Fight on Čelopek

Fight on Čelopek
	Part of Serbian Chetnik Organization
Date	16 April 1905
Location	Čelopek, Ottoman Empire; (modern Staro Nagoričane, R. Macedonia)42°13′37″N 21°49′35″E / 42.226944°N 21.826389°E
Result	Serbian rebel victory
Belligerents
Serbian Chetnik Organization	Local Ottoman army and Albanian bashi-bozuks
Commanders and leaders
Borko Paštrović; Aksentije Bacetović; Ilija Jovanović-Pčinjski; Lazar Kujundžić; Pavle Mladenović; Ljubomir Jezdić	N/A
Strength
120–130	200
Casualties and losses
4 dead	200 dead
	Location of Čelopek in the Republic of Macedonia

The Fight on Čelopek (Serbian: Borba na Čelopeku/Борба на Челопеку) or Battle on Čelopek (Bitka/Битка) was fought at the Čelopek plateau near Kozjak between the Serbian Chetnik Organization, a Serbian rebel faction, and Ottoman officers accompanied by Ottoman Albanian bashi-bozuks, on April 16, 1905.

Background[]

After the fights in Tabanovce, Savatije Milošević, Lazar Kujundžić and Aksentije Bacetović-Baceta left their offices as organizators of the action, wanting to feel the Chetnik lifestyle "from within" as voivodes. Baceta was to replace the then Chief of Upper Staff, Ilija Jovanović. Baceta and Savatije Milošević, by mid-April, had moved 107 fighters across the border.^[1]

Fight[]

At dawn on Holy Saturday (15 April [O.S. 2 April]), the two large bands (Cheta) -- Belgrade and Kragujevac -- arrived at the village of Dubočica. There, they were awaited by the bands of Ilija Jovanović, Lazar Kujundžić, Čiča-Pavle Mladenović and Ljubomir Jezdić. The Kragujevac Band was led by captain (kapetan) Borko Paštrović and had the sub-lieutenants (potporučnici): Vojin Popović-Vuk, Dušan Jezdić, and . The Belgrade Band was led by Baceta, and included , officers (oficiri) Janićije Mićić, Bogdan Jugović Hajnc, Vojislav Tankosić, Branivoj Jovanović and non-commissioned officers (podoficiri) Jović, , , , Trajko and . They were also accompanied with the bands of Stevan Nedić and Doksim Mihailović, which had been returned to western Povardarje after vacationing in Belgrade.^[1]

On 16 April [O.S. 3 April], at the heights of Čelopek, around 120 chetniks under the command of voivodes Doksim, Čiča-Pavle, Baceta, Kujundžić, Paštrović, Skopljanče, Tankosić and Dovezenski fought a uniformed Ottoman army accompanied by Albanians from the surrounding villages. During the battle Čiča-Pavle took the Čelopek heights and thus prevented the encirclement of the bands from the Albanian bashi-bozuks; overtaking the three peaks gave the chetniks a strategical advantage and after the victorious fight they made heavy losses to the Turks and Albanians (over 200 dead and wounded), while only having two dead (Petar Todorović and Radul Kosovac) according to Serbian sources,^[2]^[3] while British Vice-Consul Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger claimed in a letter dated 19 April [O.S. 6 April] that fighting near Kumanovo 'the earlier day' had taken 4 Serbian officers' lives, and 8 captured.^[4]

Aftermath[]

The victory enraged the Ottomans,^[5] who began manhunting the rebels. The rebels were forced to retreat across the border,^[6] and were dispersed. Čiča-Pavle and Bacetović were surrounded by the Ottoman army near the village of (today's Kriva Palanka) on 16 June, and everyone in their bands were killed.^[7]^[8]

On 21 January 1906, another fight took place in the same place, in which Vasilije Trbić nearly lost his whole band (22 men) to the Ottomans.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ilić, Vladimir (March 5, 2003). "Ubistvo popa Taška". Glas Javnosti.
^ Ilić 2006, p. 55; Ilić, Vladimir (March 6, 2003). "Borba na Čelopeku". Glas Javnosti.
^ Krakov 1930, pp. 216–222
^ Rastović 2011, p. 137.
^ Драгиша Васић; Гојко Тешић; Александар Јерков; Вук Крњевић (1990). Dva meseca u jugoslovenskom Sibiru: Utisci iz Rusije ; Putopisi, eseji, kritike, članci. Просвета. То је било после победе на Челопеку због коje Турци беху побеснели.
^ Alekan Jovanović (1937). Spomenica dvadesetpetogodishnjice oslobodjenja Južne Srbije. Потерна одељења турске војске открила су их у Никуљану. После одржане славне борбе на Челопеку, у којој су Турци имали преко две стотине које мртвих које рањених, они су св морали вратити преко границе. Њихов ...
^ Trifunović 1933, pp. 24–28
^ Ilić 2006, pp. 61–64

Sources[]

Ilić, Vladimir (2006). Српска четничка акција 1903-1912. Ecolibri. ISBN 978-86-7905-044-1.
Trifunović, Ilija (1933). Trnotivim stazama (in Serbian). Belgrade.
Krakov, Stanislav (1990) [1930]. Plamen četništva (in Serbian). Belgrade: Hipnos.
Rastović, Aleksandar (2011). Velika Britanija i makedonsko pitanje 1903-1908 godine. Istorijski institut. ISBN 978-86-7743-088-7.

[Glas-F03030402-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ilić, Vladimir (March 5, 2003). "Ubistvo popa Taška". Glas Javnosti.

[Ilic-55-2] Ilić 2006, p. 55; Ilić, Vladimir (March 6, 2003). "Borba na Čelopeku". Glas Javnosti.

[3] Krakov 1930, pp. 216–222

[FOOTNOTERastović2011137-4] Rastović 2011, p. 137.

[5] Драгиша Васић; Гојко Тешић; Александар Јерков; Вук Крњевић (1990). Dva meseca u jugoslovenskom Sibiru: Utisci iz Rusije ; Putopisi, eseji, kritike, članci. Просвета. То је било после победе на Челопеку због коje Турци беху побеснели.

[6] Alekan Jovanović (1937). Spomenica dvadesetpetogodishnjice oslobodjenja Južne Srbije. Потерна одељења турске војске открила су их у Никуљану. После одржане славне борбе на Челопеку, у којој су Турци имали преко две стотине које мртвих које рањених, они су св морали вратити преко границе. Њихов ...

[7] Trifunović 1933, pp. 24–28

[8] Ilić 2006, pp. 61–64

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show v t Serbian Chetnik Organization
Commanders (1903–12)	Aksentije Bacetović-Baceta Borko Paštrović Boško Mitrović-Virjanac Doksim Mihailović-Debarac Dušan Dimitrijević-Dule Đorđe Ristić-Skopljanče Đorđe Cvetković-Drimkolski Gligor Sokolović-Nebregovski Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin Ilija Jovanović-Pčinjski Jovan Cvetković-Dolgač Jovan Stojković-Babunski Jovan Stanojković-Dovezenski Kosta Milovanović-Pećanac Krsta Kovačević-Trgoviški Lazar Kujundžić-Klempa Ljuba Jezdić-Razvigora Micko Krstić-Porečki Nikola Skadarac Pavle Mladenović-Čiča Petar Kacarević Petar Koćura Petko Ilić-Nagorički Rade Radivojević-Dušan Savatije Milošević Spasa Pavlović-Garda Sreten Rajković-Rudnički Todor Krstić-Algunjski Trenko Rujanović Vasilije Trbić Vojin Popović-Vuk Vojislav Tankosić-Voja Zafir Premčević
Fighters	Anđelko Aleksić Bogdan Jugović Hajnc Bogdan Radenković Branivoje Jovanović-Brana Cene Marković Čuma Danilo Stojanović-Dane Dejan Jekić-Dragomir Dimitrije Aleksić-Ditko Dragiša Stojadinović Dragomir Protić Dragutin Jovanović-Lune Emilio Milutinović Jovan Grković-Gapon Jovan Naumović-Osogovski Ljubomir Vulović Ljuba Jovanović-Čupa Mihailo Petrović Mihailo Ristić-Džervinac Miša Aleksić-Marinko Panta Radosavljević-Dunavski Pavle Blažarić-Bistrički Rista Starački Sava Petrović-Grmija Stevan Nedić-Ćela Stevan Simić Stojan Koruba Tasa Konević Trajko–Koporan Čauš Velimir Prelić Velimir Vemić Živko Gvozdić Živojin Milovanović-Žika
Key people	Milorad Gođevac Vasa Jovanović Golub Janić Jovan Atanacković Jovan Ćirković-Čifa Nikola Spasić Luka Ćelović Ljubomir Kovačević Ljubomir Jovanović Ljubomir Davidović Ljubomir Stojanović Žika Rafajlović Society of Saint Sava
Events	Fight on Šuplji Kamen (May 27, 1904) Fight in Tabanovce (March 27, 1905) Fight on Čelopek (April 16, 1905) Fight in Velika Hoča (May 25, 1905) Young Turk Revolution (1908)
With the outbreak of the First Balkan War (1912), the organization was put under the supervision of the Serbian Army (see Chetniks in the Balkan Wars)