After submitting the memorandum drawn up during the Krapi assembly to the consuls in the autumn of 1895, the various chieftains returned to their regions and began rallying the Christian population. The next major step was the formation of the Central Committee for the Political Transition of Crete, with Manousos Koundouros as president and several other members drawn mainly from western and central Crete. In the meantime, the Ottomans tried to calm tensions by pushing for the immediate convening of the General Assembly, but these efforts came to nothing.

Soon after, the first clashes broke out. A skirmish in Asi Gonia marked the beginning in October, followed a month later by a battle in which the Committee seized the village of Kambi. Fighting then spread to Kefala near Alikambos and Vryses. None of these battles proved decisive, yet they exposed serious weaknesses in the Ottoman army and gendarmerie, while also boosting the rebels’ morale and numbers. The confrontation reached a new height in May 1896, when the revolutionaries laid siege to the Ottoman headquarters in Vamos—a turning point that signaled a shift to bolder, more aggressive actions.