The reinforcements dispatched by Arteaga reunited with Vergara's troops on noon of the 26th at Isluga. As both Chilean divisions gathered, Arteaga arrived with additional forces to assume command. It appears at this time Arteaga thought, given the condition of his soldiers, the Allies too must be as exhausted, thirsty and weary as his own men. Only that day, some of Arteaga's Chilean troops had marched for nine hours, bringing to 30 hours the total time his men had marched across burning sands with little food or water. This arduous advance severely diminished the fighting capabilities of the Chilean troops, leaving them in poor condition for battle. Worse, since they were now 70 km (45 mi), across desert terrain, from the nearest source of Chilean supplies at Dolores, Arteaga realised that their only salvation was to attack. In addition, Arteaga continued to believe he faced only 2,500 Peruvian soldiers when in fact Arteaga's forces added up to just 2,281 men, around half the strength of Buendía’s contingent.