Battle of Otumba

Part of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire

A 17th-century depiction of the battle.

Date	7 July 1520 (Julian calendar date)
Location	The plain of Otumba, modern-day Mexico
Result	Decisive Spanish and Tlaxcalan victory

Belligerents

Spanish Empire

Tlaxcala

Aztec Empire

Commanders and leaders

Hernán Cortés

Matlatzincatl †

Strength

~500 Spaniards and a few hundred Tlaxcalans

~100,000–200,000

Casualties and losses

Less than 73 Spanish deaths.

Unknown, but very high number of casualties.

The Battle of Otumba was a battle at Otumba de Gómez Farías in 1520.

Around the end of March 1519, Hernán Cortés landed with a Spanish conquistador force at Potonchán on the coast of modern-day Mexico. Cortés had been commissioned by Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar of Spanish-controlled Cuba to lead an expedition in the area, which was dominated by the Aztec Empire. At the last moment, though, Cortés' permission was revoked, and he decided to launch his expedition regardless, though doing so meant expressly going against the King's authority.

Through a combination of raw force and political maneuvering, Cortés was able to secure the allegiance of the Totonacs and the Tlaxcaltec (subjugated enemies of the Aztec empire) among other groups during his advance on the Empire's main settlement, Tenochtitlan. In November, a Spanish force entered the city, and was greeted by its ruler, Moctezuma II.

Initially, the conquistadors were treated well by the Aztecs whilst they stayed in the city, until Velázquez, angered at Cortés' disobedience, sent an armed forced at the command of Pánfilo Narváez against Cortés to bring him to justice and claim the lands and riches he had conquered. Cortés was forced to leave a small garrison of men in Tenochtitlan at the command of one of his lieutenants, Pedro de Alvarado, whilst he took his small force to meet Narváez in battle. After securing a quick and brilliant victory, Cortés joined Narvaez' forces to his own, and marched back to Tenochtitlán, as he had heard word that the city was up in arms against the remaining Spaniards. Upon arriving, Alvarado told Cortés' he had been convinced that the Aztecs planned to attack the Spaniards and thus struck preemptively during an Aztec ritual ceremony, which caused an outrage in Tenochtitlán. The Aztecs named a new emperor to replace Moctezuma, whom they regarded now as weak and easily influenced by the Spaniards. Cortés attempted to negotiate a peace, and as a last resort, urged Moctezuma to speak with his people to achieve a truce, but the angry Aztecs struck down Moctezuma in a hail of rocks. This was the state of affairs by the end of June 1520. Desperate to escape the city, and further convinced by an omen one of the Spaniards claimed to have received, the Spaniards resolved to leave the city that night in an event called La Noche Triste (The Night of Sorrows). During this attempt at salvation, however, Cortés' forces and entourage (consisting of civilian-grade women and men of both Spanish and Indian cultures) were severely cut down. Of the Spanish force of approximately 1300, only less than 500 men at arms escaped with their lives, along with a few hundred tlaxcalans and civilians. Cortés then started a retreat to Tlaxcala, during which his force was harassed by Aztec skirmishers, and the Aztec leadership resolved to eliminate them as they withdrew.

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