Battle of Kumanovo

First Balkan War. The Serbian Front (Serbia) The march of the armies before the battle of Kumanovo.

Date	23–24 October 1912
Location	Kumanovo district, Sanjak of Üsküp, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Kumanovo, R. Macedonia)
Result	Serbian victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of Serbia

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Radomir Putnik

Crown Prince Alexander

Stepa Stepanović

Božidar Janković

Halepli Zeki Pasha (Vardar Army)

Fethi Pasha (VII Corps)

Strength

132,000 men,
148 artillery pieces,
100 machine guns

65,000 men,
164 artillery pieces,
104 machine guns

Casualties and losses

4,564 men
(687 killed,
3,280 wounded,
597 missing)-In some sources 7000 men

4,500 men
(1,200 killed,
3,000 wounded,
327 captured)
-In some sources 7000 men
98 artillery pieces

4,564 men
(687 killed,
3,280 wounded,
597 missing)-In some sources 7000 men

The Battle of Kumanovo (Serbian: Кумановска битка/Kumanovska bitka, Turkish: Kumanova Muharebesi) on 23–24 October 1912 was a major battle of the First Balkan War. It was an important Serbian victory over the Ottoman army in the Kosovo Vilayet, shortly after the outbreak of the war. After this defeat, the Ottoman army abandoned the major part of the region, suffering heavy losses in manpower (mostly due to desertions) and in war .

The objective of the Royal Serbian Army plan was to destroy the Ottoman army in a decisive battle before the Ottomans could complete the mobilisation and concentration of forces. The Serbian planners assumed that the main Ottoman force would be deployed defensively in the valley of Vardar and on the strategically important plateau of Ovče Pole. The Serbian Commander-in-Chief was General Radomir Putnik. The aim was to double envelop the Ottoman army by using three armies:

According to the initial Ottoman plan, created by Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz, the Ottoman forces in Macedonia would stay in defense and, if necessary, retreat to Albania. The decisive battle would take place in Thrace, versus the Bulgarian army. However, Nazim Pasha, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Ottoman army, decided to surprise the Serbs by taking an offense in Macedonia. The plan also included the offense in Thrace. His goal was to win the initial battles against the surprised allies, hoping that the Great powers would then intervene and stop the war.

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