The Battle of Monastir[6] took place near the town of Bitola, Macedonia[7] (then known as Monastir) during the First Balkan War, from the 16th to 19th November 1912. As an ongoing part of the Balkan Wars, the Ottoman Vardar Army retreated from the defeat at Kumanovo and regrouped around Bitola. The Serbian 1st Army, marching for Bitola, encountered heavy Ottoman artillery fire and had to wait for its own artillery to arrive.