Battle of Kočani

The Battle of Kočani was a clash between units of the Bulgarian 7th Rila Infantry Division and the Turkish 16th Nizam Infantry Division.   

At the beginning of the war, the Rila Division formed part of the Second Allied Army under the Serbian general Stepa Stepanović. Under an order he issued on 9 October, the Bulgarian forces were to concentrate on breaking through the Ottoman defensive lines along the Bregalnica River and capturing Kočani. This order was coordinated with the Serbian High Command's plan to defeat the Ottoman Vardar Army in the area between Kumanovo and Štip. During its advance from Vranje on 10 October, the Serbian First Army encountered the Ottoman army at Kumanovo. 

The Bulgarian 26th Pernik Regiment descended from Mount Povien towards Kočani and succeeded in taking some of the heights northeast of the town, including the peaks of Preseka and Crnkovets. During the night and the following morning, arriving Turkish reserves launched several counterattacks, but the Bulgarian forces repelled them. Through its victory in the battle for Kočani, the 7th Rila Division played a key role in securing the Serbian troops' flank during the Battle of Kumanovo. This success was decisive for the Ottoman defeat in the Vardar theatre of operations. After the battle, the defeated 16th Nizam Division withdrew towards Veles, pursued by the allies. On 13 October, the population of Štip rejected Ottoman rule, and two days later the town was liberated by regular Bulgarian troops. The Bulgarians held the occupied territories until the beginning of the Second Balkan War, when they were forced to retreat to the present-day state borders.