The Battle of Šuplji Kamen (, ) between the Serbian Chetnik Organization and the Ottoman army under Hamdi Pasha, took place on 27 May 1904.
Prelude.
On 25 April, two bands ("četa") of some 20 fighters under voivodes Anđelko Aleksić and Đorđe Cvetković swore oath in a ceremony of the Serbian Committee (Milorad Gođevac, Vasa Jovanović, Žika Rafajlović, Luka Ćelović and General Jovan Atanacković), with "prota" Nikola Stefanović holding the prayers. The Committee had prepared the formation of the first bands for a number of months. The Chetniks were sent for Poreče, and on 8 May they headed out from Vranje, to Buštranje, which was divided between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire.
History.
The Chetniks were escorted by Vasilije Trbić, who told them that the best way was to go through the Kozjak and then down to the Vardar. The two voivodes however, wanted the fastest route, through the Kumanovo plains and then to Četirac. They managed to enter Turkish territory but were subsequently exposed in the plain Albanian and Turkish villages, and the Ottomans closed in on them from all sides, and they decided to stay on the Šuplji Kamen, which gave them little defence instead of meeting the army on the plains; in broad daylight, the Ottoman military easily poured bombs over the hill and killed all 24 of the Chetniks on 27 May.
According to Serbian state documents, the death toll was 24 Chetniks, a "zaptı" (Ottoman gendarmerie), and three Ottoman soldiers. Serbian deputy Ristić, according to the document, named Žika Rafajlović as the organizer of the band, and that "such adventures and thoughtless treacherous actions should be stopped".
References.
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