From 1805, when the rebels fought for liberation, against the Ottoman Empire, Lazarević had several important victories in which he fought heroically and with "vojvoda" tact and authority. On Jakov Nenadović and Luka Lazarević began the siege of Šabac, while Karađorđe set off from Belgrade to join them; on the way Karađorđe learnt that Ottoman Bosnian troops were about to cross the Drina and thus immediately dispatched Lazarević. Arriving at Lešnica on with Živko Dabić, Lazarević's unit defeated the Turks at Ranitovac after a day of fighting, with much of enemy troops drowning in the Jadar river.