Battle of Mišar

Battle of Mišar
Part of First Serbian uprising
Date 12–15 August 1806 Location Mišar, Serbia Result Decisive Serbian victory[citation needed]
Belligerents
Serbian revolutionaries	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Karađorđe Petrović Jakov Nenadovic	Sulejman Paşa Skopljak Mehmed-beg Kulenović†
Strength
~ 6,000-8,000	~ 50,000-80,000
Casualties and losses
relatively low[citation needed]	1,172 per initial Austrian report; up to 3,000 per later reports[citation needed]

The Battle of Mišar took place from 12 to 15 August 1806, with a Serbian victory over the Ottomans. For months the Serbian insurgents remained entrenched in different strongholds throughout and nearby Misar Hill and a pitched battle itself seemed impossible for the Serbian rebels because Serbs had 6,000-8,000 soldiers and Ottomans had 50,000 to 80,000.

Confrontation

The fighting began on Misar Hill, with an opening charge of the Turkish Sipahi Cavalry followed by a charge of their infantry units led by the Bosniak kapetan Mehmed-beg Kulenović of Zvornik. The Serbian sharpshooters and gunners mowed down the first line of cavalry and panic struck the Turkish lines when the horsemen retreated into the infantry led by Mehmed-beg Kulenović of Zvornik. However, the Ottomans soon regrouped and engaged the Serbian infantry. Then, Karađorđe Petrović signaled for the charge of the Serbian Cavalry from the opposite ends to and defeated the Ottomans on the field.^{[citation needed]}

Serbian rebel cavalry, intended as a reserve and is situated close to the ditch near the village of Zabar. Although some of the Serbian rebel cavalry did advance on the battlefield and were quickly broken up by well-trained and experienced cavalry Bosnian notables, led by Mehmed-beg Kulenović. Fights at Mišar lasted several days with mutual losses but the battle itself ended with the collapse of the Ottoman center and the exposure of the right and left columns.

Mehmed-beg Kulenović and the remaining Ottomans and Bosniaks continued asymmetric efforts against the advancements of the Serbian rebels. Mehmed-beg Kulenović efforts were bold enough to cause Luka Lazarević to request for a cavalry challenge. But Mehmed-beg Kulenović remained with his army and was killed by Serbian rebel musket-fire, while fighting in the woods.

Although the war ended in defeat kapetan Mehmed-beg Kulenović of Zvornik and his Bosniak forces kept fighting the Serbian rebels inside the district of Zvornik and was killed in his efforts to drive the forces of Karađorđe Petrović out of Bosnia Eyalet.

Aftermath

The battle forced the Turks into retreat and provided a significant military and morale victory for the Serbian rebels.^{[citation needed]}

Battle of Mišar, painting by Afanasij Šeloumov