706 THE GRECO-TURKISH WAR.

Antoniades nearest tlae town, and that of Colonel Kaklamanos further to- the left. The hills form a kind of flattened crescent, the left bending forward towards the plain. On the extreme left was a detachment of Greek regulars under ColonelTertipis, and tlae Foreign Legion. Outside the main position a Garibaldian detachment and a battalion of Euzonoi guarded the flank. Cavalry outposts held the villagesin front. Thrown forward in the hills on the right flank were the three battalions of the 4th Regiment, holding the ground between the villages of Tsiatma and Guedik, and still further to the eastward the 7th Euzonoi at Kodjeh. These fourbattalions thus widely dispersed were tlae only force actually in position to meet the Turkish turning movement that was to be executed by more than thirty battalions. The fact was that,just asat Pharsala,the Crown Prince expected that the Turks would try to turn his left where the operation seemed easiest, and so the right was, comparatively speaking,unguarded.

that Hairi could not possibly have any large force in front of him, and after impatien lv watching the fusillade for a while a galloper was sent to hurry him on, for Neshat and the 2nd Division had been directed 'not to get further forward than the ist Division on the left, and the whole of that division was halted. It was nearly 11 o'clock when Hairi's vanguard at last pushed boldly forward, and the Greek horsemen galloped off from the south end of the village.

Half an hour later the Greek siege guns mounted on the heights of Domokos opened fare on the beads of Neshat's columns. The range wasnearly 8,000 yards, or about four and a half miles,but the distanceshad been carefully noted by the Greek artillery officers, and the" made very fair practice. They wouldhave done moredamage if they hadhadbetterammunition, but many of the big shells failed to burst. Neshat's batteries could not reply at sucha long range, but the troops deployed to diminish the target they presented,and moved partly under the coverof the rocky knollsin the plain. The vanguard was in action driving in the Greek cavalry- outposts, and the boomof guns from the hills far away to the left suggested that Hamdi's division was meeting with more opposition to his turningmovement thanhadbeenanticipated.

At 6 a.m. on tlae 17th the Turkish cclumns began the march. The comparatively level groundover which the left wingmoved to battle was here and there planted with corn— now standing high and green— but was mostly undulating grass land, uncultivated natural pasture. Here and there rose rocky knolls, and there were a number of small villages. It was an intensely hot day, and the five columns, each formed by a brigade, moved very slowly, the ranks opening out, and the columns lengthening, so that when they were sighted from the citadel of Domokos it was reported to the Crown Prince that not five brigades, but five divisions, were advancing against his front. The first shots were fared on the left about 10 o'clock. Hairi Pasha's advanced guard was approaching the village of Tsiobu, when from the houses and enclosures of the little place there came a rapid discharge of musketry. The village was held only by a handful of Greek cavalry, most of whom were dismountedon its northern edge,but they were using their carbines to such good effect that tlae cautiousTurkish commanderoverestimatedtheir force, took them for at least a whole rifle battalion, and began to deploy his advanced guard in a long battle line as if he were going to fight a serious action. Edhem Pasha with his staff had ridden to the top of a little knoll near the high road when they heard the firing.

With their field glasses they were able ro see Hairi'sdivisionon theleft was not onlyhopelessly slow in its movements,but now began to miss its proper direction. It ought to have movedon the immediateright of Nury Pasha's Adrianople brigade. But it wasinclining more and more to the south-westward. Tlae Albanian irregulars whoformed its flank-guard had come upon theGreek outpostsin front of the enemy's extreme right and were firing heavily, and Hairi, always cautious to an extent that was mischievous to the general plan of the day's operations, had halted again and sent them reinforcements. Another staff officer was sent to hurry him on and sethim right. Meanwhile Neshat had to wait for him. It was some time before the advance of the right wing was resumed.

So far there had been mere skirmishing in the plain and a distant cannonade from the heights. The great natural rampart of the Domokos ridge, now wreathed in the smoke of the Greek batteries, might well seem unassailable, and it was no part of Edhem's plan to attack it in earnest on this day. The lull. crowned by tlae citadel,rose 1,500 feet above the plain; from the crest the hill descended in a