Chios expedition

In the last months of 1827, as independence loomed, the Greek rebels launched simultaneous military operations from Peloponnese to Chios, Crete, eastern and western Greece.

The Vice-gubernatorial Committee that administered Greece until the arrival of Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias ordered Sir Richard Church to assign the task of recovering Chios to Charles Nicolas Fabvier in August 1827.

The force was complemented by 200 cavalry (although less than a quarter actually had horses), which did not arrive until November, and over a thousand irregulars from Central Greece and Chian refugees.

The Greek expedition had already caused the reaction of the Great Powers, whose admirals in the Aegean on 12 October had issued a proclamation opposing any renewed uprising on Chios.

Α serious problem that Fabvier was facing was the order from the French admiral Henri de Rigny to quit and leave.

The new governor, Kapodistrias, sent money and reinforcements to the island and ordered the fleet to assist, but the situation was critical: the Chian Committee had ceased providing pay and supplies to the troops, while the exactions of the irregular fighters exacerbated relations with the locals.