This column attacked the Novo de Coimbra fort on the 27th, which capitulated three days later; the Paraguayans then advanced towards Albuquerque, reaching Corumbá on January 4, 1865.

The second column, which had four thousand soldiers, was responsible for operations further south in the province of Mato Grosso in the territory surrounding Dourados, taken on December 29, 1864.

The Paraguayans, divided into five infantry battalions and two cavalry columns, advanced on the fort on December 27, 1864, which was defended by only 195 Brazilians (155 army soldiers and national guards and the rest civilians), under the command of the lieutenant-colonel Hermenegildo Portocarrero.

[1] Having overcome this obstacle, the column headed towards Corumbá following the trail of Portocarrero, passing and invading Albuquerque district on January 1, 1865 without struggle.

When Oliveira heard that the Paraguayans had arrived in the city, he put his troops on a boat and went up the river towards Cuiabá, the capital of the province, leaving the approximately 1,000 inhabitants to fend for themselves.