THE THEATRES OF WAR. 647 on the frontier on the eve of the war. The Turks had mobilised and concentrated in Macedonia six divisions and a half of infantry— roughly, about 65,000 men— besides a due proportion of artillery and cavalry. Two divisions, zz.oco more, were assembled in Epirus. These two armies were at the outset under entirely independent commanders. Edhem Pasha, who commanded in Macedonia, and had established his headquarters at Elassona, had for his mission to protect the On the western side the Greek frontier was naturally very strong; on the east, in the more important region, it had several weak points. The old frontier of Greece, as fixed after the War ot Independence, was a line running nearly due west and east from the north-east corner of the Gulf of Arta to a point near the entrance of the Gulf of Volo. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878 it was agreed that Thessaly should be ceded to Greece, and it was proposed to add to the cession tlae southern portion of OUTLINE MAI1 OF THE TIlEAl'RE 01 A VK.

province against Greek raiders, prevent any attempt at insurrection, and in case war ensued Epirus— that is, the Greek part of Albania. It was suggested that the new frontier should run from the Gulf ofSalonika,nearMount Olympus, to apoint on the west coast opposite Corfu. It was not, however, until 1881 that the actual cession wasarranged,and it fell far short of what had been proposed three years before at Berlin. It left Olympus to Turkey,and of Epirus it gave Greece only a narrow tract between the Arta River anel the main range of Pindus. The mountain frontier, running north and south along the Arta River, was well defined and easily defensible, but the rest of the border line, runningeastward from the Pass of ZygOS on the Pindus range to the sea near the entrance of the Vale of Tempe, had many weak points. In the he was to march into Thessaly. Ahmed Hifzi Pasha, who commanded in Thessaly, with his headquarters at Janina, was ordered to act meanwhile strictly on the defensive. He had to hold the fortified town of Prevesa with part of hi* force, and use the rest of it to keep the province quiet and prevent the threatened l/reek advance from Arta on Janina.

There were thus two distinct but adjacent res of war,of which the eastern region em lorthern borders of Thessaly was the important. For here the country is practicable for comparatively large armies, and 'Jl"ugh it lies the direct road to Athens.