Battle of Ivankovac

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Battle of Ivankovac
Part of First Serbian uprising
Date 18 August 1805 Location Ivankovac, Serbia Result Serbian victory
Belligerents
Serbian revolutionaries	Ottoman Empire
Commanders
Karađorđe Petrović Milenko Stojković	Hafiz-paša
Strength
2,500 men	15,000 men
Casualties and losses
n/a	n/a

The Battle of Ivankovac was the first full-scale confrontation between the Serbian rebels and the official forces of the Ottoman Empire, during the First Serbian Uprising. It took place on August 18, 1805.

The Ottoman Empire, trying to regain Serbian territories lost in 1804, sent Hafiz-paša, commander of Niš, to defeat the rebels. He led an army of 15,000 soldiers.

The leader of the rebellion, Karađorđe Petrović anticipated the attack near the town of Ćuprija, on the left bank of the Great Morava river. However, Hafiz-paša evaded him, and attacked Duke Milenko Stojković, who was entrenched near the village of Ivankovac (about 4 km from Ćuprija) and commanded an army of 2,500 soldiers.

After an unsuccessful attempt to bribe Stojković, the Turks attacked. Their assault on the Serbian trenches lasted the entire day, but in the evening Serbs repelled the attack.

The Ottoman army withdrew to the small town of Paraćin.

The Serbs besieged the town, and bombed it with cannons. One grenade smashed Hafiz-paša's leg, after which he retreated back to Niš, where he died from his wounds.

This battle was one of the turning points of the rebellion and marked the beginning of Turkish decline in the Balkans.

[edit] See Also

• First Serbian Uprising
• Second Serbian Uprising

[edit] External Links

http://www.royalfamily.org/events/index2005.htm