Battle of Domokos

The Battle of Domokos (Turkish: Dömeke savaşı) was a battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Greece. This battle was a part of the Greco-Turkish War (1897).

The commander of the Ottoman army at Elassona (Turkish: Alasonya) was Edhem Pasha (later gained the title Gazi) . He was one of the younger generals of the Ottoman Army (then 46) and his appointment perplexed many. The commander of the Greek army was the Prince Constantine. The Ottoman army in Domokos was 45000 strong and the Greek army was 40000 strong The Greek side also had 2000 Italian irregulars under the command of Ricciotti Garibaldi.

According to a contemporary source following initial victories, Ethem Pasha had some of his troops in Velestino (which was the theatre of two former battles) and most in Pharsala. But there was a momentary pause after the second battle of Valestino. The new Greek prime minister Dimitrios Rallis was anxious to accept the mediation which the Great Powers were willing to undertake. Failing to reach a compromise, Edhem Pasha marched from Phasla to the town of Domokos (Dömeke) on 17 May 1897. Domakos was the stronghold of the Greek army against the advancing Ottoman army.

The Ottomans advanced in several groups in the early morning of the 17th: Hayri Pasha's division on the right, heading towards Tsioba; Neşet Pasha's division to its left, on the main road to Domokos; Hamdi Pasha in the center; Memduh Pasha's division on the left, intending to hit the Greek's right flank, and Haidar Pasha's division following Hamdi Pasha's.

The first shots were fired at around 10 am on the left of the Greek lines, when Hayri Pasha's forces encountered a small force of Greek cavalry in the village of Tsioba. Hayri Pasha overestimated the Greek force and advanced cautiously; it took his troops an hour to take the village. Neshet's troops were delayed as well, as they had orders not to advance forward of Hayri's troops. Hamdi also encountered Greek troops around 10 am.

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