Back in Greece, Dalianis fought in the Battle of Phaleron (1827). In January 1828, he became the leader of an expeditionary force to assist the faltering uprising in Crete. In an attempt to revive the revolution there, Dalianis, with 700 men (600 on foot, 100 with horses and mules), landed initially at Gramvousa on 5 January 1828, but decided to restart their expedition from Sfakia. In March, he took possession of Frangokastello castle, a 14th-century Venetian fortification in the Sfakia region. The local Ottoman ruler, Mustafa Naili Pasha, gathered an army of 8,000 men in order to suppress the revolt. The castle's defence was doomed when Mustafa's Ottoman force of 8,000 men and 300 cavalry arrived on 13 May 1828.