The Gadiantons not only have a large and well-trained army, but the stakes are high. Their supply line is overextended, and their best access to food is the Nephite stores. For their part, the Nephites have executed the desperate and difficult step of relocating all their people and supplies to a central location and, having rejected Giddianhi’s offer, face annihilation. The battle is fierce. Its very fierceness betokens the Gadiantons’ strength, as it is much more difficult to attack fortified positions than to defend them.