camped with his staff in the village of Messi. Egyptian Intervention In late 1866 Isma'il Pasha (Egypt's Khedive) sent an Egyptian Military contingent to aid the Ottoman Empire during the rebellion which was made up of 16,000 infantry troops under the command of Emirliva (major-general) Ismail Shaheen Pasha and where transported and protected by sea by the Egyptian Navy. Due to the ineffectiveness of the Ottoman Navy's siege plan, guns and equipment were easily smuggled to the Cretan rebels from Greece by the sea, which subsequently increased the period of the siege of Cretan capital and unexpected casualties on the Egyptian side. In mid-1867, Khedive Isma'il Pasha removed Shaheen Pasha from the command of the Egyptian forces and replaced him by a more experienced officer, Emirliva Ismail Sadiq Pasha that proved his officership skills and professionality than Shaheen Pasha, where on 6 October 1867 he could successfully defeat the Cretan rebels in their capital. Attack On the morning of 8 November, an army of Ottoman soldiers and 30 cannons, directed by Suleyman, arrived on the hills of the monastery while Mustafa Pasha waited in the Messi. Suleyman, positioned on the hill of Kore to the north of the monastery sent a last request for surrender. He received only gunfire in response. The assault was begun by the Ottoman forces. Their primary objective was the main door of the monastery on the western face. The battle lasted all day without the Ottomans infiltrating the building. The besieged had barricaded the door and, from the beginning, taking it would be difficult. The Cretans were relatively protected by the walls of the monastery, while the Ottomans, vulnerable to the insurgents' gunfire, suffered numerous losses. Seven Cretans took their position within the windmill of the monastery. This building was quickly captured by the Ottomans, who set it on fire, killing the Cretan warriors inside. The battle stopped with nightfall. The Ottomans received two heavy cannons from Rethymno, one of which was called Koutsahila. They placed them in the stables. On the side of the insurgents, a war council decided to ask for help from Panos Koronaios and other Cretan leaders in Amari. Two Cretans left by way of the windows by ropes and, disguised as Muslims, crossed the Ottoman lines. The messengers returned later in the night with the news that it was now impossible for reinforcements to arrive in time because all of