Battle of Pločnik

Coordinates: 43°12′07″N 21°21′20″E / 43.20194°N 21.35556°E / 43.20194; 21.35556
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

43°12′07″N 21°21′20″E / 43.20194°N 21.35556°E / 43.20194; 21.35556

Battle of Pločnik
Part of the
Pločnik
Result Serbian victory[1]
Belligerents
Bosnian Kingdom
Ottoman EmpireCommanders and leaders
Lazar Hrebeljanović
Lala Şahin Pasha or Şahin BeyStrength c. 15,000 c. 20,000 in totalCasualties and losses Small casualties 12,000 killed

The Battle of Pločnik was fought sometime between 1385 and 1387

Ottoman Army of Sultan Murad I.[2]

Background

The Ottoman army penetrated Pomoravlje and neighbouring areas, killing and looting, then clashed with the subjects of Lazar at Dubravnica (1381), where they were successfully fought off.[3] With a larger force, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I attacked Serbia in 1386, when according to some sources Niš was conquered.[4]

Murad I had campaigned against the

Lala Şahin Paşa, as is commonly believed).[5]

Battle

The Serbian army emerged victorious, although details of the actual battle are scarce. Şahin Bey entered Serbia with 20,000

Pločnik near Prokuplje but could not detect the position of that army, and believed that there was none. At that time, many akinjis (about 18,000) lost their temper and began looting civilian properties in the surrounding villages by disobeying orders. Şahin Bey stayed alone with 2,000 soldiers.[5]
On the other hand, the battlefield was observed by Serbian expeditionary forces.

Suddenly an allied army with 15,000 soldiers appeared, many of whom were cavalry. The Serbian army used heavy knight cavalry charge with horse archers on the flanks. The Serbs first attacked the Ottoman center (2,000 soldiers). Although unprepared, suffering a shock to heavy Serbian knights, the outnumbered Ottoman center resisted for some time but later began to withdraw with Şahin Bey[5] who barely escaped with his life.[citation needed]

Then the Serbian army turned to the other 18,000 akinjis that were busy plundering; unprepared, ill-disciplined, surprised akinjis couldn't do anything without their general. Only 5,000 of them returned home alive.[5] More than 60% of the Ottoman army was destroyed. According to tradition Serbian knight and folk hero Miloš Obilić participated in this battle and distinguished himself,[6] and was wounded by an Ottoman arrow.

According to some, such as historian

Kastrioti.[8]

Aftermath

The victory gave prestige to the Serbs. It was the first serious defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkans.[5] The Ottoman army next campaigned in Bosnia, fighting Bosnian troops led by Vlatko Vuković and Radič Sanković at Bileća (1388), ending in a decisive Bosnian victory, then in Kosovo, fighting Serbian troops at the Kosovo field (1389), ending inconclusively. Murad had decided to make one more powerful thrust, aimed at the heart of the now seemingly revitalised Serbian Empire, with a campaign in 1389 which culminated in a Battle of Kosovo.[citation needed]

See also

  • History of the Serbian-Turkish wars

Annotations

  1. ^
    There are several estimations on the year of the battle. 1385 according to Sima Ćirković;[9] 1386 according to Jovanka Kalić[4] and Marko Šuica;[10] 1387 according to Kemal Namık.[5]

References

  1. ^ Duducu 2018.
  2. ISBN 978-3-7001-6685-6
    . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ Kalić 1984, p. 31; Stojanović 1927, p. 214
  4. ^ a b Kalić 1984, p. 31.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Namık 1982, p. ?.
  6. ISBN 9788774551522
    .
  7. ^ Klaić, Vjekoslav; Macan, Trpimir (1981). Povijest Hrvata od najstarijih vremena do svršetka XIX stoljeća. Nakladni zavod MH. p. 288.
  8. ^ Đerić 1989, p. 25.
  9. ^ Ćirković 1990, p. 64.
  10. ^ Šuica 2011, p. 234.

Sources

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