21 And it came to pass that Moroni, having no hopes
of meeting them upon fair grounds, therefore, he resolved upon a plan that he
might decoy the Lamanites out of their strongholds. 22
Therefore he caused that Teancum should take a small number of men and march down
near the seashore; and Moroni and his army, by night, marched in the
wilderness, on the west of the city Mulek; and thus, on the morrow,
when the guards of the Lamanites had discovered Teancum, they ran and told it
unto Jacob, their leader. 23 And it came to pass
that the
armies of the Lamanites did march forth against Teancum, supposing by their
numbers to overpower Teancum because of the smallness of his numbers. And as Teancum saw the armies of the
Lamanites coming out against him he began to retreat down by the seashore,
northward.
Alma 52:21 – 23 (Emphasis mine)
Moroni(1) needed to develop a new strategy having been
refused his request to fight. His
response was to send Teancum and a small army towards the seashore. He would take his army and marched to the
west of Mulek during the night.
In the morning, the Lamanite guards saw Teancum and his army
and told Jacob about the army. The
armies were sent to fight Teancum’s weak army, being sure they would be able to
“overpower Teancum because of the smallness of his number.”
Teancum’s armies retreated, moving northward by the
seashore.
24 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that he
began to flee, they took courage and pursued them with vigor. And while Teancum was thus leading away the
Lamanites who were pursuing them in vain, behold, Moroni commanded that a part of
his army who were with him should march forth into the city, and take possession
of it. 25 And thus they did, and slew all those who had been
left to protect the city, yea, all those who would not yield up their weapons
of war. 26 And thus Moroni had obtained possession of the city
Mulek with a part of his army, while he marched with the remainder to
meet the Lamanites when they should return from the pursuit of Teancum.
Alma 52:24 – 26 (Emphasis mine)
The Lamanites interpreted Teancum’s retreat as a sign of
weakness. They “pursued [Teancum’s army]
with vigor.”
Moroni(1) then took his army and “march[ed] forth into the
city, and [took] possession of [Mulek].”
Here we see Moroni(1)’s unwillingness to indiscriminately kill the
enemy. “And thus they … slew … all those
who would not yield up their weapons of war.”
Those who would surrender and give up their weapons were taken as
prisoners. Only those who refused to
yield their weapons were killed because they threatened Moroni(1)’s efforts.
Moroni(1) then “marched with the remainder to meet the
Lamanites when they should return from the pursuit of Teancum.”
27 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue Teancum until
they came near the city Bountiful, and then they were met by Lehi and a small
army, which had been left to protect the city Bountiful. 28
And now behold, when the chief captains of the Lamanites had
beheld Lehi with his army coming against them, they fled in much confusion, lest
perhaps they should not obtain the city Mulek before Lehi should overtake them;
for they were wearied because of their march, and the men of Lehi were fresh.
29 Now the Lamanites did not know that Moroni had
been in their rear with his army; and all they feared was Lehi and his
men. 30
Now Lehi
was not desirous to overtake them till they should meet Moroni and his army.
Alma 52:27 – 30 (Emphasis mine)
As the Lamanites pursued Teancum, they met by Lehi(2) and
his army. This caused the Lamanites to
flee “in much confusion.” They were
going to return to Mulek because “they were wearied because of their march, and
the men of Lehi were fresh.”
Little did they know that, as they fled to Mulek, “Moroni
had been in their rear with his army.”
Lehi(2) did not want to overtake them until they ran into Moroni(1)’s
army.
“Teancum allowed the Lamanites to discover a task-force of
his moving along the coast and to give it chase; Moroni then slipped into the
city behind them and overpowered the defenders, characteristically sparing all
who yielded up their arms (Alma 52:22—25). Then he too took the coast route on
the heels of the Lamanites who were chasing Teancum. As a secondary diversion a small
Nephite force under the terrible Lehi had issued out of the main base at
Bountiful and met the Lamanites head on (Alma 52:27). Confused
by this new development, the Lamanites sought counsel in safety by returning to
Mulek, even as it occurred to them with a shock that in dashing forth they had
left that city only lightly defended; and so their return to Mulek turned into
a wild race with the Nephites to see who would get there first (Alma
52:27—28). Bent only on reaching home-base in safety, the exhausted Lamanites
with Lehi hot behind them ran smack into Moroni's army coming up behind them.
That was the last straw (Alma 52:28—32).”[1]
(Emphasis mine)
[1] A
Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 24, 2012.
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