The Battle of Velestino (Greek: Μάχη του Βελεστίνου, Turkish: Velestin Muharebesi) comprised two separate engagements, which took place on 27 April [O.S. 15 April] 1897–30 April [O.S. 18 April] 1897 and 5 May [O.S. 23 April] 1897–6 May [O.S. 24 April] 1897, between the Greek and Ottoman armies at Velestino in Thessaly, as part of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.
The pass of Velestino controlled the road and railway lines linking the port city of Volos with the interior of the Thessalian plain. As the Greek army withdrew from Larissa to Farsala, a reinforced brigade under Colonel Konstantinos Smolenskis was sent to occupy the pass and cover Volos and the right of the new Greek position. At the same time, the Ottoman high command dispatched a mixed force of cavalry and infantry in the same direction to capture Volos. The first Greek detachments arrived in the area in the morning of 27 April, some hours ahead of the Ottomans, and occupied the heights around Velestino. As a result, a first clash developed in the same evening as the first Ottoman forces arrived in the area. The Ottomans were repelled and retreated to Kileler, while the bulk of Smolenskis' command arrived during the night and took up defensive positions on the next day, while the Ottomans remained inactive.
The Ottoman forces resumed their attack on 29 April, chiefly through the arrival of Colonel Mahmud Muhtar as the representative of the Ottoman commander-in-chief Edhem Pasha. The Ottoman forces advanced up to the Greek positions planning to concentrate their attack on the Greek right, but in the event the advance of the Ottoman left under Naim Pasha was delayed, while on the Ottoman right, Mahmud Muhtar launched attacks on the Greek left. As a result, the Ottoman commanders altered their plans to focus on the Greek left, planning to outflank the Greek positions on the next day. However, both the outflanking manoeuvre as well as frontal infantry attacks and an attempt to penetrate the Greek lines with a massed cavalry charge failed on 30 April, both due to Greek resistance and poor coordination among the Ottoman units. As a result, the Ottomans broke off their attack and withdrew. Edhem Pasha retired the cavalry from the battle to recuperate, and replaced it with the 5th Infantry Division. The First Battle of Velestino was thus a Greek victory; the only major battlefield success for the Greek army during the war, which propelled Smolenskis to the status of a national hero.
The Second Battle of Velestino began on 5 May, to coincide with the Battle of Farsala between the main body of the Ottoman army and the bulk of the Greek forces. Once again the Ottomans attempted to turn the Greek left flank, but the active Greek resistance thwarted them. On the next day, however, the Ottoman attack in the same area was more successful, as this time the Greeks were unable to bring in sufficient reinforcements to counter the outflanking manoeuvre. The Ottoman success forced the Greek left back, obliging Colonel Smolenskis to order a retreat. As the Ottomans did not exploit their success, the Greek forces were able to withdraw unmolested to Almyros, where they remained until the main Greek army was defeated at the Battle of Domokos.
Background
Following the Greek defeats in the battles of the frontier, the Greek forces of the Army of Thessaly were forced to withdraw to Larissa, but a panic broke out and the withdrawal degenerated into chaos during the night of 11/12 April. This forced the Greek commander-in-chief, Crown Prince Constantine, to abandon any idea of defending the line of the Pineios River, and withdraw further to Farsala. The Greek withdrawal was disorderly, leaving behind large quantities of material. Ottomans followed hesitantly, losing the chance to destroy the Greek army or capture the port city of Volos. This gave the Greeks time to regroup and organize a defensive position at Farsala, and also send forces from there to cover the approaches to Volos at Velestino.
Velestino is a small town located in southwestern Thessaly. Its strategic significance lies in its geographic position in a pass between the Chalkodonion–Karadagh Mountains (the ancient Cynoscephalae Hills) to the west and a western spur of Mount Pelion on the east, through which the road and railway line linking the Pagasetic Gulf and the port of Volos to the inland Thessalian plain and Larissa. The railway line from Volos also branched off to Farsala, and was thus vital for the supply of the Greek army at Farsala by sea, since the overland route via Lamia was difficult due to the lack of transport means.
First Battle of Velestino
27 April
On 26 April, a "Mixed Brigade" was established to occupy the Velestino position. It was formed around the 3rd Brigade (7th and 8th Infantry Regiments) commanded by Colonel Konstantinos Smolenskis, with the addition of the 6th Evzone Battalion, a mountain artillery battalion, an engineer company from the 2nd Engineer Battalion, and a cavalry company. Two days later, a field artillery battery from the 2nd Artillery Regiment was added to it. Due to shortage of rail carriages, most of this force moved from Farsala to Velestino on foot. Only the Evzone Battalion, an engineer company, and an infantry company of the 7th Regiment's III Battalion (III/7) were sent by rail, arriving at Velestino at 11:00 on 27 April. There they established a defensive position around the Velestino railway station, and deployed a company to cover concealed forces in the forest to the east, near the fork of railway line from Larissa to Volos and Farsala. The artillery and cavalry arrived next, around 15:00, with the rest of the troops following behind on foot. Only towards the end of the day were trains found to carry the 8th Regiment's III Battalion (III/8), an infantry company, and Colonel Smolenskis himself to the area.
On the Ottoman side, the commander-in-chief, Edhem Pasha, dispatched a mixed force to capture Volos, as the Ottomans had received information that the latter city was held by only 200 men. The force, under Suleiman Pasha, was composed of the 13th and 14th Cavalry Regiments plus three companies of the 6th Imperial Horse Guards Regiment (12 companies in total), a horse artillery battery, and the 3rd Bursa Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division. Setting out from Larissa at 10:00 on 27 April, they moved via Gherli (modern Armenio) and its cavalry vanguard reached the area of Velestino at 17:30 on 27 April, when they crossed the bridge of Rizomylos.
The Greek forces at Velestino, themselves having arrived hours before, only became aware of the Ottoman approach at 17:00. Immediately the 6th Evzone Battalion, along with the other units on site, deployed its forces: two companies moved to the direction of the Ottoman advance, two others moved to occupy the height of Velestino and Ovrias Gala, and another company covered the artillery, which took position around the railway station. The two cavalry squadrons were ordered to launch a spoiling attack against the Ottoman advance. At 17:30, as the Ottomans were crossing the Rizomylos bridge and their leading cavalry company was approaching Velestino, the Evzones opened fire.
Unaware of the size of the opposing forces, Suleiman Pasha decided to break through in force, and sent three cavalry companies to capture the railway station. Faced with stiff resistance, Suleiman Pasha now employed his own artillery about one kilometre north of the Rizomylos bridge, and deployed his entire division: three companies were to continue the attack on the railway station, while the other seven were to advance towards Volos. Each of the two groups was divided into three echelons, the first in open order and the second and third in close-order formation. The firefight continued until 18:30, when the Greek forces launched a counterattack in the direction of the Rizomylos bridge. With their backs to the Rizomylos stream, Suleiman Pasha's forces were in danger of being cut off if the bridge were captured. Mistakenly estimating the Greek forces at much larger than they actually were, the Ottoman commander ordered a retreat, first to Gherli and then, along with the Bursa Regiment, to Kileler.
Despite the Ottoman withdrawal, rumours spread in the Greek rear that the heights around Velestino had been captured, and that the Greek forces were about to be encircled. This led to cases of panic, sporadic wild shots and desertions. The entire artillery battalion withdrew to Volos, followed by two cavalry platoons, and a few Evzones and infantrymen. The 2nd Company of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment took flight towards Almyros, spreading panic; the field hospitals also fled to Volos, while the peasant carters hired to carry supplies for the troops simply abandoned their carts and fled. When Smolenskis arrived at the nearby village of Aerino after nightfall, the local railway station staff informed him of the rumours that Velestino had been captured by the Ottomans. He nevertheless pushed on foot towards Velestino with the bulk of his brigade, which had begun arriving; but being unaware of the terrain, and due to the late hour, after making contact with the units of the 8th Regiment, both he and his men spent the night on the heights to the southwest of Velestino. On the next morning, Smolenskis busied himself with deploying his troops in a defensive position, and trying to restore discipline and morale. His requests to the Greek headquarters to be allowed to shoot deserters on the spot were denied, but his arrival did calm nerves and restore order in the Greek units.
28 April
The Ottoman commander-in-chief Edhem Pasha dispatched one of the 5th Division's brigade commanders, Naim Pasha, to take over command of the operation, and sent another infantry regiment and a mountain artillery battery as well. Arriving at Kileler around noon on the 28th, Naim Pasha sent two cavalry companies towards Velestino on reconnaissance at 13:30, while half an hour later his main force, comprising his entire infantry brigade and Suleiman Pasha's cavalry division, followed suit, encamping at Gherli. Apart from reconnaissance activity and torching the village of Rizomylos, the Ottoman forces remained quiet that day.
The cavalry detachments returned in the evening, reporting that the pass was held by a few Greek battalions and artillery. In the meantime, however, Edhem Pasha had become worried at the inactivity of Naim Pasha, and in the early hours of the 29th sent one of his staff officers, Cavalry Colonel Mahmud Muhtar, to examine the situation on the ground and take any necessary measures.
29 April
After his arrival at Gherli around noon on 29 April, Mahmud Muhtar urged Naim Pasha and Suleiman Pasha to attack before the Greeks had had enough time to establish strong fortifications; he also pointed out that the rest of the Ottoman army was at the very same time preparing to advance on Farsala, and that the Greek forces opposing them were not as strong as they thought.The energetic Mahmud Muhtar would prove to be the driving force of the Ottoman efforts to break through the Velestino position, but the Ottomans remained hampered by the lack of unified command: Naim Pasha, who outranked Mahmud Muhtar, disregarded his advice and proved himself a dilatory and hesitant commander.
The Ottoman commanders worked out a plan of attack in two columns. Suleiman Pasha was put in charge of the right (western) column, although Colonel Mahmud Muhtar, who joined the column ostensibly as the commander-in-chief's liaison, was its de facto commander. It comprised the Bursa, Orhaneli, and Bilecik infantry battalions, a horse artillery battery, and 7 cavalry companies (three from the 6th Guards Regiment and the 13th Cavalry Regiment), and was intended to operate as a diversion, while the main attack would be led by Naim Pasha on the left (eastern) flank along the road to Volos, against the Greek centre and right. Naim Pasha's column comprised the Adapazarı, Elmalı, Çakırca, and Tuzca battalions and two companies from the Mihaliç battalion, the 14th Cavalry Regiment, and a field artillery battery.
On the Greek side, the forces under Smolenskis' command on 29 April numbered 6 infantry companies on the feet of Malouka Hill, to the west of Velestino, with an artillery battery on the Panagia height. A battalion occupied the low ground before the pass itself, between the Velestino railway station and the height of Ovrias Gala to the northeast, near Rizomylos. The 6th Evzone Battalion held the Ovrias Gala height itself. Another infantry battalion, with an artillery battery, was placed at the Pilaf Tepe height. Two battalions (minus a company sent to Volos) remained at Velestino as a reserve. The Greek troops had dug trenches and field works before their positions.
The Ottomans began their march at 14:00, and were detected by the Greek scouts an hour later, as the Ottoman vanguard detachments approached the village of Koniari (modern Chloi) in front of the Greek left. At around 16:00, Suleiman Pasha's troops occupied the heights around Koniari, and started firing on the Greek positions. After about half an hour, Mahmud Muhtar had gauged the Greek strength, which he estimated at 3–4 battalions with a few mountain artillery pieces, and, given the numerical superiority of the Ottoman forces, decided to launch an all-out attack. However, before giving this order, he had to coordinate with Naim Pasha's column, and set out to meet with him at Rizomylos, only to find that the latter's column had moved slowly and not yet reached its planned positions. Only at around 17:00 did the leading elements of Naim Pasha's column arrive at Rizomylos, with the main body following half an hour behind. Naim Pasha launched an attack against the Greek positions at Ovrias Gala at 18:00, but was repulsed, and nightfall halted any further operations.
According to Colmar von der Goltz, Mahmud Muhtar suggested a night attack against the Greek left at 03:00, but again this did not take place because the additional battalion promised by Naim Pasha for this operation failed to arrive on time. With the shift of troops and focus to their right, the Ottomans effectively reversed their original plan and made their main effort against the Greek left.