Battle of Šumatovac

Battle of Šumatovac
Part of Serbian-Ottoman War (1876-1877)
Date August 1876 Location Šumatovac, near Aleksinac, Principality of Serbia Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Principality of Serbia	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Kosta Protić Milojko Lešjanin Đura Horvatović
Strength
58,000	102,000
Casualties and losses
4430 killed and 4500 wounded	500 killed and 1,500 wounded and captured

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 Ottomans finally retreated towards the end of the day having lost 500 men killed and 1,500 wounded and captured. The Serbian army did not press the advantage with a counterattack, however so it ended up as just a tactical success.^[1] However, heavy cannons by the turks caused very big casualties for the serbians, estimates range that around 3000-5000 serbian soldiers got killed by turkish artillery.

Notes

1. MacKenzie 1967, pp. 135–136

References

• MacKenzie, David (1967). The Serbs and Russian Pan-Slavism, 1875-1878. Cornell University Press. pp. 135–136. OCLC 231808.
• http://www.srpsko-nasledje.co.rs/sr-l/1998/08/article-03.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Coordinates: 43°33′N 21°42′E / 43.55°N 21.7°E