Battle of Loznica

Not to be confused with Battle of Loznica (1808).

Not to be confused with Battle of Loznica (1807).

The Battle of Loznica (Serbian Cyrillic: бој на Лозници) or Battle of Tičar (бој на Тичару) was fought on 17–18 October 1810 between the Serbian Revolutionaries and the Ottoman Army in Loznica, western Serbia. Around 30,000 Ottoman troops under the command of Ali-paša Vidajić descended the Drina river with boats to the Tičar field near Loznica. The fortified city walls were defended by 1,200 Serb rebels led by local vojvoda Anta Bogićević. Estimating that the defence would be unable to resist, Anta sought aid from Luka Lazarević. Karađorđe, learning of the planned siege, sent a letter to Petar Dobrnjac urging him to send reinforcements as soon as possible. Around 10,000 rebels, of the Šabac and Valjevo nahije under the command of Luka Lazarević and Jakov Nenadović arrived in time. The fight began in the morning, with two hours of swordfighting, and then shootouts with artilley and rifles, ending after eight hours in a Serbian victory. The Serbs had 121 dead and 178 wounded, while the Ottomans are said to have had three times higher casualties. Cincar-Janko was wounded in the battle. The blind guslar Filip Višnjić, who was present at the battle rallying the troops, wrote an epic poem of the battle, Boj na Loznici, recorded in the Šišatovac monastery in 1815. The battle was one of the most important ones in the First Serbian Uprising.

Further reading

• Драган Добрић: Бој на Тичару (Историјски музеј Србије, Београд)