| Velika attacks | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Battles for Plav and Gusinje | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Principality of Montenegro | League of Prizren | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Albanian irregulars | ||||||
  Location within modern-day Montenegro | |||||||
The Velika attacks were a series of attacks during the Congress of Berlin, carried out by Albanian irregulars.
According to the decisions of Berlin Congress the territories of Plav and Gusinje (then Scutari Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire) were awarded to Montenegro. Still, the Ottomans did not provide conditions for Montenegro to take over Plav and Gusinje. Officially, they intended to respect the decisions of the congress, but in reality the Ottomans supported the League of Prizren they established, also to avoid fulfilment of the obligations they undertook at the Berlin Congress. [1] [2] The Ottoman governor of Scutari sent ammunition to the local Muslim population of Gusinje in order for them to resist Montenegro. [3]
Until October 1879, Montenegrin forces were able to march into Gusinje without resistance. When Montenegro prepared forces for such expedition, the Ottomans intervened at the Great Powers to stop it, under the excuse of avoiding eventual conflicts. The Ottoman military officer Muhtar Pasha arrived at Prizren in November 1879, where he had 15 battalions. The Ottomans informed Montenegro that those forces would only be used to provide the peaceful transfer of Plav and Gusinje to Montenegro, which demobilized some of its forces based on this information. In the meantime around 15,000 Albanian irregulars gathered in Gusinje. [4] The British Ambassador at Istanbul A. H. Layard informed his government that the Porte did nothing to prevent the influx of armed bands into the Gusinje region and emphasized that the Porte would be held responsible for the consequences. [5]
Milovan Đilas emphasized that the northern Albanian tribes had territorial aspirations toward the fertile plain along the river Lim in Plav and Gusinje. After the Berlin Congress, their aim was to descend into the valley before the official institutions of Montenegro grasped firm control over it. [6]
 | This section should include a summary of Battle of Novšiće. |
The battle at Murino occurred about a month later after the battle of Novšiće (December 4, 1879) as the Ottoman high command was preparing to send troops from Monastir under Ahmed Muhtar Pasha in order to pacify local resistance to the annexation. The Montenegrin forces moved from Pepići against the positions in Meteh, near Plav when they were intercepted by the League of Prizren. After the skirmish, the Montenegrin forces withdrew to Sutjeska, near Andrijevica and Albanian irregulars burned down the Vasojevići settlements, Velika, Ržanica and Pepići. Both sides after the battle claimed victory.
Plav is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Lim River, which originates from nearby Lake Plav, a glacial lake at the foot of the Prokletije mountains. It has a population of 3,717. Plav is the centre of Plav Municipality with a population of 9,050.
Gusinje is a small town in Montenegro in the northern region. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality.
Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj also referred to as Ded Gjo Luli and Deda was an Albanian guerrilla leader most notable for commanding the Malissori uprising against Ottoman troops. He was posthumously awarded the "Hero of Albania" title. Dedvukaj was the clan chieftain of the Hoti tribe.
Albanians in Montenegro are ethnic Albanians who constitute 4.97% of Montenegro's total population. They belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, and they are the largest non-Slavic ethnic group in Montenegro.
Kuči is a tribe of Albanian origin, historically located in modern central and eastern Montenegro, north-east of Podgorica, extending along the border with Albania. Processes of Slavicisation during the Ottoman era and onwards facilitated ethno-linguistic shifts within much of the community. As such, people from the Kuči today largely identify themselves as Montenegrins and Serbs, with a minority still identifying as Albanians. In other areas such as the Sandžak, many Muslim descendants of the Kuči today identify as Bosniaks.
Ali Pasha Shabanagaj was an Albanian military commander and one of the leaders of the League of Prizren. He governed, as an Ottoman kaymakam (sub-governor), an area in what is today eastern Montenegro around Plav and Gusinje. He was commonly known as Ali Pasha of Gusinje. He was the leader of the Albanian irregular troops of the League of Prizren against the Principality of Montenegro at the Battle of Novšiće. He was governor of the area of Plav and Gusinje located in a valley between steep mountains.
The Montenegrin–Ottoman War, also known in Montenegro as the Great War, was fought between the Principality of Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire between 1876 and 1878. The war ended with Montenegrin victory and Ottoman defeat in the larger Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Six major and 27 smaller battles were fought, among which was the crucial Battle of Vučji Do.
Baca Kurti Gjokaj was an Albanian leader who participated in the Battle of Ržanica against the Principality of Montenegro.
The Battle of Krusi was fought on 22 September 1796 between the campaigning army of Ottoman Empire commanded by Kara Mahmud Pasha, the Pasha of Scutari, and tribes of Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro under the command of Metropolitan Petar I Petrović Njegoš and Jovan Radonjić, at Krusi, Lješanska nahija.
The Attack against Mehmed Ali Pasha, known in Albanian historiography as the Action of Gjakova, was undertaken from 3–6 September 1878 by the Gjakova Committee of the League of Prizren in the estate of Abdullah Pasha Dreni near Gjakova. During the battle Mehmed Ali Pasha, the Ottoman marshal who was to overview the cession of the predominantly Albanian Plav and Gusinje region to the Principality of Montenegro, Abdullah Pasha Dreni, a notable official of the region and former member of the league, many Ottoman soldiers, and volunteers of the Gjakova Committee were killed.
Brda refers to a historical and ethnographical region in Montenegro. The Brda are one of the country's four historic tribal regions, along with Old Montenegro, Old Herzegovina and the Montenegrin Littoral. The historical tribes of the Brda are the Vasojevići, the Bjelopavlići, the Piperi, the Kuči, the Bratonožići, the Moračani and the Rovčani. Collectively known as "the seven tribes" or "the seven hills", they were referred to as "Highlander tribes" before their gradual integration into Montenegro, from the late 18th to the early 20th century. As a result, members of these tribes are also often called "Highlanders".
The Battle of Novšiće was a battle for control over Plav and Gusinje fought on 4 December 1879 between forces of the Principality of Montenegro led by Marko Miljanov and local pro-Ottoman forces which included irregulars of the League of Prizren, both commanded by Ali Pasha, the Kaymekam of Gusinje. The League of Prizren consisted mainly of Albanians from Plav and Gusinje in Scutari Vilayet and irregulars from Kosovo Vilayet.
Çun Mula was the bajraktar ("flag-bearer") of the Hoti tribe and an Albanian freedom fighter. His family, the Lucgjonaj, descended from the Junçaj family of Hoti. According to the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, Çun Mula's family was put in charge of the Malësia tribes, leading them bravely and faithfully in the many wars against Montenegrin and Ottoman forces.
Velika is a village in the municipality of Plav, Montenegro, close to the village of Murino.
Gusinje Municipality is a municipality in northern Montenegro. It is located in the upper Lim valley at an elevation of about 1,000 m (3,000 ft). It was created in 2014, when it split from Plav Municipality. Its center is the small town of Gusinje, and its biggest village in terms of territory is Vusanje. Two of Montenegro's highest mountains overlook Gusinje: Zla Kolata and Visitor. Many of Gusinje's settlements are historically linked with the Albanian Kelmendi tribe (fis). The village of Gusinje developed into a town the 17th century around a fortress built by the Ottomans to contain the Kelmendi. In the 19th century, Gusinje was a developing regional market center. It was engulfed in 1879–1880 in a struggle between the Principality of Montenegro that wanted to annex it and the League of Prizren that opposed it. After the Balkan Wars, Gusinje became part of Montenegro and in 1919 part of Yugoslavia. Today, it is part of Montenegro since its declaration of independence in 2006.
Jakup Ferri was an Albanian fighter from Plav-Gusinje who served as a local leader in the League of Prizren's resistance during the Principality of Montenegro's attempt to subjugate his homeland in 1879. He was distinguished in the Battle of Novšiće, where he died.
The Battle of Murino took place on January 8, 1880, between the Principality of Montenegro and the League of Prizren. It was part of the battles about the sovereignty over Plav and Gusinje. According to the treaty of Berlin, the Ottoman Empire was to hand over the region to Montenegro, but this move was militarily opposed by local Albanians. At the time of the battle, Montenegrin sources claim that around 10,000 Albanians from the League of Prizren fought against Montenegrin forces numbering 3,000, led by commanders Marko Miljanov and Todor Miljanov and priest Đoko, in Murino. Albanian sources claim that around 4,000 Albanian soldiers of the League of Prizren and 3,000 local volunteers fought against 9,000 Montenegrins.
The Battles for Plav and Gusinje were armed conflicts between the Principality of Montenegro and the League of Prizren that broke out following the decision of the Congress of Berlin (1878) that the territories of Plav and Gusinje be ceded to Montenegro. The conflicts took place in this territory between 9 October 1879 and 8 January 1880. The following battles were fought:
Battle of Ulcinj took place between the Ottoman forces of Dervish Pasha and Albanian irregulars in the year of 1880 at the region of Kodra e Kuqe, close to Kllezna. The area of Plav and Gusinje had been ceded to Montenegro according to the Treaty of Berlin (1878), but the Albanians fought against the annexation. The Great Powers then persuaded the Ottomans to cede the area of Ulcinj, but the Albanians yet again refused. Eventually, the Great Powers commanded the Ottomans to take actions against the League of Prizren, ending the resistance and successfully handing over the town of Ulcinj to Montenegro.
The Battle at the Ržanica Bridge was a significant battle between Albanian tribesmen and Montenegrin forces during the Battles for Plav and Gusinje. The battle played a crucial role in preventing the annexation of the tribal lands of Gruda and Hoti by Montenegro.
... Албанаца, постре- кавана је рд турских власти на отпор ради избјегавања уступаља Црнрј Гори одређених територија, лрије свега Плава и Гуеиња. Било је оружаних еукоба црногорске војске са Албанцима, кар на Новшићима ...
... све да област Гусиња не припадне Црној Гори. Скадарски валија Хусеин-паша упу- ћивао је муницију у Гусиње да се раздијели становништву. .
...place for Gusinje, and that the Turkish authorities were taking no steps to prevent the departure of these bands. I at once directed Sir A. Sandison to communicate this information to Sawas Pasha, and to speak very strongly to his Excellency on the subject, pointing out that, if anything should happen in consequence of these proceedings, the Porte will be held responsible.