The Battle of Fundina took place on 2 August 1876 in Fundina, a village in Kuči,

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...

. The day had a religious importance, as being the

St. Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

's Day (

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

). The Montenegrin Army was led by the two Montenegrin dukes, Ilija Plamenac and

Marko Miljanov Marko Miljanov Popović ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Миљанов Поповић, ; 25 April 1833 – 2 February 1901) was a Brda chieftain and Montenegrin general and writer. He entered the service of Danilo I, the first secular Prince of Monteneg ...

, who had about 5,000 troop under their direct command. Ottomans had strength of 40,000. Days before the battle, a Montenegrin Muslim, Mašo-Hadži Ahmetov revealed Ottoman plans to Marko Miljanov, so that Montenegrins knew where the attack was going to come from. The Ottomans advanced from the Southwest towards Kuči, planning their final attack for 3 August. But, since Montenegrin commanders knew of their plans, they counterattacked a day before. Most of the fighting occurred at the bottom of Heljam hill, where Ottomans were defending from the trenches. While Marko Miljanov was in the front lines, Ilija Plamenac was commanding the Montenegrin army from the back, developing a strategy. After the victory was secured, Montenegrins captured the Ottoman leaders, put them in a house and burned it to the ground. The rest of Montenegrins chased the remaining Ottomans southward, forcing them into a fast retreat. The exact number of Montenegrin casualties is unknown, but it is certain that Ceklin battalion suffered the greatest losses. The most successful part of the Montenegrin Army was Martinići battalion, which killed 2,000 Ottomans, and captured 6 enemy flags. Novak Vujošević from Kuči tribe was the biggest hero of the battle, killing 28 enemy soldiers; he later received an award from the Russian emperor. After the battle, Montenegrins sent a "gift" to Mahmud Pasha - a live wolf, as a symbol of Montenegrin pride and freedom. Marko Miljanov, one of the two Montenegrin commanders, was awarded the best captured sword and a house in Medun, which is today a museum. After the battle, Kuči clan was awarded a medal for bravery by

King Nicholas I Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...

. The importance of this Montenegrin victory was that it stopped the Ottoman advance, and secured Montenegrin victory in the Montenegrin–Turkish War of 1876–1878.

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*''William H. Guttenberg; History becomes alive'' * *

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