page_title: Battle of Velestino
section_title: 6 May
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Velestino / Second Battle of Velestino, 5–6 May / 6 May
caption_attribution_description: English: Foreign correspondents accompanying the Greek army and the consuls of the Great Powers at Volos on their way to the Turkish lines as peace envoys during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897
context_page_description: The Battle of Velestino comprised two separate combats, 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.
context_section_description: At 5:00 on 6 May, the Ottoman attack resumed, pushing against the Greek left with greater forces than the previous day, while applying pressure along the rest of the Greek front as well. Due to the withdrawal of the Evzone companies, the extreme Greek left flank was left exposed. Despite repeated requests of the III/7 Battalion commander, no reinforcements arrived, so that by noon, the Ottoman forces broke through and forced the Greek left to retreat. As the Ottoman forces did not force a pursuit, the Greek retreat did not degenerate to a collapse of the front.
  Once informed of these developments, Colonel Smolenskis ordered 7th Regiment to hold at all costs and sent two reserve companies to bolster its position, but they arrived too late. At the same time, Smolenskis was informed by telegram of the defeat of the main Greek army at the Battle of Farsala and its withdrawal to Domokos. Combined with the critical situation on his left, around 15:00 Smolenskis ordered the Brigade to start retreating, beginning with the more exposed units of 8th Regiment in the lower ground. Although the Greek retreat was somewhat disorderly, the Ottomans did not exploit the situation: once they captured the Greek left, they stopped to rest, and another rain storm that broke out around 16:30 helped cover the Greek retreat. The Greeks managed to break off contact with the Ottomans and retire without trouble to Almyros, while some of the units of the right flank withdrew to Volos, where they were picked up by ships of the Greek fleet.
  Velestino was captured by the Ottomans on 7 May, where Edhem Pasha met with the European consuls from Volos, who announced to him that the city had been evacuated by the Greek forces. As a result, Edhem sent only two battalions to occupy the city, while the 5th Division remained in the wider area of Velestino.
  The total casualties for the Second Battle of Velestino were 59 killed and 361 wounded for the Ottomans and 73 killed and 306 wounded for the Greeks.
caption: Sketch of the European press correspondents and consuls leaving Volos as peace envoys to Edhem Pasha
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