 On 27 August 1884, guerrilla fighters launched an armed assault against Lima and almost managed to fight their way into the presidential palace.The tenacious defense of Iglesias threw back the attackers at the last barricade but they returned to the outskirts of Lima just over a year later.This time large numbers of the ordinary citizens of Lima decided to throw in their lot with the guerrillas, and Iglesias realised the full degree to which he lacked popular support.