Battle of Mečkin Kamen 1903
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 12 August 1903 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1903 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | North Macedonia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| Participants | Ottoman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.3667, 21.2333 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Mečkin Kamen also known as 'Battle of Mechkin Kamen' (Bulgarian: Битка при Мечкин Камен, Macedonian: Битка кај Мечкин Камен) occurred on the hill now known as Mečkin Kamen ("Bear's Stone"), a few kilometres south from the town of Kruševo on 12 August 1903. It was part of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, led by the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO or VMARO) against the Ottoman Empire. The leading revolutionary commanders of the local Kruševo Republic were Nikola Karev and Pitu Guli. The battle is an important event that is celebrated in Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
Before the battle, Pitu Guli inspected his forces and found out that 70 out of the 300 men part of his unit did not have any weapons so he let them return home. Following the takeover, and subsequent declaration of the Krusevo Republic, the surrounding areas were besieged by the Ottoman forces for an estimated 10 days, with the forces of the Bulgarians and Aromanians being outnumbered and overrun. Following the Battle of Sliva and Mečkin Kamen, large parts of the Aromanian areas and villages were destroyed while 'the Bulgarian quarter' was mostly spared.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mečkin Kamen (revision 1379199618), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Sliva 1903 · 2 km
- Battle of Prilep 1912 · 27 km
- Battle of Bitola (1015) 1015 · 38 km
- Battle of Monastir 1912 · 38 km
- Monastir offensive 1916 · 40 km
- Battle of Vajkal 1465 · 46 km
Browse more: battles in North Macedonia · Europe · 19th century battles