Battle of Šumatovac

The Battle of Šumatovac (Serbian: Bitka na Šumatovcu) or Battle of Aleksinac (Turkish: Aleksinaç Muharebesi) happened in 1876, in central Serbia, near the town of Aleksinac. The outnumbered Serbian army, led by colonel Kosta Protić, won a tactical victory in this defensive battle against the Ottoman forces. In a major tactical blunder the Ottomans spent a whole day frontally attacking a well-entrenched pentagonal redoubt defended by two Serbian battalions armed with muzzle-loading rifles and 6 cannons supported by about 40 additional artillery pieces positioned on the overlooking hills. The result is disputed, with some sources claiming Serbian victory,[1] and some sources claiming Ottoman Victory. [2][3]

Battle of Šumatovac
Part of Serbian-Ottoman War (1876-1877)
Date1 September 1876 or 9 August 1876
Location
Šumatovac, near Aleksinac, Principality of Serbia
Result Disputed
Belligerents

Principality of Serbia

Russian Volunteers		  Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Kosta Protić
Milojko Lešjanin
Đura Horvatović		 Mustafa Pasha
Strength

58,000

700 Russian Officers		 93,000
Casualties and losses
135 killed and 1,436 wounded 500 killed and 1,500 wounded and captured

Notes
  1. MacKenzie 1967, pp. 135–136
  2. Simge, Ceylan. Son İmparator. Sırpların Niş, Pirot ve Sofyahedeflerine yönelik olarak başlattıkları taarruzları durduran Türk birlikleri karşı taarruza geçti ve 1 Eylül 1876 tarihinde Aleksinaç Muharebesi'nde Sırpları kesin bir yenilgiye uğrattı. (English: "Turkish troops, who stopped the attacks of the Serbs against the targets of Nis, Pirot and Sofia, counter-attacked and defeated the Serbs in the Battle of Aleksinac on September 1, 1876.")
  3. ALL ABOUT HISTORY BOOK OF HISTORY YEAR BY YEAR VOL.2. Turks won the battle of Aleksinac on 9 August 1876. This forced the Serbs to appeal to other nations for help.

References


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