The Battle of Grahovac took place in the eponymous village of
Grahovac from 11 to 13 May 1858, when the Montenegrin Grand Duke
Mirko Petrović-Njegoš led the army of
Principality of Montenegro against the
Ottomans, ending in a decisive Montenegrin victory. After the victory, the demarcation of the border between Montenegro and the Ottoman
Bosnia Eyalet
The Eyalet of Bosnia ( ota, ایالت بوسنه ,Eyālet-i Bōsnâ; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; sh, Bosanski pašaluk), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based o ...
was finalised. A considerable arsenal of war trophies was captured following the retreat of the Ottoman army.
Background
On 10 May 1858, the
Ottoman commander
Hussein Pasha captured the villages of
Vilusi and
Grahovo and continued his advance towards Grahovac, a small village located on a plateau elevated slightly above the captured area. The core of Montenegrin resistance was in Grahovac, which was the main bastion of Montenegrin defence according to military plans.
Battle
The fighting itself started on May 11, early in the morning. The Ottomans attacked Grahovac while Montenegrins were stubbornly defending, determined not to retreat at any cost. Most of 3,000 Ottoman and 1,000 Montenegrin casualties were made on that day. On May 12, Hussein Pasha offered a
truce to Montenegrin commander-in-chief Grand Duke
Mirko Petrović-Njegoš, but he refused it, although he did allow the Ottomans time to bury their dead. He also refused to send men to disrupt the Ottomans supply of water. Although this would have given him a tactical advantage, he considered it a dishonourable move.
On May 13, the decisive battle started as the Ottomans got military support from
Bosnia. But this time, the Montenegrins took charge and attacked the Ottomans, forcing them into successive retreats. The biggest problem for the Montenegrins was a well-armed Ottoman artillery, which was constantly bombarding their positions with cannons. Eventually, the Montenegrins decided to charge across the battlefield and take over the cannons. After they saw two of the commanders, the
Serdar Serdar may refer to
* Serdar (given name)
* Serdar (surname)
* SERDAR, a stabilized remote-controlled Ukrainian weapon station
* Serdar (city) in Turkmenistan, the capital of Serdar District
* Serdar (Ottoman rank), a military and noble rank of t ...
(
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
) Đuro Kusovac and the priest Luka Jovović, being killed while charging, the rest of the Montenegrin troops, including the guardsmen, began a rapid advance with a shout: "Forward, to avenge our commanders". The offensive was successful, and by capturing Ottoman cannons, the Montenegrins had officially won the battle.
Aftermath
This major victory had had even more diplomatic significance. The glory of Montenegrin weapons was soon immortalised in the songs and literature of all the South Slavs, in particular the Serbs in Vojvodina, then part of Austria-Hungary. This Montenegrin victory forced the Great Powers to officially demarcate the borders between Montenegro and Ottoman Empire, de facto recognizing Montenegro's centuries-long independence. Montenegro gained
Grahovo, Rudine,
Nikšići, more than half of
Drobnjaci, Tušina, Uskoci, Lipovo, Upper
Vasojevići
The Vasojevići ( sh, Васојевићи, ) is a historical highland tribe (''pleme'') and region of Montenegro, in the area of the Brda. It is the largest of the historical tribes, occupying the area between Lijeva Rijeka in the South up to ...
, and part of
Kuči and Dodoši.
Prince Danilo granted all of the battle survivors the "Grahovo medal", and Mirko Petrović-Njegoš was proclaimed "Grand Duke of Grahovo". In 1864
King Nicholas I built the Church of the Ascension on the site of Hussein Pasha's headquarters, and in 2008, the Montenegrin government revealed an
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
which honours the battle and its participants. Both on the church and the obelisk read the famous quotation from
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš's ''
The Mountain Wreath'': ''The monument to your bravery is Montenegro and its freedom''.
Gallery
Alaj barjak.jpg, Flag used by the Montenegrin army in the Battle of Grahovac
Vlah Church, Cetinje.jpg, A rail guard of the Vlah Church in Cetinje was built of captured Ottoman rifle barrels in the Battle of Grahovac
File:Grahovac veterans.jpg, Veterans of the Battle of Grahovac photographed at the celebration of its 50th anniversary (1908)
References
Sources
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{{Coord, 42.6878, 18.6114, display=title
Grahovac
Grahovac
Grahovac
Grahovac
Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro
Principality of Montenegro
May 1858 events