The royalists were discreetly armed by the Spanish king, Alfonso XIII, and concentrated their forces in Galicia, Spain.

The 1,000 men crossed the border after a long march in the mountainous region between Bragança and Vinhais, near the present-day Montesinhos National Park.

This is because the royalists changed their plans and now marched on Vinhais, which had a smaller garrison of men— only eighty infantry, cavalry, and border guards.

Crossing the rugged mountains north of Vinhais, and reduced to about 600 men after desertions, the rebels made their way back into Spain.

The companies that still remained formed nine groups, some staying near Xinzo de Limia and Ourense, but the bulk of the column concentrated nearer the border in Verín.

The original plan was to cross the mountains of the Barroso, west of Chaves, and link up with followers of a pro-monarchist priest in Cabeceiras de Basto.

The second group, of 200 men, was to enter Portugal via Vila Verde da Raia and create a diversion for Couceiro’s larger plan.

Alerting Chaves to the danger, these men from Sendin retreated to a nearby hill south of the town.

Meanwhile, the military commander in Chaves, Augusto Ribeiro de Carvalho, not knowing of Paiva Couceiro’s move across the north, had decided to send the main part of his forces with machine guns towards Montalegre to stop the royalists’ passage to the south.

The people of Chaves had not even paid attention to the warnings brought by the customs guards who had fled the northern villages.

Augusto Ribeiro de Carvalho hurried to recall the troops that he had sent out a day earlier; however, he also had local support from the townspeople.

Meanwhile, the rebel group on the border, in Feces, had remained in its position, until they could hear the sounds of gunfire coming from Chaves.

What I only wanted was the Monarchy in Portugal.” After the final dispersion of his men to Spain, Paiva Couceiro published a manifesto explaining his reasons for the defeat and proclaiming that his struggle was over.