Brant Gardner notes that in Alma 2:27 we are told that the Lamanites were “as numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea.” Thus Alma has an entire army that must ford a river to reach a battlefield on the other side where a vastly larger army was waiting. In conditions such as these, one might suppose a simple and overwhelming Lamanite victory, yet that is not what happens. We are told that “Alma fought with Amlici with the sword face to face” (Alma 2:29) and “slew Amlici with the sword” (v. 31). Then “he also contended with the king of the Lamanites” (v. 32). Then in verses 34-35 we learn that Alma’s actions clear the way for his army to cross. In other words, the entire Lamanite army does not clash with the entire Nephite army. The Lamanite numerical superiority is not even brought to bear.
What we have in these verses is a description of an individual battle of kings as representatives of their armies rather than the battle between the armies themselves. Alma fights with the leaders of the two factions of the Lamanite army, Amlici as leader to the Amlicites, and the king of the Lamanites. Such a mode of battle is relatively rare, but certainly not without precedence. In the Old Testament we have the story of David and Goliath. [Brant Gardner, “Book of Mormon Commentary,” [http://www.highfiber.com/] ~nahualli/LDStopics/Alma/Alma2.htm, pp. 37-38]
“Alma Fought with Amlici with the Sword Face to Face”
Karl von Clausewitz’s great work Vom Kriege, or On War, has been the Bible of the military for 150 years. According to Hugh Nibley, the Book of Mormon reads as if it were written by a diligent student of this work.
In this work, one of the principal maxims says the following: “War is thus an act of force to compel our adversary to do our will… . War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale.” Alma fights Amlici “face to face” (Alma 2:29); that’s the duel, but they represent the forces … . We still do the same today -- we try to destabilize governments which do not favor us or which we do not favor, and we personify them in their leaders. The leader or whoever is in charge becomes the villain, and it becomes a personal duel between this president and that president, whoever they might be. [Hugh Nibley, “Warfare in the Book of Mormon,” in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, pp. 130-131]
Geographical [Theory Map]: Alma 2:26-27 The Amlicites & Lamanites March to the West Bank of Sidon (5th Year).
Alma 2:15-38 The Amlicites came … to make war (Illustration): Rio Grijalva (Sidon); Santa Rosa (Zarahemla); Comitan (Minon); and Las Rosas (Gideon). Projection of the Coast and Highlands of Chiapas indicating Modern and Ancient Routes of Communication. [Gareth Lowe, Thomas Lee, and Eduardo Martinez, Izapa: An Introduction to the Ruins and Monuments, N.W.A.F., p. 73]