José de San Martín Manuel Rodríguez had returned to Chile before the crossing, and began a guerrilla war in Santiago de Chile against the royalists, in support of the upcoming army. He was supported in the south of the city and the countryside. The strategy was to occupy nearby villages, seize the royalists' weapons and flee. The attacks on Melipilla and San Fernando, and a failed one at Curicó, demoralized the royalists. The columns that crossed the Andes began to take military actions. The column in the north led by Cabot defeated the royalists in Salala, seized Coquimbo and then Copiapó. In the south,
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership elections Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador leadership elections This page lists the results of leadership elections held by the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. After the defeat of the party's first leader in the 1949 general election and until 1966 the party leadership was officially vacant and the House leader served as de facto party leader. Mews was defeated in the 1949 general election and resigned sometime afterward. John Gilbert Higgins was elected House leader and became the first post-Confederation Leader of the Opposition. Higgins retired at the 1951 general election, and Peter Cashin was elected House