wounded, the officers gave up control of the D. Carlos I, yielding it to the hands of the republicans. That was the last unit to join the rebels, which included by then part of the 1st Artillery Regiment, 16th Infantry Regiment, the naval corps and the three warships. Navy members had joined in large numbers as expected, but many military sections considered sympathizers with the cause hadn't joined. Even so, the republican forces included about 400 men in Rotunda, 1000 to 1500 in Alcântara counting the naval crews, as well as having managed to take hold of the city's artillery, with most of the ammunition, to which was added the naval artillery. Rotunda and Alcântara were occupied, but concrete plans for the revolution had not yet been decided and the main leaders hadn't yet appeared. In spite of this, the beginning of the events did not occur favorably for the rebels. The three cannon shots – the accorded signal for the civilians and military to advance – did not take place. Only a shot was heard and the Admiral Cândido dos Reis, expecting the signal to take command of the warships, was informed that everything had failed, which prompted him to retire to his sister's house. The next morning his dead body was found in Arroios. In desperation, he had committed suicide by a shot to the head. Meanwhile, in Rotunda, the apparent calm in the city was so discouraging to the rebels that officers preferred to give up. Sá Cardoso, Palla and other officers retired to their houses, but Machado Santos stayed and assumed command. This decision proved fundamental to the success of the revolution. The government forces The military garrison of Lisbon was composed by four infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments and two Caçadores (light infantry) battalions, with a theoretical total of 6982 men. However, in practice, there were other useful units in military outposts used for lookout and general police duties, especially in the industrial district of Barreiro due to the bout of strikes and syndicalist activity that had been ongoing since September. Ever since the previous year the government forces had a plan of action, drawn up by order of the military commander of Lisbon, General Manuel Rafael Gorjão Henriques. When, on the evening of the 3rd, the President of the Council of Ministers Teixeira de Sousa informed him of the imminence of a revolt, a