The

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of Mashkullorë () was fought on either 5 or 18 March, 1908. It took place between

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

rebel forces, under the command of

Çerçiz Topulli Çerçiz Topulli (20 September 1880 – 17 July 1915) was an Albanian revolutionary and guerrilla fighter involved in the Albanian national movement operating in the mountainous areas of southern Albania. He was the younger brother of Bajo Topul ...

, and 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 ...

Background

On February 25, 1908, Çerçiz Topulli and his Albanian rebel group assassinated the Ottoman binbashi of

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

. After the assassination of the Ottoman binbashi, Çerçiz Topulli and his Albanian rebels fled to Mashkullorë, a village near

Armed resistance in Mashkullorë

On March 5 or 18, the Albanian rebels were surrounded by Ottoman forces. The Ottoman forces had between 150 and over 200 soldiers and the Albanian rebels were outnumbered, nevertheless, Çerçiz Topulli was able to fight the soldiers, and emerge victorious. The Albanian rebel group of the detachment resisted attacks of the Turkish forces for an entire day and were able to break the siege. The Turkish forces lost 40 soldiers The Albanian rebels did not lose any soldiers, but Çerçiz Topulli and Myftar Axhemi were wounded.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Albanian National Awakening Battles involving the Ottoman Empire 1908 in the Ottoman Empire History of Albania Gjirokastër