Social: It is fascinating that the Lamanite army should both know that Lehi was commander of Noah, and that he was the very same who had assisted in the Lamanite defeat in the battle on the east of the Sidon. This recognition is best explained by the personal nature of Mesoamerican warfare, and the tendency of those armies to clearly mark the general. At least in later Mesoamerican armies for which data are available, the general would have been marked visually, either by costume or by the banners flying at his position. Thus the armies would have known Lehi visually, not personally. To know that he was at Noah, all he needed to do was show himself in his unique battle dress. Those who could not see his face, those who did not know his name, nevertheless would know him because they knew the visual markers that identified him.
In spite of the fortifications and the presence of a feared general, the Lamanites press the attack. Nibley refers to their oath as a “true Prussian officers’ oath.” (Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, 2nd ed. [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988], 308.) The oath was taken because of the importance of the location, and not for any desire for self destruction. As noted above, having by-passed Ammonihah the military imperative was to take Noah or abandon the effort. The Lamanites chose to not only attack, but to attack with fervor and purpose.