the ethnic map of Bosnia", before being informed that their rules of engagement prevent shooting unless at direct risk themselves. Rik Langrubber, from the UNHCR, explains the situation, as James and Skeet discuss forthcoming football matches. While standing guard at night, two soldiers hear screaming, followed by a gunshot, seemingly able to witness whatever has just taken place yet unable to intervene.
The next day, the platoon go out to pick up an injured Muslim child, leaving the base with their new interpreter, Minka. Along their route, they are blocked by anti-tank mines at a checkpoint guarded by Croatian soldiers, who demand to be allowed to check the Warriors. They are eventually persuaded to let the Warriors through, who then roll through a damaged village. Upon arriving at the destination house, a small crowd of Croats has gathered outside, who refuse to enter because they believe the house to be occupied by Muslims. While talking to the residents, who have been informed they have 20 minutes to leave before the house is burnt down, the residents mention armed men visiting in the previous night and driving many locals away, with the small boy having jumped from a balcony to get away. Armed men in Croatian uniforms then show up, to fulfil their threats. Lieutenant Feeley attempts to convince them to leave the residents alone, but is unsuccessful, and the British soldiers evacuate the residents as the house is set alight. Langrubber arrives and admonishes Feeley for evacuating the civilians in the Warriors, stating that doing so is helping to ethnically cleanse the area and that the soldiers' job is merely to evacuate the child, with the British soldiers complying. The child is found, badly injured, in a drainage pipe along the river, and rescued by Skeet. As the Warriors return to base with the child, they come upon the same checkpoint, unguarded but with the mines replaced. Lieutenant Feeley jumps out and kicks the mines out of the way, the Warriors getting through before the soldiers can return to stop him. He is scolded for this by Captain Gurney, as Langruber is significantly delayed by the angered soldiers when trying to drive through later. Lieutenant Loughrey and Minka chat, whilst Skeet watches over the resting child. He is visited by Lieutenant Feeley, who notes a small matchbox the child is clutching, and carefully pries a note out of it, which contains a phone number. Minka calls the phone number, finding it to be the boy's mother, enabling them to be reunited.
Lieutenant Feeley and Lieutenant Loughrey share a civilian house, and are invited to Christmas dinner by the neighbours. The platoon is sent to observe a crossing guarded by Serbian forces, where between 6 and 7 thousand refugees are trying to make their way across. When they arrive, soldiers are stripping random civilians of any valuable items, and randomly firing shots into the air to intimidate the civilians. One soldier strips a woman of more and more clothing, before James intervenes and guides her away. At this, the rest of the platoon takes a more active role, preventing the soldiers from looting the civilians and aiding the civilians in carrying burdens, in contravention of their orders. Langrubber arrives, but does not attempt to stop the platoon. Afterwards, during a Christmas phone call, Emma mentions that she is experiencing morning sickness. Minka is visibly distressed when told of this. The platoon puts on a Christmas party, inviting several local children.
Lieutenant Feeley and Lieutenant Loughrey prepare to visit the neighbours for dinner, but Feeley tells Loughrey that since Muslims don't drink, they cannot take wine, leading them to instead bring bananas. Loughrey is called back to base, leaving Feeley to meet the neighbours alone, but the husband is delayed by work, as he works at an explosives factory. The neighbours' daughter, Hajra, is upstairs, playing music. Feeley is embarrassed to realise his mistake when offered a drink by the wife, Almira, which he accepts, drinking whisky along with the husband, Naser. Naser was a Harvard graduate, and together with Almira share their thoughts with Feeley about the situation. Almira expresses her belief that the valley is cursed, something Naser does not believe.
During the next patrol, the Warriors drive through an active warzone, with burning vehicles and dead bodies strewn around. One appears to have been shot while walking with groceries. James attempts to dismiss the situation with humour, as they pass several soldiers engaged in a gun battle. A report comes in of a pregnant woman needing an ambulance, so Three-Zero takes the job, turning back. Soldiers run past as they move, using Three-Zero for cover. The vehicle jerks to a sudden stop as Hookway brews tea inside the passenger compartment with the boiling vessel, scalding himself. Initially, the crew are unsure why Three-Zero stopped so abruptly, until James realises Skeet is not responding, and attempts to investigate by crawling through the narrow confines of the Warrior, finding Skeet has been hit by a sniper. The rest of Three-Zero are able to extract Skeet from his seat as a gun battle rages around them, but he is seemingly already dead by the time reinforcements arrive. James grieves the loss of his best friend, visiting him in the morgue, as Feeley blames himself. When he tells the rest of the platoon, one soldier requests they be allowed to attack the building where the shot came from in revenge, but is told not to. James makes the call to inform Sandra, stating he wishes it had been him that had died. Later that night, Feeley finds James standing at the fence with his rifle, looking for snipers to shoot at, or more likely, in hopes of being shot himself. Feeley talks him down, before asking James for his suggestions for a new driver, with James suggesting Hookway.
On the next patrol, the unit is held overnight at a bridge by Serbian forces, who refuse to let them cross to aid 25,000 civilians currently under fire. Langrubber attempts to negotiate access, with Loughrey stating his belief that the method is flawed and they should be permitted to fight their way through. Langrubber's negotiations result in the Serbians demanding to check IDs of the soldiers, with Sochanik being held up due to his Polish surname. The soldier asks why Sochanik wishes to save "dirty Muslims", to which Sochanik responds that he is just doing his job. In the morning, they are allowed to cross, but only with two Land Rovers, a single Warrior, and one truck, in order to save the most seriously wounded over the course of 12 hours. Driving over the bridge and towards the civilians, they pass multiple tanks, who have paused their fire due to the UN presence. Upon arriving in the town, they are swarmed by civilians, who reject the British attempts to only evacuate the wounded. Civilians crowd around the vehicles to block their exit, hoping that the UN presence in the town will keep the Serbian forces from attacking. Langrubber gets away, returning to once again negotiate. Sochanik reveals to Aida, the interpreter accompanying them, that his mother is in fact Serbian, and that he speaks the language, his parents having met after his Polish father was sent as forced labour to build a concentration camp in the area. The next morning, while James is shaving in an exaggerated manner for the amusement of several children, the