The Ottomans set sail on June 21 and arrived two days later in the bay of Chania, beginning the war for Crete.

[9] The Ottomans began unloading their cannons, munitions, and supplies, and they commenced the siege.

The most intense fighting took place on July 9, when the Ottoman led by Hassan Agha, who fell in battle, routed the Venetians and killed more than 50 of them, and on July 17 when some of the Venetian soldiers escaped during the battle into the sea were killed and captured.

[12][13][14] The news reached Istanbul and the city held three days of celebrations with cannons.

[15] The news of Chania's fall reached Zakynthos on August 30 just as Tuscan, Spanish, Papal, and Maltese fleets were about to set sail to rescue the city.

A vigorous attack on Chania would have saved Crete from the Ottomans; however, the Christian forces were under the papal captain-general Niccolo Ludovisi, who ordered a retreat towards Souda.