Karaiskakis immediately ordered his officers Georgios Hatzipetros, Alexios Grivas and Georgios Vagias to occupy the church of Agios Georgios in Arachova and the surrounding houses. They were to strike the Turks with a force of 500 men once their enemies emerged from the passes of Mount Parnassus. Small bands were stationed between Arachova and Distomo in order to signal the outbreak of hostilities, at which point the main force would come to their aid. Christodoulos Hatzipetros and his unit of 400 men covered a passage south of Arachova. Karaiskakis' secretary then sent messages to all known guerrilla bands in the surrounding areas, informing them of the impending battle.