THE GUNS OF AUGUST

For two days last week, the Croatian city of Knin was drenched in a fiery rain of artillery shells, mortars and bombs. The self-styled capital of Krajina, the stronghold of nearly 200,000 rebel Serbs who seceded from Croatia in 1991, found itself the focus of a massive assault by the forces of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Within the first half-hour of the offensive, more than 200 shells fell on Knin. By Saturday panic had descended as well. As Croatian tanks began rolling through the streets, Knin's Serb leaders placed a last-minute call to the U.N., requesting the evacuation of 32,000 civilians....