| Battle of Dublje | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSecond Serbian Uprising | |||||||
 Isometric map of the battle | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Serbian rebels |  Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Miloš Obrenović | Ibrahim Ali Pasha[a] (POW) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Combinednahija troops | Bosnia Eyalet Nikšić nahiya | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000 | 1,300 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Minor[b] | 1,000+ killed, 80–83 captured | ||||||
TheBattle of Dublje (Serbian:Бој на Дубљу/Boj na Dublju) was undertaken by theSerbian rebel army led byMiloš Obrenović against Ottoman units of theBosnia Eyalet atDublje inMačva in northwestern central Serbia, a frontier towards Bosnia, where a large army was mustered setting out to crush the rebellion. Miloš decided for an assault with shield-carriers that proved successful with minimal Serb losses and destruction of the Ottoman unit holed up in a moat fortification. It was the last conflict of the uprising, which ended with peace and Serbian autonomy.
When theSecond Serbian Uprising broke out in April 1815, the rebel exiles in Srem aroundStojan Čupić sent a group, which includedSima Katić, into Mačva to rise the region.[1] Stojan Čupić andPetar Nikolajević Moler met with the leader of the uprising,vojvodaMiloš Obrenović, atValjevo.[2] Miloš sent Čupić and Srdan to rise Mačva, and Moler andJovica Milutinović with some Valjevo nahiya men toCrniljevo to watch if Ali Pasha of Zvornik would cross there.[2]Sima Nenadović joined the men at Crniljevo after having secured the defense of the area towards Soko.[2] Čupić was captured by Ottoman Bosnian troops belowBadovinci in Mačva and killed inZvornik.[2] Srdan was unable to rise Mačva, until the death of Čupić.[3] ArchpriestNikola Smiljanić met with Miloš in Čačak and was sent to Mačva where he was instrumental in rising up the region.[4] Smiljanić was joined by Ilija Srdan, Banovac and Đuko Stojićević and they together took control of theKitog road.[4] Sima Katić first went to Šabac and fought there, then joined archpriest Smiljanić in the Kitog forest.[5] Moler, Jovica, Gaja Dabić and Boja Bogićević gathered 1000 men and met withMarko Štitarac,Milutin Petrović,Bakal-Milosav andUzun-Mirko with 1000 men, and together went toKlenje, arriving on 10 July [O.S. 28 June] 1815.[4] The people of Mačva and Pocerina joined the rebels, meanwhile Rushid Hurshid Pasha mustered a large army in Bosnia.[4]
Hurshid Pasha andIbrahim Ali Pasha of Nikšić[a] attacked Mačva and Pocerina from the Drina.[6] The rebel leadership believed that Hurshid Pasha and Ali Pasha of Zvornik would attack via theCer mountain and end up inŠabac, and thus left small units in Kitog and most of the army below the Cer betweenRadovašnica andPetkovica.[7] Large numbers of Ottoman troops crossed into Serbia from Bosnia upon this, with Hurshid Pasha camped at Beljin and towards Badovinci, and a contingent sent ahead of him under Ibrahim Ali Pasha of Nikšić[a] that crossed at Janj and arrived at Lešnica with 1000 Bosnian troops and 300 Nikšić troops.[7] Ibrahim figured that the Serbian rebels were below the Cer and went toDublje, where he forced captured Mačva Serbs to build and fortify a largemoat.[7] After dealing with Karanovac, Miloš gathered Rudnik, Valjevo and Kragujevac nahiya rebels and went to Tamnava, followed by his brotherJovan Obrenović,Sima Paštrmac,Milić Drinčić andMilentije Pavlović, and made orders on how to counter Ali Pasha of Zvornik inPodrinje.[8] On 25 July [O.S. 13 July] 1815 the rebel troops under Miloš Obrenović gathered at Lipolist, and part of the army, under Moler andJovan Obrenović, went in the heavy rain for Dublje and gathered Smiljanić,Nikola Katić with 20 men, and Sima Katić with 100bećari.[9] Moler suggested to Miloš for an assault on 25 July [O.S. 13 July] 1815 but he postponed to the next day.[6]
Dublje was located on the main road from Bosnia to Šabac and Belgrade, which was why Miloš decided to attack, and the rebels also needed another victory to show that they were powerful and determined.[6] Smiljanić and Sima Katić were well-informed on the Dublje area and Ibrahim's positioning, and the rebels took detours to suddenly assault and force the Ottoman soldiers into the moat, killing and dispersing some.[10] The rebels set sheds on fire and gained valuable booty.[11] An intense gun fight ensued and in the night the Serbian cavalry in the distance feared that the attack would fail and went to Jezero, but quickly returned as it was concluded that the infantry fusillade checked the moat.[12] Đuka Stojićević was wounded in this initial assault.[11] Early in the next day, 26 July [O.S. 14 July] 1815, Miloš Obrenović arrived outside Dublje with the rest of the main army (includingMilić Drinčić andSima Nenadović) and suggested to the pressured Ottomans to surrender, which they refused.[13] Miloš planned for a violent assault using large shield-carriers (known asdomuz-araba, as used at Palež), then at midday rode with his flag-bearer Paštrmac and a couple of bodyguards around the moat and informed the Serb units on the attack, shot a couple of bullets at the moat, then signaled for a simultaneous attack.[14]
The field was engulfed with shots and the shield-carriers advanced towards the moat, followed by large numbers of infantry, with some irregular columns in the first line being deterred and pushed back, but were reinforced by subsequent lines and continued the assault.[15] Serb generals ran ahead of the infantry and boosted morale, and stopped men from leaving.[16] Milić Drinčić commanded a detachment that was to take the trench of Ibrahim Ali Pasha.[6] The Rudnik nahiya rebels seem to have been the bulk of assaulters, while the Valjevo nahiya rebels entered in the later stage.[17] Sima Nenadović rode in front of the moat on a young horse and yelled "Forward brothers, for the Honorable Cross and Christian Faith!".[18] There was continuous gunfire, with the most daring Serbs standing at the end of the moat and shooting and killing many of the defending Ottoman troops, and screams of agony and for help were heard.[16] The daring Teša Podrug, Petar Čarko, Boško Šarić and some others climbed the moat and entered the battlement and moat fortification.[16] There was close combat withyatagans inside the fortification, with Serbs attacking from all sides, which put panic in the Ottoman troops.[16] More Serbian troops entered the moat and the screams and howling intensified.[16] Some Ottoman soldiers tried to jump theparapet and run for safety but were cut down.[19] The main Ottoman troops went for the gate whereMilić Drinčić's men awaited and fought them,[19] cutting them down one by one into piles.[17] Soon the gunfire calmed down and some Ottomans managed into the shrubs around the moat, where the battle continued for a short time.[19] Only a small number of captives were taken to the generals and Miloš.[19]
Among the captives were Ibrahim Ali Pasha, the commander himself, captured by Teša Podrug, the Čaraković brothers and Ilija Koreniti, which greatly rejoiced Miloš.[19] He had been found in the shrubs barefoot brandishing a sabre, but he immediately surrendered.[20] Out of 1,300 Ottomans, 80[19] or 83[21] were caught and handed over to Miloš, while only a small number managed to their horses and across the Drina, most of them were killed.[22] All of the Nikšić Turks were killed according to K. Nenadović.[20] Arriving at the tent of Miloš, Ibrahim saw the decapitated head of his youngest son, Osman,[20] killed by Skerla from Lipovac in Kragujevačka Jasenica,[23] while his other son was caught alive.[20] All of Ibrahim's belongings were returned to him.[20] The Serbs had minor losses,[b] however, they lost two important commanders in Milić Drinčić who was shot in the nape by the gates, and young Sima Nenadović who assaulted the moat.[24] Drinčić likely died fromfriendly fire, although there are conspiracy theories regarding his death.[17]Milutin Savić andCincar-Marko, both distinguished throughout the second uprising, were wounded.[23]
The rebels gained significant booty such as superb weaponry, equipment and noble horses.[23] Miloš took Ibrahim with him to Crniljevo where they talked in the days following the battle, discussing the cause of the uprising, which Ibrahim understood, and promised he would not raise hands against the Serbs, but also suggested that Miloš negotiate and put himself under the emperor, and not any foreign power.[25] Ibrahim was then released.[26] Dublje was the last of the conflicts of the uprising.[23] At Ćuprija, the Serbs and VizierMarashli Ali Pasha signed a peace treaty.[27]
The church in Dublje was founded on the 120-year anniversary of the battle.[28] In 2015, there was a 200-year anniversary in Dublje with army representatives and liturgy.[29] There is an annual cultural manifestation inBogatić namedBoj na Dublju.[30] There is a monument to the battle in the courtyard of the Dublje church.[31]
