Unlike the situation in the Basque Provinces and Navarre, the Carlist cause in Catalonia, Aragon, Maestrat and Valencia had been successful since the initial uprising in 1872. The arrival of the Infant Alfonso to take command in December 1872 strengthened the Carlist cause, but the work of other Carlist leaders such as Marco de Bello, who added more men to the cause by organizing several Carlist battalions and the "Compañias del Pilar" in Aragon, was also valuable. The first major encounter between the opposing armies was at Alpens on July 9, when a government column, led by Jose Cabrinety, was ambushed by Carlist forces under Francisco Savalls. In the ensuing slaughter, Cabrinety was killed, and his column of 800 men were either killed or captured by Carlists. Another important clash occurred at Bocairente on December 22, when a government force commanded by General Valeriano Weyler was attacked by a numerically superior Carlist force led by Jose Santes. Driven back in the initial stage of the fight, Weyler was able to emerge victorious by leading an effective counter-attack which routed Carlist forces.