-- ILINDEN UPRISING -- - Part 03

No sooner had the insurgents liberated the region than the Ottomans sent reinforcements. Late in the day on August 3rd, 1903 a column of 600 enemy soldiers and Bashi-Bazouks arrived in Resen and began surrounding villages and indiscriminately firing at the civilians. As each village fell, it was looted and houses were robbed and then burned. The general population was tortured and many women were raped and dishonoured. Each attack was concluded with the burning of the village. The worst suffering happened at the hands of the Albanians who formed a unit of 700 Bashi-Bazouks and went on a rampage robbing, beating and torturing the Macedonian population. After crossing the Devol River, these Bashi-Bazouks continued their rampage all through Nivitsi, Grazhdino, Orovo, Drenovo and other villages in the Dolna Prespa Region.

These severe attacks on the civilian population prompted many insurgents to leave their posts and join the village Chetas in an effort to save the Christian population. Unfortunately, the more the insurgents resisted the worse was the punishment on the villagers.

By August 11, 1903 almost the entire insurgence in the Resen Uprising Revolutionary District was engaged in the defense of the civilian population but without success. The Ottoman army received further reinforcements from Lerin and the massive revenge continued. Ljuboino and Brajchino were burned to the ground and as the battle moved from Brajchino to Dupeni both insurgent leaders Nikola Kokarev and Veljan Iliev were killed. The leaderless insurgents were then thrown into disarray, literally ending the Uprising in the northern part of Dolna Prespa.

In the southern part, meanwhile, the insurgents decided to stiffen the resistance and called for all available fighters to join the battles. When the Ottoman offensive began between August 23rd and 25th, 1903, near the village German, the first to arrive was the Bitola Cheta, numbering 86 insurgents, led by Aleksandar Eftimov and Ivan Kafedzhija. Joining in from Vmbelska Mountain were the Kostur Chetas, numbering 825 insurgents in total, led by Vasil Chakalarov and Pando Kljashev. Also joining the fight were about 200 local insurgents led by Andrev and Olchev. In total there were

1,100 Macedonian fighters pitted against an army of 6,000 Ottoman soldiers.

After surprising and demolishing the Bitola and German Chetas near the village Shtrkovo, the Ottoman army on August 28th, 1903 engaged the remaining Chetas near the village Rudari where several battles broke out. The results were catastrophic for the insurgency, leaving 85 insurgents dead and virtually ending the Uprising in that Region. Demoralized, both insurgents and civilians began to hastily retreat to the safety of Pelister Mountain.

After the mass exodus, the insurgents shifted their priorities from offensive to defensive tactics and concentrated their efforts on protecting the civilians and providing food and shelter for them.

Some Prespa residents made the Island of Ail into a stronghold and held out for the better part of September. But when word came that the Ottomans were about to acquire long range artillery, the Island defense leadership evacuated the island on September 20th, 1903. As the villagers began to return to their homes the insurgency quickly died down, thus concluding the August 2nd, 1903 Uprising in that district.

----- The Kostur Uprising

The Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District (now occupied by Greece) covered the south-western part of Macedonia which roughly corresponded to the administrative Kostur Caza with borders following the flow of the Bistritsa and Devol Rivers to the edges of the Gramos, Smolikina and Sarakina Mountains. The Kostur Caza was supported by a population of about 75,000 people of whom 51,000 were Macedonians and the rest were Albanians, Vlachs and Ottomans.

Revolutionary activities in the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary district increased significantly with Gotse Delchev’s visit in late 1901. His extended visit and tour of the region, which lasted well into 1902, helped the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO) establish revolutionary committees in almost all of the Christian populated villages.

The top leadership positions in the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District were filled entirely with Kostur Region locals, which included the famous vojvodi Vasil Chakalarov, Pando Kljashev and Lazar Pop Trajkov, all well known to Delchev from his school days in Solun. Because of urgent circumstances, the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District leadership wanted to begin the Uprising early and made such requests to other Regional Revolutionary Organizations.

The failed Uprising attempt in Zagoricheni by Anastas Jankov alerted the Ottoman authorities that something was happening in that region so the immediate reaction was to clamp down on the population and destroy the MRO. So rather than waiting for the Ottomans to pick them off one by one, the Kostur Revolutionary leaders requested that the Uprising begin as soon as possible. At the time there were only 1,800 Ottoman soldiers stationed in and around Kostur so it would have been a great opportunity to liberate Kostur before more troops were brought in.

In the meantime, because of the Uprising attempt at Zagoricheni, the Ottomans became aware that something was developing so they increased their searches, arrests and murders of people. Violence became an everyday occurrence with grave consequences not only for the ordinary Macedonian people but also for the future of the Uprising. All this weighed heavily in the hearts and minds of the revolutionaries, particularly on Chakalarov and Kljashev, so at the Smilevo Congress, which took place in May 1903, they not only supported an early Uprising, they demanded it.

At the Smilevo Congress it was decided that the leaders to organize and lead the Uprising in the Kostur Revolutionary District, among others, would be Vasil Chakalarov, Pando Kljashev, Lazar Pop Trajkov, Manol Rosov, Ivan Popov and Mihail Nikolov.

Immediately after the Smilevo Congress, Kostur Revolutionary District representatives organized a number of meetings that took place in the villages Dmbeni, Blatse and Ppli where the general situation was discussed and decisions were made on how to proceed with preparations for the Uprising. It was decided to divide the

Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District into 5 sub-regions, each lead by a vojvoda who in turn would report to the Regional Headquarters. As soon as the vojvoda’s were appointed, preparations for recruitment, training and arming of insurgents followed. People were also placed in charge of acquiring food, clothing, medical supplies and other provisions in support of the Uprising.

While the insurgents were secretly preparing for the Uprising, the Ottomans continued to reinforce their forces and stepped up their provocation, abuse and torture of the general population. In their search for weapons, the Ottomans burned down the village Smrdesh along with the bomb making factory and grenade manufacturing workshop. A little later the villages Statitsa, Kolomnati and other surrounding villages were raided and over 100 rifles were confiscated.

So instead of waiting for General Headquarters to give a date for the Uprising, while the Ottomans were destroying Kostur Region village by village, the local Kostur Region leadership decided to retaliate. After the burning of Smrdesh, on May 31st, 1903, Chakalarov took the offensive and attacked the Ottomans near Lokma, delivering a devastating blow. Being left alone for a while, the insurgents continued with their preparations and around mid-July 1903, Chakalarov, Kljashev and Popov felt confident to take their Chetas on a tour of the various Kostur Region villages.

When news of the Uprising start date reached the Kostur Regional Headquarters, all 80 Kostur Region villages were informed in a matter of 4 to 5 hours, indicating that the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District was ready for action. Unfortunately so were the Ottomans who had found out about the impending attacks, particularly about the one on the city of Kostur.

When the insurgents discovered that the Ottomans knew of their plans to attack the city, they quickly changed their tactics and began attacking smaller Ottoman installations. The first attack, carried out by Popov’s Cheta, began in Aposkep and Zhupanoshte during the night of August 2nd, 1903 and escalated during the liberation of Klisura.

The town of Klisura, with a population of 3,400 inhabitants, is located on the Klisura Mountain curve 1,170 meters above sea level. Geographically and from a military point of view, Klisura is located in an ideal place bridging Kostur with the surrounding villages. Another good reason for the insurgents wanting to liberate Klisura was to gain control of the road that links Kostur to the central part of Macedonia which also happened to pass through Klisura. The road from Kostur leads to the east via the village Mavrovo, to the north around Nered Mountain and to the south around Snezhnik Mountain. All these branches which interconnect Kostur to Vrbeni, Kajlari, Banitsa, Bitola and Solun must pass through Klisura, which makes this town of great strategic importance not just for the insurgents but also for the Ottomans. That is precisely why both sides were prepared to fight over it at any cost.

Given the strategic importance of Klisura, the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District leadership decided to concentrate its efforts on liberating this town as soon as possible, before the Ottomans had a chance to bolster their defenses. The first attack took place on August 4th, 1903 under Nikola Andreev’s own initiative. At the time there were only 300 Ottoman soldiers stationed there and Andreev, with his Cheta of 150 insurgents, decided to surprise the Ottomans. Unfortunately it was he who was surprised as the attack was expected and quickly ended in disaster with 6 insurgents dead and the rest barely escaping with their lives.

Fearing more attacks to come the Ottomans made preparations to bolster their defenses, particularly near the roads, by bringing reinforcements from other garrisons.

Having learned their lesson, the insurgent leadership began preparations for a second attack on Klisura scheduled to commence before the Ottoman reinforcements arrived. After developing a plan, all available insurgents in the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District, numbering about 600, were ordered to amass, concentrate and regroup. The insurgent force was then divided into two columns and each column was given its responsibility. The column responsible for the liberation of the northern region of Kostur District, lead by Chakalarov, Kljashev and Rozov, which included

the Zagorichani and Bobishta Chetas, was tasked with attacking the Zagorichani-Bobishta-Klisura line, while part of the same force was separated and assigned to protect the Lehovo-Klisura line. The column responsible for the liberation of the southern region of Kostur, lead by Popov and comprised of eight smaller Chetas, was tasked with carrying out its attacks from Kumanichevo into Klisura. But as the plan was ready to be put into action, information gathered by the intelligence service indicated that a large Ottoman force of undetermined size was about to be dispatched from inside Kostur towards Klisura. Based on this information the insurgents had to change their plans and immediately intervene. To slow down the Ottoman advance, it was decided that the closest Cheta from Visheni lead by Joto Rashejkov and Naum Trpovski’s Cheta be dispatched to set an ambush by the road near the village Visheni. But with help from the people of Visheni, the Macedonian Chetas not only stopped the Ottoman advance but in their surprise attack they sent the Ottomans fleeing in panic.

Then at dawn, August 4th, 1903, a massive battle began which pitted 2,000 Ottoman soldiers against 700 Macedonian insurgents. It was an extraordinary battle that lasted over twelve hours, employing the best military tactics and weaponry by both sides. While the Ottomans utilized their artillery and cavalry, the Macedonians more than matched them with their determination, decisiveness, sharp shooting and use of hand grenades. With their determination, accurate aim and superior maneuverability, the Macedonians eventually took the upper hand and drove the massive Ottoman force to retreat to Lerin. On August 5th, 1903 the insurgents came out victorious thus liberating Klisura from the Ottomans. What was also amazing about this battle is that while the Ottomans sustained 26 casualties, the insurgents sustained no casualties. Klisura remained liberated and free until August 28th, 1903 when its liberators retreated without a fight and the Ottomans returned to reclaim it.

In other parts of Kostur Region, meanwhile, the Ottomans began their penetration on August 13th, 1903 with a massive force of 6,000 soldiers. To avoid detection the Ottoman force crossed Kostur Lake with ships, departing from Kostur and landing in Mavrovo at the rear of the insurgents. The first to spot the Ottoman invasion was

Ivan Popov’s Cheta which did its best to slow the penetration, but without much success. A battle broke out but being vastly outnumbered the insurgents had little choice but to flee to Vicho Mountain to save themselves. The Ottomans persistently pursued the fleeing Cheta but on their way ran into Chakalarov’s Cheta. Another battle broke out and lasted several hours, but unfortunately still outnumbered the combined Macedonian Chetas decided they were no match for the Ottomans and withdrew. In their haste the insurgents left all their provisions behind but not without poisoning them first. Unaware of the poisoning, the Ottomans took advantage of the free food and 250 of them ended up sick.

On August 21st, 1903 the Ottomans launched a massive cleanup operation against the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District with a force of 15,000 soldiers. The force consisted of three separate columns originating from Kostur, Sorovich and Lerin and initiated simultaneous attacks indiscriminately killing people and burning villages. By the time the Ottomans finished they had burned 23 Macedonian villages and killed 600 people.

To stop the indignant attacks on the villages and the civilian population, the insurgent leadership decided it was time to open new offensives. They regrouped their immediate forces and split them into two groups. Lead by Pop Trajkov, Popov, Nikolov and Razov, the first group of 620 was dispatched towards Lerin Region. The second group consisting of 450 insurgents lead by Chakalarov and Kljashev was dispatched to head south to attack the Ottoman detachment of 2,000 soldiers stationed in Aposkep. In the meantime a much smaller insurgence force, lead by Dimitar Pandzhurov, was left in Kostur Region to regroup the remaining insurgents and, to the best of its ability, protect the population.

When Chakalarov and Kljashev began their attacks on Aposkep it was a total surprise to the Ottoman commander Ethem Pasha in Kostur, who was under the impression that the insurgency in Kostur Region was defeated. Witnessing a large force of insurgents at its doorstep, which was no more than six kilometers from the outskirts of the city of Kostur, panic began to grip the Ottomans turning what could have been a victory into defeat. More Ottomans were dispatched to the battle and they too were defeated. Victorious, the

insurgents again divided their forces into two new groups. One group, consisting of 120 insurgents lead by Chakalarov, set its sights on liberating Smrdesh, Dmbeni, Kosinets and Nestram. The other group, consisting of 330 insurgents lead by Kljashev, returned to Kolomnati where it was split into several smaller Chetas and assigned to protect the various villages in the region. Chakalarov’s Cheta fought several battles with both the Ottoman army and the Bashi-Bazouks in the region but eventually returned to Kolomnati and with Kljashev continued to score victories against the Ottomans.

----- The Lerin Uprising

The Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District (now occupied by Greece) is situated south of the Bitola Uprising Revolutionary District. On its south and west it bordered the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District. On its north it bordered Dolna Prespa and Pelister Regions and on its east it bordered Voden Region.

The most strategically significant part about Lerin Region was the road passing through its territory that interconnected the transportation and communications lines between Bitola and Solun.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Lerin Region was supported by a population of about 60,000 people of whom 63% were Macedonians, 19% Ottomans, 7% Albanians, Vlachs and others. (Vanche Stojchev. “Military History of Macedonia”. Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 350)

Revolutionary activities in the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary district were unfortunately stifled due to an incident that took place in 1902. Because of an accidental discovery of weapons, the Ottomans suspected something was going on in that region and initiated massive and intense weapons searches. In the process they also initiated terror campaigns and committed atrocities against the Christian population. This improper conduct weighed heavily on the Lerin Region Revolutionaries and prompted them to take action against the Ottomans. Regrettably this brought them into a collision course with the Ottoman authorities who felt they needed to eliminate the insurgency. Unfortunately in their unprepared-ness the

insurgents could not protect themselves or initiate a prolonged fight against this aggression. But once exposed, the insurgents were pursued, hunted down and killed one by one, including their illustrious leader Marko Lerinski. Unfortunately this incident caused much harm, not just to the insurgents, but also to the Uprising. The incident gave the Ottomans more reasons to further escalate the searches which eventually lead to the discovery and confiscation of over 600 rifles and large quantities of ammunition. Besides overpowering the insurgency and removing the arms from the region, Ottoman authorities also bolstered their defenses, especially around the railway, rail yards and rail stations.

Fortunately help came from General Headquarters with the appointment of Georgi Papanchev sent to Lerin Region to replace Marko Lerinski and to lead the Uprising. Then in March 1903 Boris Sarafov was sent to inspect the Revolutionary District’s progress and encourage the local population to join the Uprising. With Sarafov’s help, several meetings were held in various villages including Setina, Banitsa and Ekshi Su. Issues concerning preparations for the Uprising were discussed including plans to create and train new Chetas, procure and stockpile food, acquire medical supplies, etc.

Because of its weakened state, the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District was also encouraged to look to the Kostur Uprising Revolutionary District for assistance, particularly in coordinating simultaneous and joint attacks on the enemy.

Primary targets selected for attacks were the railway tunnels near the village Tserevo, the railway station in Banitsa and the bridges near the villages Sakulevo and Ekshi Su.

Despite its inability to contribute much to the Uprising, the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District did attend the Smilevo Congress in May 1903 and was represented by Georgi Papanchev and Mihail Chekov from Ekshi Su. It was there that it was decided that Lerin Region had the potential to fight and would definitely participate in the National Uprising. As a result, Georgi Papanchev, Lecho Tserovski and Kosta Gruev were appointed leaders of the Lerin

Regional Head Office and were to lead the Uprising and revolutionary activities in that District.

After the top leadership was appointed Lerin Region was then sub-divided into six Uprising centers each with its own leader and each reporting to the Regional Head Office.

Soon after their return from the Smilevo Congress, Papanchev and Chekov decided to schedule a number of meetings with the local leaders to inform them of the situation. The first meeting was scheduled for the night of May 28th, 1903 in the village Banitsa where local leaders and more than 400 insurgents were in attendance. Unfortunately, and despite the precautionary measures the insurgents had taken to avoid incidents, the Ottoman authorities were aware of their activities and very early in the morning of May 29th, 1903 Ottoman troops surrounded the village. In their attempt to breach the siege, 17 insurgents lost their lives, including their leader Papanchev, again devastating the Organization and delivering another blow to the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District’s effort to join the National Uprising.

In spite of the great loss, however, General Headquarters still believed there was potential for the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District to join the national fight so it dispatched Gjorgji Pop Hristov to pick up the pieces and continue the Uprising effort as head of the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District. Hristov’s first priority as top leader was to punish the traitors and informants who caused the disaster. His actions immensely contributed to the straightening and reputation of the Organization. After that Hristov devoted his energy to the preparations for the Uprising.

To help things along Damjan Gruev and Boris Sarafov, in the beginning of July, 1903, paid Lerin Region a visit and managed to attract over 800 potential insurgent recruits. Unfortunately there were no weapons available to arm these people so they were told to return to their homes. With the disasters that befell the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District, weapons were rare and not easy to acquire, so most of the Lerin Region insurgents remained unarmed. The number of those who were armed was small and therefore needed to be safeguarded to be effective. For this reason the Lerin

Region insurgents had to resort to partisan style warfare. Small units were assembled and assigned to independent actions that mainly had to do with preventing the enemy from executing speedy transfers of troops and material from region to region and with the task of informing and educating the general public about the impending Uprising.

Then when the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District received information on the Uprising start date, it exercised its duty to warn the management of the railway in Solun not to transport civilians in the trains. But as soon as the railway was disrupted, due to insurgent diversionary attacks, railway management requested of the Ottoman authorities 25,000 Ottoman soldiers to secure the entire railway line. Unfortunately due to lack of resources only one battalion could be spared, which arrived from Asia Minor, and was tasked with securing the rail line between Banitsa and Lerin.

Despite its ill preparedness, the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District continued to contribute to the Uprising through hit and run operations and by attacking non-defended parts of the railway, cutting telegraph lines, bombing bridges and generally disrupting the transportation and communications corridor between Bitola and Solun. But after the National Uprising began and Krushevo was liberated, the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District switched its operational tactics from hit and run to fully offensive. One of its biggest offensive operations was the attack on the village Ekshi Su where more that 200 insurgents, lead by Gjorgji Pop Hristov, assembled and destroyed the local railway station.

As the District’s fighting skills improved, more and more successful offensive operations were carried out and more armed insurgents enlisted and joined the fighting. Their continuous successes allowed the leadership to shift from small operations to fighting the enemy in frontal attacks and larger battles.

On August 13th, 1903, when a large force of 3,000 Ottoman soldiers arrived in the region, the smaller Macedonian Chetas combined into a single large Cheta and held off the Ottoman advance until all the local villages including Bitosha, Bouf and Rakovo were safely evacuated and the civilians escorted into the local woodlands.

Following that incident the Lerin and Kostur Uprising Revolutionary Districts began to coordinate attacks and to combine their forces. Combined actions between Kostur and Lerin were best demonstrated during the attack on Neveska which took place at the end of August during the Ottoman counter-offensive.

The battle for control of Neveska was one of the greatest successes demonstrated by the Macedonians during the Ilinden Uprising which took place during the height of the Ottoman counter-offensive when the Ottomans were attempting to demonstrate their strength.

Unfortunately this glorious military success was not meant to be because a large Ottoman force arrived just in time to rob the insurgents of their victory, marking this the last major offensive carried out by the Macedonians in that region.

Neveska at the time was a small Vlach town of about 5,500 people located in the southwestern part of Lerin Region. Before the Uprising, Neveska had its own telegraph office and a permanent Ottoman garrison of 70 soldiers residing inside Neveska. But as the insurgency intensified, Ottoman soldiers that were driven out of liberated villages began to concentrate and set camp outside of Neveska. By mid-August the Ottoman soldiers residing in and near Neveska numbered over 250 making this town a formidable Ottoman stronghold.

Plans to invade Neveska were prepared during the successful attack on Psodery, a nearby Vlach town. The actual plans of attack were prepared by the famous and experienced vojvoda Vasil Chakalarov and were carried out efficiently and effectively by a coordinated attack involving the forces of vojvodas Lazar Pop Trajkov, Ivan Popov, Nikola Andreev and Nikola Mokrenski. The insurgence force of 650 was divided into four groups. Each group was then dispatched to each of the surrounding villages that had a road leading into Neveska. In the north, a group was dispatched to Bel Kamen, in the east to Zelenich, in the west to Elovo and in the south the last group was dispatched to Prekopana. Chakalarov in the meantime took to the hills from where he had a view and could observe all the action as well as keep an eye out for possible outside intervention from the Ottomans. The groups remained in seclusion

during the day and in the dead of night simultaneously advanced on Neveska. By 3 a.m. Ivan Popov’s insurgents advanced to within 600 meters of the Ottoman camp without being spotted. The first to open fire on Neveska was the Lerin unit which commenced the attack from the north, from the road leading from Bel Kamen. The next to open fire was Ivan Popov’s unit of sharp shooters who pinned down the Ottomans in the camp, preventing them from getting to their weapons. Unable to fight back, the Ottomans fled in panic leaving their weapons and equipment behind. No sooner had the Ottomans left than Popov and his insurgents collected their weapons and proceeded to enter the town. Andreev and his insurgents followed from the south and opened fire on the installation where the permanent garrison was stationed. A battle broke out but the Ottomans were quickly overpowered. Unable to maintain resistance, the Ottomans fled allowing the compound to fall into the hands of the insurgents who quickly claimed its contents and burned it to the ground. The loot left behind included 37 modern Mauzer rifles, 6,000 rifle shells, military overcoats and some military machinery.

After the town of Neveska was officially declared liberated, marked by the hoisting of the Uprising flag, the Kostur Region insurgents left for Kostur. The victorious Lerin insurgents, under Pop Hristov’s command, were left in charge of defending the town and assisting its people to establish provisional authority.

Three days later, on August 27th, 1903, a 15,000 strong Ottoman force consisting of two columns was spotted heading for Neveska. One column consisting of about 10,000 Ottoman soldiers was observed marching briskly from the south through the village Zagorichani. The other column of 5,000 soldiers was advancing from the north from Lerin through the village Bel Kamen.

No sooner had the insurgent leadership become aware of the new situation than it was decided it would be futile to resist such a formidable force. At this point a decision was made to withdraw all the insurgent forces and in future resort back to hit and run partisan style operations. The retreat was well planned and skillfully executed with much care not to further anger the Ottomans. No incidents were reported and no civilians were harmed by either side.

In their withdrawal from Neveska most of the insurgents retreated to the south towards Emborska Mountain to Kajlari Region passing through Vrapchishte, Ostrovo Lake and Rudnik. The rest fled towards Koreshta ending up in Kostur Region. The retreat was hasty in order to avoid contact with the Ottomans and not to spark a conflict which would have been detrimental to both the insurgents and the civilian population.

Without any resistance from the insurgents the Ottomans quickly re-established themselves in the various villages and took extraordinary measures to also occupy the mountains and former insurgent strongholds in order to prevent the insurgents from returning. They also systematically cut and burned the forests to prevent the Uprising forces from re-establishing camps and shelters. In essence the Ottomans established permanent control over the entire territory.

Even though the vast majority of the Lerin Region insurgents remained active in other parts of Macedonia, the Uprising in the Lerin Uprising Revolutionary District, by the end of August 1903, was effectively over.

----- The Skopje and Strumitsa Uprisings

Just before the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District began its preparation for the Ilinden Uprising, its leadership decided to rename the District to “Ovche Pole” in hopes of keeping it clandestine. Unfortunately those involved in continued to call it “the District of Skopje”.

Ovche Pole, or the District of Skopje, was supported by a population of 308,719 people of whom 196,417 or 64% were Macedonians. Of the remaining, 82,084 or 26% were Ottomans, 15,543 or 5% were Albanians and 14,000 or so were Vlachs and others. (Vanche Stojchev. “Military History of Macedonia”. Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 353)

The most significant strategic part of the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District was the central location through which the transportation and communication corridors passed, connecting Skopje to Kjustandil, Kumanovo, Prishtina and Solun. This strategic

location was very important to the Ottomans so it was well guarded. Because of the constant movement of Ottoman troops and supplies this region was always very busy and difficult for the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization to function in unnoticed.

Besides being well guarded and well traveled by the Ottomans, this region was also sandwiched between the largely Albanian populated villages to the north, swarming with Bashi-Bazouks, and the Ottoman civilian populations to the south. The constant pressure from all sides created many obstacles for the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and made preparations for the National Uprising very difficult.

As if that was not enough, there was also pressure from Serbia. As Serbia was preparing to assert its influence in Macedonia, many of its agents were operating inside Macedonia, feverishly promoting Serbian propaganda. This interfered with the natural development of the Macedonian national consciousness, a vital component in creating awareness and recruiting insurgents. There were also constant clashes between the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and the Bulgarian sponsored Supremacist forces competing for control of this District, which did not always go un-noticed by the Ottomans. In fact because of these clashes there was an incident in 1897, later termed “the Vinitsa affair”, which caused much damage not only to the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District but to the entire revolutionary movement as well.

After the Solun assassinations in April 1903, the Ottomans began to suspect that the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization was busy promoting revolutionary ideas and preparing the population for an Uprising. With that in mind, Ottoman authorities began to reinforce their military instillations, particularly those in vital areas such as Skopje and the surrounding region. Outside of reinforcing their regular military instillations, the Ottomans in Skopje District also mobilized the Albanian and Muslim population forming numerous Bashi-Bazouk units.

By the end of June 1903, Ottoman military strength in the Skopje Vilayet was up to 87 infantry battalions, each consisting of 800 regular soldiers, 20 cavalry squadrons, 19 field artillery batteries, 36

mountain weapons, 3 pioneer Chetas and several technical stations. The Ottomans had over 80,000 soldiers stationed in the Skopje Vilayet alone. Of these, 23 infantry battalions, 5 cavalry squadrons, 10 field artillery batteries and 2 pioneer Chetas were stationed in Skopje Sanjak, on the territory of the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District.

After the Solun assassinations, Ottoman army installations were reorganized and forces were relocated to the east of Skopje mainly to Kumanovo, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka and Kochani and were placed in a state of combat readiness. Many of these units were also charged with guarding various places of strategic importance such as villages, roads, bridges, etc.

Being under constant watch by the Ottomans and having to compete with Bulgarian sponsored Supremacist intrusions, the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District leadership decided it would be best if its forces existed in small units. This way it could carry out partisan style diversionary missions without engaging the enemy and at the same time keep the civilian population safe from retribution and retaliatory attacks from the enemy.

On July 17, 1903 the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District held a Congress in Kratovo. The Congress was unfortunately only attended by the Skopje Cheta, lead by vojvoda Nikola Pushkarov, and by the Kratovo Cheta, lead by vojvoda Dime Stojanov Berbercheto. In spite of the small turnout however, it was decided, among other things, to pursue and capture the Rumelia Vilyet main inspector, who at any time was expected to be there. They also planned to attack Kratovo and capture Husein Hilmi Pasha. Husein Hilmi Pasha, they were informed, would be residing in Kratovo while visiting the Eastern Cazas of the Skopje Sanjak.

As was the case with other Revolutionary Districts, on July 30th, 1903 General Headquarters informed the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District of the date of the National Uprising and requested of its leadership to make plans and prepare for attacks. It also requested it to carry out diversionary attacks on the roads and bridges and keep the Ottoman forces engaged as much as possible. Diversionary attacks were ordered to begin immediately after the

Bitola Uprising Revolutionary District began its Uprising on August 2nd, 1903. Unfortunately the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District remained passive during this period because the District’s plans to capture Husein Hilmi Pasha were discovered and Husein Hilmi Pasha reinforced his military and police units making it impossible for the insurgents to operate. All the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District could muster that day was to assemble the City of Skopje Cheta, lead by the teacher vojvoda Andrej Kozhuharov, which numbered no more than 170 insurgents. Unfortunately that Cheta too could not operate and had to quickly withdraw so as not to endanger the Macedonian civilian population because in addition to reinforcing his military and police units, Husein Hilmi Pasha also armed the Muslim population with 5,000 modern rifles and had the city surrounded preventing the Macedonian population from gathering during the day or from leaving or entering the city during the night.

Skopje was surrounded, barricaded and locked tight by regular and by irregular Ottoman military forces making all insurgent efforts to start the Uprising futile. But regardless of what was happening in the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District the Ilinden Uprising in Bitola began as planned. At this point vojvoda Nikola Pushkarov moved his Cheta out of Kratovo to the St. Jovan Monastery near the mouth of the Pchinja River where 100 kilos of dynamite and 200 bombs were stored. After recovering the ammunition Pushkarov dispatched his deputy Milan Angelov with a number of insurgents and 30 kilos of dynamite to deliver it to the Cheta inside Skopje so that diversionary actions could be initiated inside the city. Unfortunately, when Angelov and his insurgents arrived in Skopje, the Skopje Cheta, lead by Kozhuharov, had already left and there was no one there to receive the dynamite. Unable to deliver the material, the planned diversionary actions never materialized.

Sometime after the General Uprising began, Macedonians working outside of Macedonia began to arrive and joined the fighting. One such group, consisting of seven insurgents lead by vojvoda Andelko Aleksich, arrived in Skopje from Serbia and at the beginning of August joined Pushkarov’s Cheta. Reinforced by Aleksich and his insurgents, Puskarov decided it was time to carry out those overdue expected diversions. The first target of attack was the railway. At

this time the railway was of crucial importance to the delivery of Ottoman troops to the various battle zones. Any attacks on the railway would hinder Ruzdi Pasha's ability to deliver Ottoman soldiers where they were needed. As it happened, Ottoman forces at the time were being moved from Uroshevats through Skopje and Veles destined for the Gradsko railway station. From there the troops were expected to go on foot via Prilep to Bitola in order to suppress the Bitola Uprising.

During the night of August 13th, 1903 Puskarov and his insurgents arrived at the St. Jovan Monastery near the village Vetersko. There Pushkarov divided his Cheta into three squads each consisting of 12 insurgents. With himself in command, he reinforced the first squad with the village Cheta from Kozhle and tasked it with taking control of a local bridge. The second squad, lead by Dimitar Bojanov was dispatched northward to take control of another bridge. The third squad, lead by Todor Nikolov, was dispatched across the river to take control of a tunnel. Each squad was instructed to wait until 11pm before attacking its target.

At precisely 11 pm Pushkarov and his insurgents opened fire on the 50 soldier security force guarding the bridge. A fierce battle ensued. Surprised by the vicious attack 10 Ottoman soldiers were left dead and the rest fled. Fearing more Ottoman soldiers would soon return, the insurgents mined the bridge with explosives but in their haste managed to use the wrong fuses and their effort to blow it up was unsuccessful.

The second squad lead by Bojanov attacked the northern bridge at the scheduled time but without success. The security force on this bridge was better prepared and the insurgents were unable to dislodge it.

Given the number of soldiers guarding the tunnel, the third squad decided it was not safe to attack and withdrew.

Disappointed that he did not blow up the targeted bridges and tunnel, Pushkarov decided to take more drastic measures and blow up a military train. His insurgents waited near the village Novachani until a train arrived before setting off the charges. This time the

explosives did go off but only caused minimal damage. With only two soldiers wounded, the military train continued along its journey unabated. This action however did have some subsequent effects because for the next two days the Ottomans stopped using this railway to transport soldiers. Also this part of the railway was only used during daylight hours.

The next day, August 14, 1903, after bombing the train Pushkarov’s insurgents retreated to the St. Jovan Monastery only to be discovered by the Ottomans. No sooner had they arrived than they were surrounded and attacked. The insurgents fought back fiercely all day but could not break the siege. Finally they broke through the siege during the night and escaped to the village Divlje. There they met up with the Kumanovo Cheta lead by vojvoda Bobi Stojchev and together the Cheti fled for the seclusion of the Sveti Nikole Monastery in Gurishte.

This hideout too unfortunately was discovered by the Ottomans and on August 16, 1903 the Chetas were surrounded by a large Ottoman force aided by Bashi-Bazouks from the local villages. Numbering about 50, the insurgents resisted with all their might and around 9 pm the same night they broke through the siege and escaped to Kumanovo.

On August 30, 1903 another Ottoman force was dispatched to seek and destroy the Chetas but by then the Chetas were well on their way to Vranje in Serbia, out of Ottoman reach.

Other Chetas belonging to the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District remained active and were joined by new Chetas, such as the one from Kochani, until the Ottoman counter offensive began.

On August 27, 1903 Georgi (Goshe) Tanev’s Cheta from Dolno Trogertsi, Shtip Region, consisting of 12 insurgents, was surrounded by 200 soldiers from the regular Ottoman army and destroyed. After a long and vicious battle 10 of the 12 insurgents were killed.

On August 15, 1903 another Cheta attempted to blow up the iron bridge near the village Nerezi but without success. Its plans were discovered before they could be put into action.

Another Cheta attempted to cut the telegraph lines near the village Gorno Lisiche but it too was unsuccessful due to its premature discovery by the Ottomans. On August 17, 1903 two of Ruzdi Pasha’s Ottoman battalions from Uroshevats arrived in Skopje, increasing the Skopje battalions to seven. At this point the Ottomans were amassing a huge force, up to 15 battalions, in order to subdue the Uprising in the various regions in Eastern Macedonia. By mobilizing its forces the Ottoman plan was to create up to 55 battalions and let them loose on the Macedonians.

On August 26, 1903 the Skopje Vilyet alone had amassed 41 battalions and by mid September that number had increased to 63 battalions, five squadrons, two artillery regiments and two pioneer Chetas. Because of fears of a Bulgarian invasion, most of these forces were dispatched to guard the frontiers at the Macedonian-Bulgarian border.

This massive show of force literally ended the first or diversionary phase of the Uprising in the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District but the National Uprising was not over.

The second phase began with the arrival of two new Chetas from Bulgaria. Both numbering about 100 each, were lead by vojvodas Vladislav Kovachev and Atanas Dimitrov-Babata. Unfortunately on their way to Skopje the Chetas were intercepted by Ottoman forces. Pinned down by 300 Ottoman soldiers at Plavitsa Mountain, just south of Kratovo, the insurgents fought a vicious battle killing 25 Ottoman soldiers and losing 2 of their own. Due to the severity of the battle, the Chetas returned to Bulgaria. The following day several new Chetas arrived in the Skopje Uprising Revolutionary District with over 270 insurgents lead by vojvodas Hristo Tsernopeev, Captain Georgi Trenev, Pesho Samardzhiev and others. Among the several Chetas were Dushko Zheve’s technical specialist’s Cheta and Milan Stoilov’s field medics.