Battle of Maglaj (1878)

On 2 August, the Austro-Hungarian advance cavalry units of the Hungarian Hussars of the 7th Regiment arrived at the banks of the Bosna river in the central Bosnian region. A unit of hussars crossed the river, but was ambushed by Bosnian-Ottoman units upon entering the city, and the subsequent clash resulted in significant combat losses in the number of about fifty fallen horsemen.^[4]

The recapture of the city, necessary to gain control over the strategically important river crossing by boat, took place after the intervention of the troops of the main army, especially the infantry. On August 5, two battalions of Maroičič's infantry regiment went against the Ottoman positions near Maglaj, in an action led by Lieutenant Colonel Pytel, along the right bank of Bosnia to Maglaj. In the lead, 2 battalions of the infantry regiment of Archduke František Karl advanced across the Kosma, then two battalions of the Ilartungov regiment advanced through the neighboring heights to attack the enemy's flank. In the afternoon, these three Austrian corps reached Maglaj, where they attacked the Bosnian-Ottoman positions and, thanks to their numerical and technical (artillery) superiority, forced the enemy to retreat. They subsequently occupied the city and Lt. Col. Pytel raised the Austro-Hungarian flag here.

Austro-Hungarian sources list the number of losses from the second clash on the enemy side at over 50 dead, their own losses are listed as 3 dead and 6 wounded. Several Bosnian-Ottoman prisoners were executed as they were identified as direct participants in the attack on the Austro-Hungarian cavalry on 2 August.

The action constituted one of the most significant clashes of the entire Austro-Hungarian military campaign, alongside for example the battle of Doboj on September 2, culminating in the capture of Sarajevo in September and ending on October 20, 1878, when the campaign was officially ended, Bosnian partisan units operating in the mountains, surrendered and the original Bosnian vilayet thus disappeared. The subsequent presence of Austro-Hungarian power in Bosnia and Herzegovina persisted through the so-called Bosnian Crisis until the end of World War I, including the crucial assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.