A column had set out at night to reach the heights of the Riffians before dawn, who had been attacking Spanish convoys carrying supplies to the troops in advanced positions.

The Spanish commander, believing they had left the combat zone, allowed his men to rest and eat after a long journey, without a cover and leaving many rifles in a pile.

[5][6] During the previous night of the battle, some 300 meters of railway lines leading to the mines had been ripped up and damaged by the Riffian tribes.

On 27 June, the Spanish general, José Marina Vega, sent out two columns, one to protect the ones repairing the lines and another, led by Guillermo Pintos, to prevent the Riffians from leaving their valleys nearby.

The defeat strengthened solidarity towards the military among the middle and upper classes; this brought passion and drama to daily life in the Peninsula; the facility to pay a tax to evade the war was suspended; some young aristocrats volunteered to serve in the Spanish army, giving them a new sense of identity; the military now felt they were defending the nation's pride; and the outrage over Spanish casualties strengthened their prejudice over the Riffians.