Battle of Čelopek

Fight on Čelopek
Part of Serbian Chetnik Organization
Date 16 April 1905 Location Čelopek (), Ottoman Empire (modern Staro Nagoričane, R. Macedonia) 42°13′37″N 21°49′35″E / 42.226944°N 21.826389°E / 42.226944; 21.826389 Result Serbian rebel victory
Belligerents
Serbian Chetnik Organization	Local Ottoman army and Albanian bashi-bozuks
Commanders and leaders
Borko Paštrović Aksentije Bacetović Ilija Jovanović-Pčinjski Lazar Kujundžić Pavle Mladenović Ljubomir Jezdić	N/A
Strength
120–130	200+
Casualties and losses
2 or 4 dead, 8 captured	over 200 dead and wounded
Location of Čelopek in the Republic of Macedonia

The Fight on Čelopek (Serbian: Borba na Čelopeku/Борба на Челопеку) or Battle on Čelopek (Bitka/Битка) was fought at the Čelopek plateau near Kozjak between the Serbian Chetnik Organization, a Serbian rebel faction, and Ottoman officers accompanied by Ottoman Albanian bashi-bozuks, on April 16, 1905.

After the fights in Tabanovce, Savatije Milošević, Lazar Kujundžić and Aksentije Bacetović-Baceta left their offices as organizators of the action, wanting to feel the Chetnik lifestyle "from within" as voivodes. Baceta was to replace the then Chief of Upper Staff, Ilija Jovanović. Baceta and Savatije, by mid-April, had moved 107 fighters across the border.

At dawn on Holy Saturday (15 April [O.S. 2 April]), the two large bands of Belgrade and Kragujevac arrived at the village of Dubočica. There, they were awaited by the bands of Ilija Jovanović, Lazar Kujundžić, Čiča-Pavle Mladenović and Ljubomir Jezdić. The Kragujevac Band was led by captain (kapetan) Borko Paštrović and had the sub-lieutenants (potporučnici): Vojin Popović-Vuk, Dušan Jezdić, Petar Todorović and Dušan Putniković. The Belgrade Band was led by Baceta, and included Savatije, officers (oficiri) Janićije Mićić, Bogdan Jugović Hajnc, Vojislav Tankosić, Branivoj Jovanović and non-commissioned officers (podoficiri) Jović, Radul Kosovac, Novica Leovac, Radoš Vasiljević, Trajko and Radivoje Ilić. They were also accompanied with the bands of Stevan Nedić and Doksim Mihailović, which had been returned to western Povardarje after vacationing in Belgrade.