Battle of Fundina
Part ofMontenegrin-Turkish War of 1876-1878
Depiction of the Battle of Fundina
Date 2 August 1876 Location Fundina,Montenegro Result Montenegrin victory[1]
Belligerents
Montenegro	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ilija Plamenac Marko Miljanov Popović	Mahmud Pasha
Strength
5,000[2]	50,000[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

^[3] TheBattle of Fundina took place on 2 August 1876 in Fundina, a village inKuči,Principality of Montenegro. The day had a religious importance, as being theSt. Elijah's Day (Eastern Orthodoxcalendar). The Montenegrin Army was led by the two Montenegrin dukesIlija Plamenac andMarko Miljanov, who had about 5,000 troop under their direct command. The Ottomans had a total strength of 40,000. Days before the battle, aMontenegrin Muslim, Mašo-Hadži Ahmetov revealed the Ottoman plans to Marko Miljanov, and thus theMontenegrins knew where the attack was going to come from.

The Ottomans advanced from the Southwest towards Kuči, planning their final attack for 3 August. But since Montenegrin commanders knew of their plans, they counterattacked a day before. Most of the fighting occurred at the bottom of Heljam hill, where the Ottomans were defending from the trenches. While Marko Miljanov was in the front lines, Ilija Plamenac was commanding theMontenegrin army from the back, developing a strategy. After the victory was secured, the Montenegrins captured the Ottoman leaders, put them in a house and burned it to the ground.^{[citation needed]} The rest of the Montenegrins chased the remaining Ottomans southward, forcing them into a fast retreat. The exact number of Montenegrin casualties is unknown, but it is certain that theCeklin battalion suffered the greatest losses. The most successful part of the Montenegrin Army was theMartinići battalion, which killed 2,000 Ottomans, and captured 6 enemy flags. Novak Vujošević from theKuči tribe was the biggest hero of the battle, killing 28 enemy soldiers; he later received an award from theRussian emperor. After the battle, Montenegrins sent a "gift" toMahmud Pasha - a live wolf, as a symbol of Montenegrin pride and freedom. Marko Miljanov, one of the two Montenegrin commanders, was awarded the best captured sword and a house inMedun, which is today a museum. After the battle, theKuči clan was awarded a medal for bravery byKing Nicholas I. The importance of this Montenegrin victory was that it stopped the Ottoman advance, and secured the Montenegrin victory in theMontenegrin–Turkish War of 1876–1878.

• William H. Guttenberg; History becomes alive
• "Herojstvo u priči potomaka (Heroism in the stories of descendants)".Dan (in Serbian). 7 January 2006. Retrieved8 June 2010.
• Stefan, Vladislav Alexander (2008).My Passion.ISBN 9781889545936.

• Montenegrin-Turkish War of 1876-1878
• Battle of Vučji Do
• Principality of Montenegro
• Marko Miljanov Popović

• Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro
• Battles involving Montenegro
• Battles involving the Ottoman Empire
• Conflicts in 1876
• 1876 in the Ottoman Empire
• 1876 in Europe
• Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–1878)

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