Army Day in North Macedonia is observed every August 18 to commemorate the creation of the Mirče Acev battalion in 1943, which established the foundation of the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia that fought against the Axis forces during World War II. The battalion, named after Mirče Acev, an organizer of the Communist resistance in Vardar Macedonia, became the first major unit of the Macedonian People's Liberation Army, a precursor to the current Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, founded in 1992 after the country's independence from Yugoslavia. Although Army Day is not a public holiday, it is celebrated with an official ceremony at the Ministry of Defense/General Staff in Skopje, which typically includes a military parade, exhibitions of vehicles and weapons, and the presentation of promotions, certificates, badges, and plaques to military personnel.