When 400 Serbian Chetniks were defeated by 3 Albanian farmers in 1941

When 400 Serbian Chetniks were defeated by 3 Albanians: Kadri Bistrica, Rifat & Rexhep Dedia in 1941

Када је 400 српских четника поражено од стране 3 албанска сељака 1941. године

In 1941, a battalion of 400 Serbian Chetniks, led by Tomash Gjurovic, Mashan Gjuric, Zhika Markovic, och Vojsllav Llukacevic, organized by Drazha Mihajlovic, traveled to Sllatine of modern day northern Kosovo, back then an Albanian region inhabited by the Shalë tribes. Their goal was to ethnically cleanse the entire region of Albanians. However, 3 Albanians managed to defeat the battalion before they could begin.

The Serbian Chetnik commander, denoted as “Gjura” in Albanian folklore, then spotted 3 Albanians – Kadri Bistrica, and his two relatives – Rifati, a young boy, and Rexhep, the older brother. These three Albanians were selling woods, and Kadri Bistrica turned and stated that there were quite a lot of Chetniks on this side of the valley. Then Tomash Gjurica noticed that the Albanians did not fear him. He then challenged Kadri Bistrica to a duel with a rifle. Now a discussion was held by the three Albanians wether or not to accept the duel.

The 400 Chetnik Serbs stood watch as their commander Tomash Gjurica went in the open meadow, waiting. Kadri Bistrica then finally decided to accept the duel, and armed with a rifle, the two started firing at each other. Kadri was however a better marksman and shot Gjurica in the head. The Chetniks, having no honor, violated the deal and opened fire – all 400 of them – on Kadri Bistrica, who was mangled to death. He died shortly after falling.

The two other Albanians noticed his rifle had silenced. One of them, Rifati, started running towards Kadris body, and realized that he had been shot. He said a few words to mourn his death, and picked up the rifle. The Serbs then fired again at Rifati, a young boy, who had his entire intestines blown ot his stomach. He then retreated towards Rexhep, and after a short dicussion on what to do next, they both stayed in a coal factory to try and rest.

The Chetnik Serbs, having had their commander shot in the head, decided to capture the two remaining Albanians. Moving towards the coal factory, they started throwing grenades. Rexhep, the older brother, was quick on his toes and threw back the grenades. One of these grenades detonated and killed 28 Chetnik Serbs. However, Rexhep did not the last grenade, which detonated near a machine, spilling hot boiling coal on his body. This resulted in his dress burning into his skin. He died shortly after. Now only Rifati remained.

This battle had been heard in the valley, and Albanian reinforcements shortly arrived. The Serbs were shocked, and retreated to Raska defeated.

In Serbian:

odine 1941, bataljon od 400 srpskih četnika, predvođen Tomašom Đurovićem, Mašanom Đurićem, Žikom Markovićem i Vojvodinom Ljukačevićem, koji je organizovao Draža Mihajlović, otputovao je u Slatinu, današnje severno Kosovo, tada albansku oblast naseljenu plemenima Šalja. Njihov cilj je bio da etnički očiste ceo region od Albanaca. Međutim, trojica Albanaca su uspela da poraze bataljon od 400 četničkih Srba.

Srpski četnički komandant, u albanskom folkloru poznat kao „Đura“, tada je ugledao trojicu Albanaca – Kadrija Bistricu i njegova dva rođaka – Rifatija, mladog dečaka, i Redžepa, starijeg brata. Ova trojica Albanaca su prodavala drva, a Kadri Bistrica se okrenuo i izjavio da na ovoj strani doline ima dosta četnika. Tada je Tomaš Đurica primetio da ga se Albanci ne plaše. Zatim je izazvao Kadrija Bistricu na dvoboj puškom. Sada su trojica Albanaca razgovarala o tome da li da prihvate dvoboj ili ne.

400 četničkih Srba stajalo je i posmatralo dok je njihov komandant Tomaš Đurica odlazio na otvorenu livadu, čekajući. Kadri Bistrica je tada konačno odlučio da prihvati dvoboj i, naoružani puškom, njih dvojica su počeli da pucaju jedan na drugog. Kadri je, međutim, bio bolji strelac i pucao je Đurici u glavu. Četnici, nemajući časti, prekršili su dogovor i otvorili vatru – svih 400 njih – na Kadrija Bistricu, koji je bio osakaćen na smrt. Umro je ubrzo nakon pada.

Dva druga Albanca su primetila da mu je puška utišala. Jedan od njih, Rifati, počeo je da trči prema Kadrijevom telu i shvatio da je upucan. Rekao je nekoliko reči da oplakuje njegovu smrt i podigao pušku. Srbi su zatim ponovo pucali na Rifatija, dečaka, kome su cela creva bila razneta u stomaku. Zatim se povukao prema Redžepu, i nakon kratkog razgovora o tome šta dalje da rade, obojica su ostali u fabrici uglja da pokušaju da se odmore.

Četnički Srbi, pošto im je komandant upucan u glavu, odlučili su da zarobe preostala dva Albanca. Krećući se ka fabrici uglja, počeli su da bacaju granate. Redžep, stariji brat, bio je brz i vratio je granate. Jedna od ovih granata je detonirala i ubila 28 četničkih Srba. Međutim, Redžep nije uspeo da zgrabi jednu granatu, koja je detonirala blizu mašine, koja je bacila vrući ključali ugalj na njegovo telo. To je rezultiralo tako što mu je haljina progorela na koži. Ubrzo je preminuo. Sada je ostao samo Rifati.

Ova bitka se čula u dolini, a albanska pojačanja su ubrzo stigla. Srbi su bili šokirani i povukli su se u Rašku poraženi.

References

https://inforculture.info/2021/02/21/kadri-bistrica-gardian-i-kufirit-verior-te-tokave-shqiptare/

https://konferenca.al/ih-rks/article/view/48/44

https://www.radiokosovaelire.com/mehmet-musa-protestat-e-prillit-te-vitit-1981/

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