population, after which the Ottoman garrison in the Kalemegdan Fortress bombarded Belgrade with cannon. Armed with Belgian carbines, Serbian sharpshooters have easily shot most of the Ottoman cannoners on the fortress walls, from the distance of some 500–700 m. The last military use for these rifles was in Serbian-Ottoman wars (1876-1878), when 7,000 of these rifles were among the 65,000 of percussion rifles used by the 32 Second Class battalions of the Serbian People's Militia. A Russian volunteer, colonel Bobikov, praised these rifles for their precission and reliability on the short distances and rugged terrain. After the war, the remaining Belgian carbines were handed to the Second Class of the People's Militia, and were retained in the equipment of the Third Class as late as 1889. In 1862. price of these rifles was 50 ducats (about 600 groshen), in 1875. it was 168 groshen, and in 1877 about 80 groshen (16 dinars). As a comparison, a Serbian lieutenant's monthly pay in 1878. was no more than 72 groshen. The last remaining carbines were decommissioned in 1894 and sold to civilians for 5 dinars (25 groshen). References Rifles of Serbia Coordinates on Wikidata