After receiving intelligence of the Ottoman army's maneuvers, Karaiskakis prepared a surprise attack in vicinity of the village of Arachova, in central Greece.

On 22 November Mustafa Bey was mortally wounded and Ottoman morale plunged, as cold weather and heavy rainfall plagued the hunger-stricken defenders.

The Ottomans seemed to have gained the upper hand in Central Greece, with many Greek rebels accepting Grand Vizier Mehmed Reshid Pasha's amnesty in order to take a break from the hardships of the war.

[4] Defeatism affected a number of Moreote Christian notables (kodjabashis) who began advocating for peace in return for a limited autonomy such as the one granted by the Ottomans to Wallachia after the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806.

[5] In October 1826, Greek general Georgios Karaiskakis took a number of fighters who managed to break out from Missolonghi, heading south-east towards Morea.

On 14 November, Karaiskakis broke off the siege after receiving news that Mustafa Bey's 2,000-man army (including 300 cavalrymen)[4] had begun its descent from Livadeia towards Amfissa, in order to relieve the latter's garrison and protecting the Ottoman gunpowder dump at Atalanti;[6] putting the Greek forces in the area in grave danger.

As Mustafa Bey and his lieutenant (kehaya) were discussing their future plans while dining, a monk who was fluent in Turkish overheard their conversation.

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.

An advanced column of Turks arrived at the village and was waiting for the rest of the army when Albanian soldiers in Ottoman service noticed that several houses had freshly carved loopholes.

This came as a surprise to the majority of the villagers who had remained oblivious of the situation until the last minute; they now fled in panic in fear of future reprisals.

Karaiskakis' troops appeared on the outskirts of Arachova around midday, and rebels from the surrounding areas gathered west of the village, thus completely encircling the Turks.

A quarter of an hour later the Turks had successfully repelled the attack from the hillock, moreover the Greek right flank broke ranks and fled.

The situation was reversed when a unit of Souliotes under Georgios Tzavelas mounted a second offensive, killing a Turkish officer and rallying deserters to return to the battlefield.

In the early hours of 20 November, the Greeks received 450 men in reinforcements, most of them were sent on guard duty to the roads leading to Arachova.

30 Turks were killed and many were wounded before a disorganized retreat was conducted; the rebels captured 80 animals packed with supplies.

Karaiskakis demanded that the Turks hand over all their weapons and money, give the kehaya's and Mustafa Bey's brother as hostages, and abandon Livadeia and Amfissa, promising safe passage in return.

[16] Out of the initial force of 2,000 only 300 Turks survived the onslaught,[17] escaping with the help of a Greek turncoat named Zeligiannaios; most of them perished in the snowstorm.