Battle of Prilep 1912
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 3 November 1912 – 5 November 1912 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1912 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | North Macedonia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Balkan War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ottoman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.3444, 21.5528 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Prilep in the First Balkan War took place on 3-5 November 1912 when the Serbian army encountered Ottoman troops near the town of Prilep, in today's North Macedonia. The clash lasted for three days. Eventually the Ottoman army was overwhelmed and forced to retreat.
Bad weather and difficult roads hampered the 1st Army’s pursuit of the Ottomans after the battle of Kumanovo, forcing the Morava Division to move ahead of the Drina Division. On 3 November, in the autumn rain, forward elements of the Morava Division encountered fire from Kara Said Pasha’s 5th Corps from positions north of Prilep. This started the three-day battle for Prilep, which was broken off that night and was renewed the next morning. When the Drina Division arrived on the battlefield, the Serbs gained an overwhelming advantage, forcing the Ottomans to withdraw south of the city.
On 5 November, as the Serbs moved south of Prilep they came again under Ottoman fire from prepared positions on the heights of the road to Bitola. Bayonets and hand grenades gave the Serbs the advantage in hand-to-hand fighting, but they still required the better part of the day to force the Ottomans to retreat. The overt and guileless nature of the Serbian infantry attacks impressed one Ottoman observer, who noted:
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Prilep (revision 1380943722), 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
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Other battles of the First Balkan War
- Battle of Chios (1912) 1912
- Battle of Elli 1912
- Battle of Kaliakra (1912) 1912
- Battle of Kardzhali 1912
- Battle of Kirk Kilisse 1912
- Battle of Kumanovo 1912
- Battle of Lesbos (1912) 1912
- Battle of Lule Burgas 1912
- Battle of Lumë 1912
- Battle of Merhamli 1912
All 25 battles of the First Balkan War →
Browse more: battles in North Macedonia · Europe · 19th century battles