The Battle of Pente Pigadia or Battle of Beshpinar was fought during the First Balkan War

First Balkan War

The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

 between the Ottomans

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and the Kingdom of Greece

Kingdom of Greece

The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...

.

The Epirus

Epirus

The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...

 sector was of a secondary nature to the Greek High Command, which was focused on the operations of the "Army of Thessaly" under Crown prince Constantine

Constantine I of Greece

Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...

 towards Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

 and Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

. The initial Greek forces in the area consisted of barely 8,000 men of the 15th Infantry Regiment and five independent battalions, supported by 24 field guns, under Lieutenant General Konstantinos Sapountzakis

Konstantinos Sapountzakis

Konstantinos Sapountzakis was a Greek Army officer. He is notable as the first head of the Hellenic Army General Staff and as the first commander of the Army of Epirus during the First Balkan War.- Early career :...

. The Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 commander, Esat Pasha

Mehmet Esat Bülkat

Mehmed Esad Pasha , known as Mehmet Esat Bülkat after 1934, was an Ottoman general active during the First Balkan War, where he led the Yanya Corps, and in World War I, where he was the senior Ottoman commander in the Dardanelles Campaign.- Life :Mehmed Esad was born into an Albanian family in...

, had at his disposal the Yanya Corps

Yanya Corps

The Yanya Corps or Independent Yanya Corps of the Ottoman Empire was one of the major formations under the command of the Ottoman Western Army. It was formed in Yanya area during the First Balkan War. Its commander was Esat Pasha. It fought the battles of Gribovo and Pente Pigadia against the...

, comprising the under-strength 23rd Regular Division and the 23rd Reserve Division, formed upon mobilization. Both had around 7,000 men each, supported by 32 guns.

The small strength of the Greek forces forbade a direct effort against the city of Ioannina

Ioannina

Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

, which was defended by the strong Ottoman fortified positions at Mt. Bizani

Bizani

Bizani is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 municipal population was 4,241...

, equipped with 112 guns. Therefore, the Greek Army had to limit itself to the liberation of Preveza

Preveza

Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. An immersed tunnel, completed in 2002 which runs between Preveza and Actium, connects the town...

 on after a victory at Nicopolis

Nicopolis

Nicopolis — or Actia Nicopolis — was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus...

 the previous day.

Esat Pasha, having set up his headquarters at Pente Pigadia

Pente Pigadia

Pente or Pende Pigadia is a settlement in the municipality of Filippiada in the northern Preveza Prefecture in Greece not far from Kleisoura. Pente Pigadia is about 5 to 6 km east of the GR-5/E55 and is linked with another secondary road linking Arta to the south and Ioannina to the north...

, began an attack against the Greek positions on with 5 battalions. Due to bad weather and the early onset of snow, the attack petered out to local actions, which ended with the Ottoman withdrawal seven days later. The Greeks suffered 26 dead and 222 wounded.