492 
WITH THE TURKS. 
noticed one shell, which happened to be a blind one, pitch on the road 
apparently in the middle of the column, but, so far as I could see, 
without doing any mischief. The fire was very deliberate, possibly 
because ammunition was scarce. 
The whole of the infantry of the division, with their ammunition 
mules, were now formed up behind a rocky ridge about 100 feet high 
and \ mile long, which rose from the plain like the back of a huge fish, 
opposite the centre of the Greek position and about 2000 yards from 
it, and which served admirably as a grand stand for attaches and news¬ 
paper correspondents during the rest of the day. 
Fortunately it did not occur to the Greeks to make a target of it; 
shell bursting on its crest at this time might have done great ex¬ 
ecution. 
This ridge was too steep and rocky to be made use of by the Turks 
as an artillery position and in this respect they were at a great dis¬ 
advantage, there being not a vestige of cover either from sight or fire 
anywhere within 2000 yards of the Greek position. 
At 8 p.m. the Field Battery with the advance-guard came into action 
at the east extremity of the ridge close to the road and remained there 
under a heavy fire from the Greek batteries, who must have known 
the exact range, during most of the afternoon losing considerably, but 
not so heavy as might have been expected; in this, as in other cases, I 
saw common shell bursting apparently almost under the muzzles of the 
guns without doing much damage. Meanwhile other Turkish batteries 
had come into action further to the rear and to the east at ranges of 
between 2000 and 3000 yards from the Greek position. 
At 3.45 the Turkish infantry, issuing from behind the ridge, ad¬ 
vanced in extended order, or rather in no order or formation whatever, 
to the attack; the plain in front of the Greek position was now dotted 
over with men moving slowly on through the corn like a swarm of ants 
and with equal pertinacity, whilst the firing on both sides became fast 
and furious; little clouds of dust marked the impact of the bullets, like 
rain drops on a pool, and very soon a stream of wounded began to move 
back along the road, the bearers being even more exposed than their 
comrades in the firing line. There was no organised hospital service, 1 
and apparently those comrades nearest to a man when he fell carried 
him to the rear, returning afterwards to the fight or not, as the spirit 
moved him. 
At the same time, from the heavy firing in that direction, the 1st 
division appeared to be making a further effort against Yelisiades, 
and on the left the 6th division was held in check by the Greeks in 
front of a spur running down from the heights of Dhomokos towards 
the north. It was impossible at the time to ascertain the results of 
the fighting in this direction, but, from what I afterwards heard, I 
believe that the Greeks, evacuating their positions here at nightfall, 
enabled the 6th division to advance and rendered necessary the retreat 
of the whole army. 
1 I saw some medical officers attending to wounded men under fire under some small trees near 
til3 road aud others behind the ridge, buc there was not .nearly sufficient for the work. 
