This was the critical moment. The Serbs had almost no cavalry to counter them.
He charged down the hill, straight into the Ottoman cavalry. His bodyguards followed. The shock was psychological. The horsemen, expecting to ride down frightened peasants, suddenly faced a roaring counter-attack led by a giant of a man. The horses swerved. The charge broke. For five hours, the battle raged hand-to-hand. Men fought with bare fists, knives, and rifle butts. The wounded on both sides lay in the ditches, screaming for water. boj na misaru prepricano
Just when the Serbs were exhausted beyond reason, a rumble was heard from the west. It was , a Serbian duke, arriving with 2,000 fresh rebels. They had been guarding a nearby ford and had slipped through the Ottoman lines. This was the critical moment
If you ever find yourself standing on the rolling hills near Šabac, close your eyes and listen. The wind there still whispers the story of August 13th, 1806 —the day a handful of ragged Serbian farmers stood against the elite infantry of the Ottoman Empire and changed history forever. His bodyguards followed
Lazarević didn't stop to form a line. He slammed into the Ottoman flank like a thunderbolt. The Ottoman formation shattered. Suleiman Pasha watched his elite army dissolve into a mob. The retreat became a slaughter. The Serbs chased the fleeing Ottomans all the way back to the Drina River. Thousands drowned trying to swim to safety. The Ottoman camp, filled with supplies, gunpowder, and treasure, fell into Karađorđe's hands.
Strategically, it opened the door for the liberation of Belgrade just four months later. Psychologically, it proved to Europe that the Ottoman giant could be beaten.
The Serbs, hidden behind their wooden barricades, waited. They were mostly untrained. Many were local peasants who had never held a rifle before that summer. But they had one advantage: they were fighting for their homes, their churches, and their children.