Rome sent the praetor Caius Vetilius to fight the rebellion. He attacked a group of Lusitanian warriors who were out foraging, and after several of them were killed, the survivors took refuge in a place that was surrounded by the Roman army. They were about to make a new agreement with the Romans when Viriatus, mistrusting the Romans, proposed an escape plan. The Lusitanians, inflamed by his speech, made him their new commander. His first act was to rescue the trapped and resisting Lusitanians whom he then commanded, first by lining up for battle with the Romans, then scattering the army as they charged. As each wave broke apart and fled in different directions to meet up at a later location, Viriatus with 1,000 chosen men held the army of 10,000 Romans in check by being in a position to attack. Once the rest of the army had fled, he and the thousand men escaped as well. Having effectively saved all of the Lusitanians soldiers, he immediately fortified the loyalty of the people around himself.