Battle of Suvodol

The Battle of Suvodol was fought near Sjenica between the Serbian rebels under Karađorđe and Ottoman army consisting of Albanians under Numan Pasha in late May 1809, during the First Serbian Uprising. It resulted in a Serbian victory.

Prelude
In the spring of 1809, during the Russo-Turkish War (1806–12), the Serbs took up arms once again, and begun directing attacks on Serb-inhabited territories outwards of the former Sanjak of Smederevo. Prior to the Battle of Suvodol, Karađorđe and his forces liberated Nova Varos and Sjenica and moved onwards towards the river Lim. On the 9th of June and wary of Numan Pasha’s forces that were already based in the Suvi Do area, Karađorđe’s forces moved onwards from the river Lim towards Suvi Do. The next day on the 10th of June, Karađorđe’s forces arrived in Suvi Do from the North West. The exact number of soldiers that were deployed is difficult to attain, with some numbers ranging from 8000 to 20000 Albanian fighters under Numan Pasha’s command and between 4000-6000 Serbian fighters under Karađorđe’s command. However, a rough estimate puts Karađorđe’s forces at 4-4,500 troops and unknown number of cannons. While Numan Pasha’s forces were numbered at 4,000 soldiers with no cannons.

Expecting the arrival of revolutionaries, Numan Pasha’s forces began to set up trenches on the hills surrounding Suvi Do. From this vantage point, Albanian forces under Numan Pasha’s command had a view of the plains below and from a strategic point of view; this was a convenient position to be in. However, thanks to the dense forest below and morning fog, Karađorđe’s forces were able to sneak up to the Albanian trenches without being detected.

Battle
The first attack on the trenches was ferocious; Karađorđe’s forces were able to take positions early on, but due to weaknesses of the Serbian forces (fatigue from the previous nights march), Numan Pasha’s forces had a strong advantage early on in repelling the attack. Numan Pasha was aware of his initial advantage and tried to capitalise on it. On the evening of the 10th of June, Numan Pasha ordered a counter attack on the revolutionaries and forced the Serbian forces back to their cannon lines. However, with defeat in sight, Serbian Cavalry under the command of Vojvoda Vule Ilic Kolarac attacked one of the Albanian wings with such force and surprise that it threw the Albanian forces in disarray as the cavalry were flanking them. Albanian forces attempted to regroup and attack the revolutionaries; however they were met with fierce gun fire from the Serbian cannons and infantry. In the midst of the fighting and poor visibility due to the fog, Vojvoda Vule Ilic Kolarac began to yell out in Turkish “our forces have retreated” in order to fool the Albanians into retreating. This ploy threw Numan Pasha’s forces into even more disarray. Battered by relentless attacks, the injured Numan Pasha and his forces retreated.

The retreating Albanian forces tried to regroup and ambush revolutionaries who were chasing after them. However, the Albanian forces were pushed further into rocky canyons where the Serbian revolutionaries began to shower the Albanians forces with large boulders which were abundant in the area. Those who survived the onslaught retreated towards Peć and Novi Pazar.

Aftermath
Numan Pasha’s forces lost over 600 men while Karađorđe’s forces lost 120 men. The victory of the battle liberated further territory and opened up further routes into Montenegro.