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 Kruševo ( ; "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian language, Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an altitude of over ...

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 Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The leading revolutionary commanders of the local Kruševo Republic were

Nikola Karev Nikola Yanakiev Karev (; ; November 23, 1877 – April 27, 1905) was a Macedonian Bulgarians, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary. He was born in Kruševo and died in the village of Rajčani both today in North Macedonia. Karev was a local leader ...

and Pitu Guli. The battle is an important event that is celebrated in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. 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 Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

and

Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...

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. Revolutionary Pitu Guli and most of his men were killed at the battle of Mečkin Kamen while

managed to break through the Turkish lines and escaped back to

. The Turkish forces entered the town of

on 12 August 1903. A monument exists today on Mečkin Kamen where Pitu Guli was killed. There is a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

memorial by Dimo Todorovski at the same site.

References

Sources

* MI-AN Publishing, Skopje 1998, Macedonia Yesterday And Today. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Meckin Kamen Kruševo Republic Ottoman Kruševo Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization 1903 in the Ottoman Empire Meckin Kamen Military history of North Macedonia History of the Aromanians Kruševo Municipality August 1903 in Europe