was carried out by around 30 soldiers, but which was beaten with some casualties. Continuing the gunfire, he ordered a new attack, but only 20 soldiers followed the order. Thinking that he had found the right time to assault the barracks of Artillery 1, Paiva Couceiro requested reinforcement to the division's command. However, he received the perplexing order to retreat. Meanwhile, a column had been formed with the intention to attack simultaneously the rebels in Rotunda, a plan that was never carried out because of the order to retreat. The column reached Rossio in the evening without having joined combat. This inaction was not caused by the incompetence of its commander, General António Carvalhal, as would become clear the next day, when he was named chief of the Military Division for the republican government: he had changed sides. Reinforcements from other parts of the country, expected by the government throughout 4 October, never arrived. Only the units already mentioned and called for the preventive measures received orders to advance. Since the beginning of the revolution, members of the Carbonária had disconnected the telegraph lines, thus cutting communication with units outside Lisbon. In addition, the rebels had cut off the railway tracks, which meant that even if the troops followed the orders to advance on Lisbon, they would never arrive on time. Reinforcements from the Setúbal peninsula were also unlikely to arrive, since the Tagus river was controlled by rebel ships. Towards the end of the day the situation was difficult for the monarchical forces: the rebel ships were docked beside the Terreiro do Paço Square and the cruiser São Rafael opened fire on the ministries buildings in the bewildered sight of the Brazilian diplomatic corps aboard battleship São Paulo, whose passenger list included the elected president Hermes da Fonseca. This attack undermined the morale of the pro-government forces in Rossio. The king's departure from Lisbon After the dinner with Hermes da Fonseca, D. Manuel II had returned to the Palace of Necessidades, keeping the company of a few officers. They were playing bridge when the rebels began an attack on the building. The king attempted some phone calls but, finding that the lines had been cut, managed only to inform the Queen Mother, who was in Pena National Palace, about the situation. Soon afterwards, groups of units that were loyal to the king arrived at the scene and managed to