After hearing the Portuguese tried to recapture Salvadore, the WIC ordered Admiral Boudewijn Hendricksz, seconded by Vice Admiral Andries Veron, to rescue Bahia. He was given 34 ships with good artillery and 6,500 men, but by the time he arrived in Brazil the Spanish had already expelled the Dutch from the town. After a short battle, Hendricksz decided to withdraw to open sea. Spanish warships attempted to pursue him but a galleon ran aground and the chase was abandoned. Hendricksz met with Piet Hein's fleet and divided his fleet in three groups. One of them returned to Holland with the supplies and ammunition for the garrison of Salvador; the other two attacked respectively the Spanish Caribbean colonial town of San Juan de Puerto Rico and the Portuguese African trading post of the Castle of Elmina but were both decisively defeated.