Battle of Deligrad | |||||||
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Part of the First Serbian uprising | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Revolutionary Serbia | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
First Serbian Army | Nizam-i Djedid | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
37,000 soldiers | 55,000 soldiers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,000 killed [2] | 30,000 killed [2] |
The Battle of Deligrad was fought between Serbian revolutionaries and an army of the Ottoman Empire, and took place in 3 September 1806 [3] [4] [5] during the First Serbian Uprising. A 55,000-strong Ottoman army commanded by Albanian Pasha of Scutari Ibrahim Pasha was defeated with heavy casualties and the loss of nine guns by Karađorđe Petrović's 30,000 Serbian rebels at Deligrad in Serbia. [6]
The First Serbian Uprising had begun in 1804 with the expulsion of the ruling janissary elite and the proclamation of an independent Serbian state by the revolution's leader, Karađorđe. The Ottoman Sultan, Selim III sent a huge Ottoman force to quell the uprising. The Serbian high command decided to meet the Ottoman force under Ibrahim Bushati, the Albanian pasha of Shkodër, at Deligrad.
The Serbian right wing numbered 6,000 men under the command of Mladen Milovanović at Bela Palanka. The center consisted of 18,000 troops which would be placed at the Kunovaci mountain. The left wing would be composed of 6,000 men under the command of Milenko Stojković with an additional 4,500 reserve troops to guard from any possible Turkish flank attack from Niš. Stanoje Glavaš would command the elite and cavalry troops whose job was to delve deep into enemy territory and harass them as much as possible. Tomo Milinović was a head of artillery and made significant effort by good positioning and frequent relocation of the cannons.
The Turkish Army consisted of 55,000 regular Nizam troops with additional auxiliary and Janissary support.[ citation needed ] The Serbian army withstood several enemy offensives. The Serbian rebels also attacked the Turkish positions numerous times and managed to capture nine Turkish cannons. Meanwhile, the elite troops of Stanoje Glavaš effectively liberated Prokuplje thereby splitting the Turkish army in two. The Turkish wing under the command of Osman Pazvantoğlu was swiftly defeated by Mladen Milovanović and the Ottoman force was routed.
The battle provided a victory for the Serbs and bolstered the morale of the outnumbered Serbian rebels. To avoid total defeat, Ibrahim Pasha negotiated a six-week truce with Karađorđe.
Đorđe Petrović, known by the sobriquet Karađorđe, was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 February 1804 to 3 October 1813.
Veljko Petrović, known simply as Hajduk Veljko, was one of the vojvodas of the Serbian Revolutionary forces in the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, in charge of the Negotin area. He was one of the most prominent leaders of the uprising.
Stevan Sinđelić was a Serbian revolutionary commander in Resava, who fought during the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) against Ottoman rule. As the commander of the Resava Brigade, he fought in many battles and skirmishes against Ottoman foot-soldiers, including the Battle of Ivankovac in 1805 and the Battle of Deligrad in 1806. He is remembered for his actions during the Battle of Čegar Hill in 1809, in which he and the Resava Brigade found themselves surrounded by the Ottomans. Encircled and without much chance of survival, Sinđelić ignited the gunpowder kegs in the powder cave, creating an enormous explosion that killed him, along with all of the Serbian and Ottoman soldiers in his trench.
The First Serbian Uprising was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804, to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt against the Dahije, who had seized power in a coup d'état. It later evolved into a war for independence, known as the Serbian Revolution, after more than three centuries of Ottoman Empire rule and brief Austrian occupations.
The Second Serbian Uprising was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire in 1813. The occupation was enforced following the defeat of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813), during which Serbia existed as a de facto independent state for over a decade. The second revolution ultimately resulted in Serbian semi-independence from the Ottoman Empire. The Principality of Serbia was established, governed by its own parliament, constitution and royal dynasty. De jure independence, however, was attained in 1878, following the decisions of the Congress of Berlin.
Stanoje Stamatović, known as Stanoje Glavaš was a Serbian hajduk and hero in the First Serbian Uprising.
The Battle of Ivankovac was the first full-scale confrontation between Serbian revolutionaries and the regular forces of the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising.
The Serbian Revolution was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a rebel territory, a constitutional monarchy, and modern Serbia.
The Battle of Mišar was fought between Serbian revolutionaries and an Ottoman army, it took place from 13 to 15 August 1806 during the First Serbian Uprising.
Antonije "Anta" Simeonović, better known as Čolak-Anta was a Serbian fighter and military commander (Vojvoda), one of the most important figures of the First Serbian Uprising of 1804–1813, a spontaneous armed rebellion that became a war of liberation from the Ottoman Empire, the Serbian Revolution ultimately became a symbol of the nation-building process in the Balkans, provoking unrest among the Christians in both Greece and Bulgaria. He was a military commander, governor of the province of Kruševac, and later in life, Chief Magistrate. Čolak-Anta fought under Grand Leader Karađorđe, and is the eponymous founder of the notable Čolak-Antić family.
Vujica Vulićević also known as Vule Vulićević was a Serbian voivode in the First Serbian Uprising of the Serbian Revolution, led by Grand Leader Karađorđe against the Ottoman Empire. He held the rank of Obor-knez. He was also the kum (godfather) of Karađorđe, but betrayed him on behalf of Miloš Obrenović, the rival prince.
Atanasije Rajić, known by his nickname Tanasko (Танаско), was a Serbian vojvoda (commander) and revolutionary, the barjaktar (flag-bearer) in the First Serbian Uprising led by Karađorđe against the Ottoman Empire, and the captain in Obrenović's Second Serbian Uprising, during which he died (1815).
Kučuk-Alija was a Janissary, mutesellim of Kragujevac and one of four Dahiyas who controlled the Sanjak of Smederevo in the period between 15 December 1801 and the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising in Spring 1804. He was a brother of Sali Aga, a mutesellim of Rudnik Ottoman nahiyah at the beginning of 19th century.
Sali Aga Đevrlić, also known as the Rudnik Bull, was a mutesellim of the nahiyah of Rudnik in what is now Serbia at the beginning of the 19th century. He was a brother of Kučuk Alija, who was a Janissary, a mutesellim and one of four Dahiyas who controlled Belgrade Pashaluk from 1802 until the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising.
The Dahije or Dahijas were the renegade Janissary officers who took power in the Sanjak of Smederevo, after murdering the Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha of Belgrade on 15 December 1801. The four supreme dahije leaders were Kučuk Alija, Aganlija, Mula Jusuf and Mehmed-aga Fočić. Rebels against the Ottoman sultan, they were defeated by the Serbs in the initial phase of the First Serbian Uprising, which is also called "Uprising against the Dahije".
The Orašac Assembly was the gathering of 300 Serbian chiefs and rebels on 14 February [O.S. 2 February] 1804 at Orašac, a village near Aranđelovac, following the "Slaughter of the Knezes" which saw 70 notable Serbs murdered by the renegade Janissaries in January which prompted the Serbs to rise up against the tyranny, resulting in the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Karađorđe was appointed leader of the Serbian rebels after they all raised their "three fingers in the air" and thereby swore oath. The site of the assembly, Marićevića jaruga, is today a memorial complex.
Konda Bimbaša;, fl. March 1804–d. May/June 1807) was an Albanian in Alija Gušanac's Dahije detachment in the Sanjak of Smederevo who switched sides to the Serb rebels during the First Serbian Uprising, proclaimed a hero for his efforts in the Siege of Belgrade (1806).
The siege of Belgrade was carried out by the Serbian rebels led by Karađorđe, seeking to overthrow the Ottoman government in the Sanjak of Smederevo, which was seated in the Belgrade Fortress. Following the victories at Mišar and Deligrad, the Serbian rebels marched towards Belgrade.
The Battle of Drlupa was fought on 24 February 1804 between the Serbian Revolutionaries under Karađorđe and the Dahije under Aganlija.
Vule Ilić , known as Vule Ilić Kolarac, was a Serbian military commander (vojvoda) who fought the Ottomans during the First Serbian Uprising. Vule Ilić Kolarac fought alongside Hajduk Stanoje Glavaš then under Grand Leader Karađorđe distinguishing himself at the Battle of Suvodol and at the Siege of Belgrade. During the uprising he was commander of the city of Smederevo the temporary capital of Serbia during that time.