Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Kumanovo

Battle of Kumanovo was a battle fought on 23 October 1912 at Kumanovo, in what is now North Macedonia; it lasted 1 day. It was part of First Balkan War, which ran from 1912 to 1913. The recorded result: Serbian victory. Recorded strength: 132,000 men; 148 artillery pieces; 100 machine guns against 65,000 men; 164 artillery pieces; 104 machine guns.

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First Balkanic War. The Serbian Front (Serbia) The march os the armies before the battle of Kumanovo.
First Balkanic War. The Serbian Front (Serbia) The march os the armies before the battle of Kumanovo.. Marcos Souza, CC BY 2.5 br, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought23 October 1912lasted 1 day
WhereKumanovo, North Macedonia42.136N, 21.718E
OutcomeSerbian victory
BelligerentsKingdom of SerbiaagainstOttoman Empire
Part ofFirst Balkan War1912 to 1913

Where it sits in First Balkan War

Battle of Pesta, 1912Capture of Lemnos, 1912Battle of Sarantaporo, 1912Battle of Kardzhali, 1912Battle of Kumanovo, 1912Battle of Pente Pigadia, 1912Battle of Kirk Kilisse, 1912Siege of Scutari, 1912Battle of Lule Burgas, 1912Battle of Yenidje, 1912Battle of Sorovich, 1912Battle of Adrianople, 1912Battle of Prilep, 1912Battle of Monastir, 1912First Battle of Çatalca, 1912Battle of Kaliakra, 1912Battle of Lesbos, 1912Battle of Chios, 1912Siege of Ioannina, 1912Battle of Merhamli, 1912Battle of Lumë, 1912Battle of Elli, 1912Capture of Korytsa, 1912Battle of Bizani, 1913Battle of Lemnos, 1913Battle of Çatalca, 1913Battle of Bulair, 1913Battle of Şarköy, 1913Second Battle of Çatalca, 191319121913Battle of Kumanovo, 1912
30 placed engagements of First Balkan War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date23 October 1912
to 24 October 1912
PlaceKumanovo, North Macedonia
42.136N, 21.718E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength132,000 men; 148 artillery pieces; 100 machine guns65,000 men; 164 artillery pieces; 104 machine guns
Casualties and losses4,564 casualties
Commanders
  • Zeki Pasha
Battle of KumanovoBattle of KumanovoBattle of LopateBattle of SkopjeSiege of Novo BrdoSiege of Novo BrdoBattle of DrenovoBattle of LopateBattle of SkopjeSiege of Novo BrdoSiege of Novo BrdoBattle of DrenovoSofiaTiranaNišBitolaSeresKyustendilElbasanPernik100 km42.136N, 21.718E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Kumanovo
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Kumanovo today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-02. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 336 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 283 to 528 m, 246 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 38% built-up, 38% cropland, 17% grassland.

built-up: 38%cropland: 38%grassland: 17%tree cover: 8%built-up 38%cropland 38%grassland 17%tree cover 8%
west to east, 10.0 km315 to 424 mnorth to south, 10.0 km323 to 447 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1912

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: SERB 1ST ARMYDefender: TK ARMY OF MACEDONIA
Strength103,000110,000
Casualties5,000 (4.9%)10,000 (9.1%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1085
Outcomeattacker won
Duration2 days
Front width30 km30 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 248), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Kumanovo is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 37 in present-day North Macedonia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2346983, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Kumanovo, revision 1384065155, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.