July 1520 was undoubtedly the darkest hour since the landing in Mexico for Cortés and his Spanish conquistadors. Suffering heavy losses in the tragic rainy night that had just ended, more than half of the members and more local allies had died on the difficult road out of Tenochtitlan.
The Spaniards fought hard in Tenochtitlan with local allies
But the angry Aztecs were not prepared to stop there, but instead gathered a larger force in advance to completely intercept the other side on the way back. It was not until the two sides fought again on the Obatton Plain that they were forced to retreat temporarily due to a huge gap in strength. This short and fierce bloody encounter will also be a rehearsal and precursor to the demise of his empire.
Montezuma II and Cortés met for the first time
In fact, as early as the beginning of the contact with the Aztec Empire, the Spaniards impressed each other in various ways. Because they happen to resemble the gods of American mythology, they are always mistaken for heavenly visitors with a great mission. Coupled with the one-sided victory over several coastal tribes, it made the indigenous people who lacked the need to respond to cases jealous. Of course, Cortés, as the core of the leadership, often throws out tricks when danger comes. For example, he ordered his men to quickly hide the bodies of the dead, thus creating a terrifying image of the Spaniards being able to die. As for the plenipotentiary who claimed to be the Holy Roman Emperor, and the demonstration of The advanced shipcraft technology of Europe to King Montezuma, these were merely routine operations.
The military skills of the Spaniards impressed the Native Americans
However, these elaborately created great people have disappeared due to changes in the times. First the Governor of Cuba sent a legitimate army to arrest the exile rebels, and then the Massacre of the Great Temple, which symbolized the rupture of relations, suddenly came. When the angry Aztec nobles had their hands bladed by the old king, they installed the tough Quitlavak as the new leader, and began to counterattack the Spaniards with great fanfare. Cortés and 440 other men were lucky enough to break out of the siege, but they still lost all their guns, gunpowder, and most of the gold loot. The only hope remaining is a safe retreat to the boundaries of the indigenous ally, the Terrascalans.
Spanish conquistadors who fled in a miserable rainy night
However, the Aztec Empire, the hegemon of Central America, did not want the Spaniards to retreat. While they scrambled to prepare for battle in the capital city of Tenochtitlan, they also gathered more soldiers from the provinces. Thus, when Cortés led his troops into the nearby Obatton Plain, it was immediately blocked by reinforcements totaling 40,000 men. If you can't kill the blood road with the only cold weapon you have at hand, then the results of more than a year will be completely cleared.
Located in the Ao Batong Plain in central Mexico
Fortunately, the conquerors' strongest killing moves have not yet been seen by their opponents. Because neither the previous mountain or town encounters, nor the desperate escape in a panic, did not give the Spaniards the opportunity to use cavalry. Thus, until the official outbreak of the Battle of Obatton, the indigenous chiefs could not predict what kind of attack they would be attacked. Past experience has taught them that simply breaking the superstitious inferiority complex, supplemented by an absolute advantage of dozens of times the scale, is enough to offset some of the weapon advantages of these newcomers. More importantly, the Aztec army continued to boast of being the strongest in the region and had full confidence in the level of close combat of its own soldiers.
An Aztec army massed in the wilderness
Soon, Cortés tailored the best strategy for this group of stubborn enemies. He gathered all his horses together to form a small cavalry detachment at the forefront of the whole army. Then there are the ordinary infantrymen with guns, swords and shields, and the rarer number of crossbowmen. On both flanks were the steadfast allies of Terrascalan, who were second only to the Aztec elite. The ultimate purpose of such a deployment is to instigate a rapid assault with lightning speed and conceal the ears, and to behead the core generals on the opposite side as soon as possible.
Due to the loss of gunpowder and cannons, the Spaniards could only fight with cold weapons
On the other hand, the military tradition of the Aztecs also invisibly achieved the above arrangement. Although the Empire theoretically belonged to the system of all soldiers, it could only support a very limited number of standing troops at the practical level. Most of the youth from the civilian class can only be compared with limited military training from the age of 15. Only those born into aristocratic groups can receive a more systematic and comprehensive education from the age of 12. Thus, every Aztec army was a strange patchwork of a handful of professional armies and a large number of part-time minions. The former is responsible for launching a decisive attack on the front, while the latter needs to carry out a full envelopment on both flanks. Since enemy leaders or captives are necessary criteria for promotion, elite troops will stop chasing after victory, allowing low-level friendly forces to take advantage of personal merits. About 1/3 of the other members are non-combatants with logistical responsibilities, much less likely to help others.
The truly elite standing army made up only a small fraction of the army of the Aztec Empire
As a result, the course of the Battle of Obatton and the attribution of victory and defeat were roughly determined before the start. Cortez directly led the entire cavalry and crashed into the opposing position with an unstoppable charge. Facing the Aztec army composed of top elites, eagle warriors and jaguar warriors in turn, it achieved a super effect far beyond the imagination of both sides. Because neither the Machut stick, inlaid with obsidian blades, nor the very primitive spears, darts, or bows and arrows, could pose a threat to the high-speed cavalry. Most samurai, who had encountered this type of warfare for the first time, did not know how to respond. Once Matrasin Carter, who was in command, was killed, he quickly fell into mass chaos. More heavily armed Spanish infantry also poured into the gap that the cavalry rushed out later, and continued to expand the results with steel cold troops.
Spanish cavalry breaking through the Aztec lines
At the same time, the Terrascalans, who were on the side of Cortés, were also charging at the young soldiers of their opponents on both flanks. Most of the latter are novices who lack actual combat tests, and they cannot be compared with the samurai of neighboring countries in terms of combat skills, and naturally they cannot persist for too long. Especially after discovering the failure of the central road of the party, it naturally began to grow a wave of collapse. But in the face of the pursuit of soldiers behind them, as well as the ruthless trampling of a large number of companions, there are still many people who have not left the scene alive.
The mere superiority of cavalry allowed the Spaniards to run rampant in the Americas
After the war, according to hasti estimates by the Spaniards who were personally involved, they killed about 20,000 Aztecs on the plains of Obaton. Such an achievement, while certainly an exaggeration, also largely reflects the collapse of the indigenous forces. Because the difference between the two is not a few artillery pieces and a few muskets, but an insurmountable gap between the old and new continents. Perhaps in the eyes of some Aztec hardliners, they were able to drive away strong enemies. But the bells of the empire's demise have sounded on the bloody plains...