663 THE GREEK RETREAT KEf front. Hamdi's leadingbrigade was expected to issue from the hillsand take the enemy in flank, but Hamdi was late, and the attack was not pressed home till latein the day. The artillerywasin action in the centre, and the Greek guns were withdrawn from the knoll they had occupied during the "Battle- " of Mati. From the extreme right, Hairi had reported that the Gieeks had fallen back to the frontier,and he ■was ordered to follow them up with one of his brigades, and move with the other against the gorge of the Xerias. Neshat was to storm Kritiri with one brigade, and push forward the other to co-operate in the attack on the despatch to the Crown Prince. It was thus that, almostby an accident, the Commander-in-Chief heard of the movement which had already begun.

Smolenski, notwithstanding the news, held hisground about Reveni during the night. As soon as the retreat of his right wing began, General Makris, who had for two days been anxious to withdraw from ground where he felt that battle meant disaster, ordered a general retirement of his troops on Larissa. Thegarrison ofKritiri had already- fallen back on Tyrnavos. The Greek retirement during the night rapidlydegenerated into a rout. Greek lest.

It was too late to carrycut these movements on the 23rd. The general attack on the Greek line was fixed for Saturday, the 24th. Haidar Memdhuk and Hakki were to attack in front, Hamdi was to turn the Greek right, and Neshat and Hairi's brigades were tc threaten their left. A general engagement wa= expected all along the hue,and the result could not be doubtful.

However,in the night betweenthe 23rdand 24th the Greek defence collapsed. The retreat had To movean armyalong narrow roads in pitch darkness is neveran easy matter, even at peace manSuvres, but in this case it wasnot merelyan army that was in retreat. The memory of what the Turks had done in Bulgaria twenty y-ears before, themorerecentimpi caused by the massacres in Armenia and at Canea, had spreadtheidea among the Greek population ol Thessaly that the arrival of the Turkish armies would mean a savage outbreakof slaughter and pillage, outrage and incendiarism. Hence, as NESHAT PASIfA. (Phjto: Alduiiah, Constantinopie.)

already begun on the Friday evening. The general impression at the time was that it was the result of orders given by the Crown Prince, but this does not seem to have been the cas.-.

Prince Constantine, who did not consider the action on the 23rd was a serious engagement, had spent the day at Larissa. The Greek brigadiers seem to have paid verylittle attention t j the Crown Prince and his staff, and to have acted as if they werein independent command, for late in the afternoon of the 23rd Colonel -Mavromichaelis,,,who was directing the Greek defence on the right, telegraphed, not to the Commander-in-Chief, but to Colonel Smolenski on the left, that the position in front of Deliler had become untenable, that he was about to retire to Larissa,and that Smolenski hadbetter conform to the movement. The message passed through the military telegraph office at Larissa, and the officer in charge sent a copy of the sol,ii as the townstolk of lymavos and the villagersall along the plain became aware that the Greek army was retiring, theyalso took to flight. From every village poured a crowd of teii'-istncken people, with carts conveying their lewhousehold goods, and the sick and aged, and children who could not walk. With the crowd sheep andcattle were driven along,and the confused and ever-increasingmass mingled with the troops,and threw their ranks into confusion.

Suddenly the alarm spread that the Turkish. cavalry were ■*"-■""!"g »nd the report spread like wildfire along the road. Whence it arose -unknown tothis day. Some say that a stampede of frightened horses startled the crowd already rendered anxious by the struggle to keep their places in the gloomy procession of fugitives. Others say that at a point where a cart track joined the main road a party of Greek cavalryrode in on the side of the moving multitude,