Gligor Sokolović Gligor Sokolović ( ; 1872 – 1910 ) was one of the supreme commanders ( " Great Voivode " ) of the Serbian Chetnik Movement , that fought the Ottoman Empire , Bulgarian , and Albanian armed bands during the Macedonian Struggle . He was one of the most famous Chetniks , and the foremost in Western Povardarje . In Bulgaria he is considered a Bulgarian , who suitched the sides , i . e . ( sic ) " Serboman " . After murdering a local Ottoman lord , Sokolović went into the woods with some friends and formed a guerilla unit which would target Ottomans . He then joined the Bulgarian revolutionary organizations of SMAC and IMRO , and fought throughout the wider Macedonia region . After the Ottomans ' suppression of the Ilinden uprising in 1903 , he , like many others , fled to Serbia . He was acquainted with Dr . Gođevac , one of the founders of the Serbian revolutionary organization that sought liberation of Macedonia , and became one of its supreme commanders that would fight in the Prilep region . With the Young Turk Revolution , he became a deputy of the National Assembly of the Serbs in Turkey . He was killed in 1910 by the Ottoman government . Life . Early life . Sokolović was born in 1870 in the village of Nebregovo , near Prilep , under the Ottoman Empire ( now part of Dolneni , Republic of Macedonia ) . His father was Sokol Lamević ( 1833 – 1903 ) . He grew up without education . At a young age , Sokolović killed a noted Turk from Prilep , Ali - Aga , the property intendant of Avdi - Pasha , who held villages around Babuna , and was a notorious persecutor of Christians . Murder of Ali - Aga and entering guerilla lifestyle . Avdi - Pasha , the Lord of Babuna , had an infamous chiflik intendant in his service , Ali - Aga , who was a notorious persecutor ( " zulum " ) of Christians . Ali - Aga had cancelled weddings , as the first day of his arrival was to be in his honour only . When Ali - Aga gathered the tax , he took an amount that suited him , and never followed any law . Ali - Aga beat villagers whose " gibanica " ( pastry ) was not fat enough . He ordered villages to slay sheep just in order to clear his rifle barrel with the tallow . The villagers had none at their side , so five villages ( Stepanci , Prisad , Smilovci , Nikodin , Krstec ) secretly conspired to murder Ali - Aga , but no one dared to fulfill the task . Then , Gligor Sokolović , aged 25 , from a sixth village , accepted it . Sokolović , with his friend Tale Šejtan , prepared an ambush on the road of Babun , and waited for several days . One morning the villagers of Stepanci came and told them that Ali - Aga had just turned to collect tax from the farms . Tale climbed a tree and had a full view of the surroundings , while Sokolović went and lay with his gun on the end of the road . As Ali - Aga advanced on his horse , Sokolović carefully aimed and shot , and Ali - Aga fell hard to the ground . His horse screamed and fled towards Prilep , and Sokolović and Tale hurried to disappear into the forest , even though no one had seen them . Prilep was soon alarmed , and an army went into pursuit . Sokolović had returned to the village by the night , and the villagers quietly greeted him for his deed . Forces arrived in Nebregovo and searched through the houses . When they entered Sokolović ' s house , he quietly waited while they found nothing . As soon as the troops had left the village , Sokolović went back to the forest and took his hidden gun , and he began guerilla warfare in the summer of 1895 , and he would never look back on the village life . He gathered a few friends : Đorđe Palaš from Prisad , Riste Todorović - Šika from Drenovci , and Koce from Omorani , that would form a band . As they did not want to be far away from home , they moved through the forests of Babun and Nebregovo , and ate what the shepherds had prepared for them in the heights of the village areas . In the fall , when the forests became thinner and the first snow made traces , they were forced to flee the site , and they had heard that in Bulgaria , some kind of committee for the struggle against the Ottoman Empire had been founded . Hungry , and pursued , they joined the Bulgarian revolutionaries , where they would not have much rest . 1896 – 1903 . Fighting in Salonica and visit to Nebregovo . On Atanasov dan ( 18 January ) , 1896 , his band of 9 friends were led by Dimo Dedoto ( Supreme Macedonian Committee ) , from Thessaloniki back across the border . There was heavy snow , and severe cold ; Sokolović had his feet severely frozen , swollen and sore . He managed to Nebregovo . Sokolović was not allowed to see his family , so he went to his friend , Stanko Bogojević , in belief that he would not be noticed . The frozen flesh of his feet fell of , and they were healed with grass . The village heard that Sokolović had returned . Stanko , fearing for his family , went to Sokol , Gligor ' s father , and told him that he could not care for the hajduk any more . Sokol came for his son , and when he saw his wounds in the light , he cried . Sokolović was taken to his father ' s house and there he healed . When snow fell on Babuna again , he left for the forest again , gathering a small band from old friends . In springtime , there was time for the Turks to collect livestock tax from the shepherds , who tried to hide the animals in caves and the heights , but the Turks searched there too . One day , the " begs " ( honorary title , " sir " ) arrived in Drenovci to a shepherd who told them that there were none left , but the one beg , unbelieving , went into the hut to inspect . The beg was shot in the head , and the others left the premises running – in the hut was Sokolović and his band . Fighting in Mariovo and Pirin . The band could not stay in Babuna , and crossed into Mariovo , and on the way they left the bodies of four begs from Vitolište , but they could not stay in Morihovo for long , and they retreated to Belica in Poreče . One day , there came a message that two Turkish merchants from Ohrid would travel through the Babuna to Veles . Sokolović had the knowledge and time to prepare an ambush before Stepanci . The merchants came on horses , and they had silver revolvers in their belts – Sokolović shouted " Throw your pistols ! " in Turkish ( " Чикараз алтипатлак ! " ) , jumping in front of them . They let go off their guns , and were killed . Pursuits were made in all villages , and Sokolović was forced to flee towards the Bulgarian border once again . To spare his family from retaliation , he never returned to Babuna . He fought in the Salonica Vilayet on the Pirin mountains , where he befriended Greek bandits , from whom he adopted " opanke " with longer tassels ( " tsarouhi " ) . Ilinden Uprising and moving to Serbia . When the Uprising broke out in June , 1903 , Turks from Desovo , while they understood that Sokolović was with his bandits , waited outside the house of Sokol until he came home from Prilep and killed him . They took his severed nose and eyes with them as a sign of vendetta . Sokolović was at the time in Bulgaria , as part of an Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization ( IMRO ) detachment of 400 – 500 soldiers , of which commanders where Sotir Atanasov , Atanas Murdzhev , Dimitar Ganchev and Nikola Pushkarov . Hearing of his father ' s death , he gathered a band and turned to repay his father , but he only reached Vardar , which was cut off by the Ottoman army . The destroyed bands fled towards Bulgaria and Serbia . Sokolović also needed to depart , and he sent a letter to his brother with a bandit , saying : " I was on my way to return blood but there were many askeri on the Vardar . I retaliated [ for his death ] , but I have not avenged him . " He turned towards Kyustendil , but when he reached Gyueshevo , the first village after the Bulgarian border , a group of Bulgarians tried to disarm them , and Sokolović began to fight them . Wounded , he returned to Turkish territory with his 8 fighters in order to reach the Serbian border . In Buštranje , an old rebel base , he crossed into Serbia . Naum Marković , Jordan Severković , Koce Mrguška , from Drenovac ; Ilija Močko from Prilep ; Josif from Bela Crkva , and Ilija Jovanović , did not leave their commander . Worn down , with torn shoes and clothes , smeared in mud , and with long beards , they reported themselves to the Serbian border patrol . The band was taken to Vranje , their weapons were left at the Tabana café , and they were sent to Belgrade , where the Serb Chetnik Movement committee awaited them . At their arrival , they were sent to prison as they were suspected Bulgarian komiti . 1903 – 1910 . Arrival at Belgrade and meeting with Dr . Gođevac . A bricklayer , Spasa Kostić , came running to the office of Dr . Gođevac , saying that Voivode Gligor Sokolović and his fighters had returned from the battlefield and had been falsely imprisoned by the Belgrade Police , and that Sokolović was wounded in the head . Dr . Gođevac quickly contacted the borough manager , and the band was immediately released . In Palilula , at the Dva Pobratima café , owned by a Nikola from Kruševo , Sokolović found his brother who worked in the Belgrade water system . Dr . Gođevac had not yet visited the Voivode whom he had freed , so he walked the Varoš - kapija ( an historical neighbourhood ) at noon , and Vasa Jovanović ( minister ) told him that a group of chetniks had dinner at Razman ' s " aščinica " ( traditional restaurant ) . The baker , Damče , took Dr . Gođevac in and pointed at where Sokolović sat . At a fat - soiled table sat three chetniks in front of a steaming large bowl with " pasulj " . Upon noticing Vasa Jovanović , the three jumped up , and a puzzled Sokolović gave his hard hand , full of calluses . Sokolović was young , with bright blue eyes , timid in his moves , humble , he seemed to have nothing " hajduk " ( brigand ) about him . Only his great stature gave light of enormous power . After he had finished his meal , Vasa Jovanović escorted him to Dr . Gođevac . Dr . Gođevac , who was almost disappointed since the encounter , asked him about the head wound . Sokolović gave an embarrassed smile and replied - " It ' s nothing . . . " , " Who wounded you ? " , - " We had a fight . . . " – he was suspicious , and avoided long conversations . Dr . Gođevac began healing his wounds ; his head wound was a result from a gun stock blow , and though it was not severe , it had been neglected . Little by little , Sokolović began opening himself up , telling the story of his life . When Sokolović ' s wound was healed , he was sent to Stara Bogoslovija ( between St . Michael ' s Cathedral and Kalemegdan , towards Hotel National ) where more than 50 fighters stayed . He wintered in Belgrade , and spent his time in the " Crni konj " café , where many other displaced Serbs gathered . The Stara Bogoslovija quarter served as a barrack for " komiti " . Serb Committee sends first bands . On Đurđevdan ( 23 April ) , 1904 , Bulgarian students travelled to Belgrade to hold a congress . This was after negotiations between the Bulgarian and Serbian committees about a joint Serb - Bulgarian uprising had failed after more than 50 meetings in a period of 4 – 5 months . The Bulgarian students and the Serbian side constantly stressed the need for Serb - Bulgarian brotherhood . After the students had left , it was unearthed that most of these were in fact members of the Bulgarian committee , who sought to find their companions and lead them back to Bulgaria . Three of them were wholly assigned to persuade Gligor Sokolović to return to Bulgaria , but he refused . They also met with Stojan Donski . On 25 April , two bands ( " četa " ) of some 20 fighters under voivodes Anđelko Aleksić and Đorđe Cvetković swore oath in a ceremony of the Serbian Chetnik Committee ( Dr . Milorad Gođevac , Vasa Jovanović , Žika Rafailović , Luka Ćelović and General Jovan Atanacković ) , with " prota " Nikola Stefanović holding the prayers . The Committee had prepared the formation of the first bands for a number of months . The Chetniks were sent for Poreče , and on 8 May they headed out from Vranje , to Buštranje , which was divided between Serbia and Turkey . Vasilije Trbić , who guided them , told them that the best way was to go through the Kozjak and then down to the Vardar . The two voivodes however , wanted the fastest route , through the Kumanovo plains and then to Četirac . They managed to enter Turkish territory but were subsequently exposed in the plain Albanian and Turkish villages , and the Ottomans closed in on them from all sides , and they decided to stay on the Šuplji Kamen , which gave them little defence instead of meeting the army on the plains ; in broad daylight , the Ottoman military easily poured bombs over the hill and killed all 24 of the Chetniks . Second wave . After receiving the news in Belgrade , the Chetnik activity did not stop ; four new bands were prepared for crossing the border . Velko Mandarchev , from the Skopje field , became the voivode of a band that moved into Skopska Crna Gora . The more experienced and bold Gligor Sokolović became the voivode of a band that would fight in the Prilep region ( Prilepska četa ) . Rista Cvetković - Sušički , a former friend and voivode of Zafirov , was sent for Poreče where Micko Krstić impatiently waited for him with the band . Poreče was a source for the rebels ; every villager was a martyr and hero , and although Poreče was small , it beat off all attacks , and from it , troops entered all sides , as an effectuation for the struggle . The fourth band was firstly sent to Drimkol , Ohrid , its voivodes being Đorđe Cvetković and Vasilije Trbić . On the night of 19 July , the four bands crossed the border . They went a secure route which had been put forward by Trbić and Anđelko . They did not rush , and spent days in Kozjak and villages of the Pčinja . They went fast and lightly in the night , and carefully descended towards the Vardar transition . In the village of Živinj , in the middle of the junction , they encountered Bulgarian Voivode Bobev , the meeting at first was sudden and unpleasant , but quickly became friendly and festive . Voivode Bobev assured them that he was happy that they would fight together , and took the bands to the village of Lisičja , where they would cross over the Vardar . Only Sokolović suspected a fraud , but went reluctantly . A sudden Ottoman chase urged them to abandon the route on the rivercoast of Pčinja , and to cross Vardar at one of its confluences , as they had intended at first . On the night of 31 July , in the village of Lisičja , to no avail , a large Bulgarian ambush awaited for Bobev to lead the Serbs to their hands – to terminate the Serbian Chetnik Movement . In the village of Solpa , they dried their clothes on the warm summer morning , and rested in the Boxwood shrubs and ate wet bread . Bobev , who was not allowed to leave them as part of the ambush , was still with them . On the next day , 2 August , the bands crossed through Drenovo , and climbed the Šipočar mountain in a long line , where they would rest and drink fragrant milk of the Vlachs . For three days they freely stayed in the mountain and watched the horizon , and routinely looked out , and then climbed to the higher Dautica mountain . Sokolović , troubled and bothered by Bobev ' s presence , did not want to go further and took his band towards Babuna . The three bands that stayed , followed by Bobev , descended into Belica . There they found a number of Bulgarian bands , led by Voivode Banča , who told them to call on Micko , a lord of Poreče . The Serbs awaited him , not sensing a deceit . But Trbić , who had always sought the background in things , found out from a drunk Bulgarian friend , whom he had been drinking with for an hour , that there was a plot against them . Trbić told a villager assistant to report to Micko not to come . After learning this , the band of Trbić and Đorđe Cvetković turned to Demir - Hisar . Mandarčević and Sušički stayed in Belica , ready for betrayal . In the mountain village of Slansko they found yet another Bulgarian band , of Voivode Đurčin , who kindly , but with the intent to follow them , sent with them two followers to Cer , in Demir - Hisar . In the meantime , in Belgrade , there was still hope that the Serbs and Bulgarians would work together in Macedonia , however , in Macedonian villages , there began massacres . On the night of 6 August , Bulgarian major Atanas Babata and his band entered the Serbian village of Kokošinje , where they were searching for people that were condemned to death by the Bulgarian Committee . The Bulgarian band demanded that the village priests and teachers renounce their Serbian identity , but they refused , and they massacred over 53 people . A servant of one of the teachers , who had managed to hide , set out to find the band of Jovan Dovezenski , who he had heard was crossing the border . The teacher ' s servant found another Serbian band , that of Jovan Pešić - Strelac , which had learned of the Bulgarian atrocities of Babota , but also of those of Jordan Spasev , who had killed members of the notable Dunković family on 11 August . The Serbian Chetniks in Poreče and Demir - Hisar , constantly followed by Bulgarians , did not know of the massacres . The hungry and tired band of Đorđe Cvetković arrived at the village of Gornji Divjaci , where they were hosted by the villagers who had brought cheese and " rakija " . They rested in sheets of sheep skin , and the village children came with bread and listened to their stories . Cvetković , Trbić and Stevan Ćela rested in the house of the village leader , and ate several meals . In the next morning , Trbić walked through the yard and went down some stairs , and saw an Ottoman jandarma who he shot , who was then buried in the forest . The rest ended and the band assembled and walked the river across the mountain . They arrived at the village of Cer the next day where they also found Bulgarians , and the Bulgarian voivodes Hristo Uzunov and Georgi Sugarev joined their company . In the mountainous village of Mramorac , where Petar Chaulev had set up camp in the forest , Trbić band were told that the Bulgarian Committee had prohibited them to go to Drimkol . On the same day , 14 August , the Bulgarians had killed Serbian priest Stavro Krstić , which the Chetniks later learnt from the villagers . Far from the other bands , without help , tricked and surrounded , the band understood their situation . Chaulev informed them of their disarmament and the Bulgarian Committee ' s verdict of crime against the Bulgarian organization . They were only shouted at , as they were saved by some ethnic Serb voivodes in the Bulgarian bands : Tase and Dejan from Prisovjan and Cvetko from Jablanica in Debar , who were bound by oath to the Bulgarian Committee , but nevertheless openly defended the Serbian Chetniks , and friends , whom they had wintered together with in Belgrade . They awaited Dame Gruev , the second leader of the Bulgarian Committee after Sarafov , who would arrive from Bitola . Gruev and his escort arrived as village priests on a night . Trbić knew Gruev from the Kruševo Uprising and from an encounter in Serava . Trbić used their acquaintance and memories , reminding Gruev of the common revolutionary fight and his childhood , when Gruev was a cadet of the Society of Saint Sava in Belgrade , and an apprentice in the printing house of Pero Todorović , which was called " Smiljevo " after Gruev ' s birthplace . Fighting . He fought mainly Bulgarian forces . Under his command , the Prilep , Kičevo , Veles , Poreče regions were cleared of Bulgarian forces . When the Young Turk Revolution broke out ( 1907 – 1908 ) , and there was a temporary peace in Macedonia , the Young Turks gave Serbs more rights . Young Turk revolution and death . The Serbian leaders in Turkey held a conference in Skopje , August 1908 , and passed a decision to found the Serbian Democratic League , whose objective was " . . . to aid the establishment of civil freedoms and constitutional life . " The National Assembly of the Serbs in Turkey was held in Skopje from 2 to 11 February 1909 , and the Constitution of the Serbian National Organization in the Ottoman Empire was passed ; the requirements concerning education , political and economic life of the Serbs in Turkey were proclaimed . Besides the Chief Committee seated in Skopje , there were four district committees : for the Raška - Prizren eparchy , for the Skopje eparchy , for the Monastir vilayet , and for the Salonica vilayet . Gligor Sokolović , chief , was one of the deputies . However , the Young Turks changed politics and turned against Serbs . The Turks gave Sokolović a safety escort once , and when he stopped to drink water from a fountain , they killed him . His eldest son , Andon , died as a Serbian volunteer in the First Balkan War . Sokolović was the maternal uncle of Blaže Koneski , a Yugoslav poet and major Macedonian linguist .