guard repulsed an attack by a small Ottoman unit at Flampouro. On 21 October, Matthaiopoulos ordered an advance towards Monastir after being informed that it was guarded by a small demoralized garrison. This decision was further encouraged by the Serbian victory at Prilep and the Greek victory at Yenidje. Battle At 10:30 a.m. 21 October, the 5th Division which had split into three columns set off for Monastir. Almost immediately the Greek right column halted its advance and took up defensive positions north of the village of Lofoi. At 11 a.m., it was attacked by the 18th Ottoman Infantry Division which had been brought to the area by rail from Monastir. Although the Serbians were aware of this maneuver, they only allocated a limited a number of troops to strike the Ottoman rear, as they intended to seize Monastir first. The Greek right column initially showed determined resistance but struggled to defend Lofoi and its soldiers fled the field towards Vevi after realizing that it was about to be encircled. The Greek attempt to strike the Ottoman flanks at Lofoi and the Vevi railway station failed to achieve its objective. Seeing that his troops were exhausted and exposed to Ottoman fire on the plain, Matthaiopoulos ordered a retreat towards Sorovich at 6:00 p.m. After passing through the Kleidi Pass, the 5th Division camped at Sorovich next to the . Matthaiopoulos placed his 7,000 infantrymen north-east of the town, the 20 artillery pieces were stationed in the Sotiras village, while 80 cavalry were to protect the western flank of the division at Giouloun. At 8:00 a.m. 22 October, the 18th Ottoman Infantry Division split into two columns, one of which attacked Sorovich from the direction of Xino Nero. The Ottoman charge was suppressed by Greek artillery fire, leading to an artillery duel that lasted for the remainder of the day. A second Ottoman offensive from Petres was successfully repulsed during the night. Unbeknownst to the Greeks, the 18th Ottoman Infantry Division which already outnumbered them was reinforced by the 16th and 17th Ottoman Infantry Divisions bringing the total number of the Ottomans to 20,000 men. On 23 October, the Greeks launched reconnaissance forays which found that Xino Nero was devoid of enemy troops. The Ottomans launched a series of large scale attacks on the Greek center and eastern flank. The 5th Division held its ground, counter-attacking at 3:00 p.m., two Greek