He had his first combat experiences in 1802 against the Portuguese and in 1807 when he was part of the Paraguayan forces that defended Buenos Aires during British invasions of the Río de la Plata.
Prva borbena iskustva imao je 1802. godine protiv Portugalaca i 1807. godine, kada je bio dio paragvajskih vojnih postrojbi, koji su branili Buenos Aires tijekom britanske invazije Rio de la Plate.